Text messages can be an effective way to encourage response to a web survey. We examined the impact of both text invites and text reminders and found that both were effective. Text messages were useful for inviting people to participate in the next wave of a longitudinal survey, although the effects diminished quickly until other contacts were sent. Text reminders can be especially helpful, as initial outreach via mail or another mode provides background about the survey and helps build legitimacy and trust. Early text reminders reinforce prior contacts and encourage people to respond more quickly, both in fewer days and sooner in the field period, saving the cost of additional outreach.

Many studies over the past few decades have found that mixed-mode contact strategies are successful in part because some people who do not respond when contacted via one mode may be responsive to another contact mode. Our research suggests this is true for text messages as well. In one survey, sending a text reminder improved response over sending another reminder in the same mode as previous contacts. In this study, the text message outperformed sending a second postcard after prior outreach via mail. Sending the texts was also cheaper than printing and mailing costs for the postcard.

Many respondents will complete a web survey on their smartphones, while others will use a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. The number of people who complete on a smartphone can vary by survey features (e.g., length, complexity, etc.) and respondent characteristics (e.g., age, home interest access, etc.). We found that using text messages to encourage response to web surveys can increase this even further, with more web respondents choosing to complete the survey on their smartphones. The text message can include a direct link to the survey, making it easier for people to take it from their smartphones. Regardless of whether texting is part of your contact strategy, designing web surveys so they can be completed on a smartphone is critical, given how many people choose to take web surveys on their phones.

Our research suggests that text messages can be an important contact mode in mixed-mode survey designs. Further research should continue to explore the efficacy of text messaging for survey outreach, including using texting with additional survey populations, various sequences of mail, text, email, and other outreach modes, and the text messages’ branding and content. As text messaging for survey outreach continues to grow, it will be important to understand how to best integrate texting with other contact modes and how these design choices impact response in different survey populations and study designs.