Scout leaders teach their recruits how to get by in everyday life without relying on technology. As useful as these skills are, they don't mean that the leaders themselves have to avoid gadgets altogether when performing their duties.

The role carries a lot of responsibilities, from ensuring all children are kept safe from harm to making sure they don't get lost in the woods. In order to carry out these tasks effectively, it helps to have every extra tool at your disposal, ready to be put to use in whatever situation commands them.

Now there aren't many scout leaders who'll head off on an expedition without their mobile phones close at hand at all times. In fact, there aren't many who will go anywhere without them. Yet of all the ways to use them, there is one which enables leaders to communicate with the troops, organize all operations and keep everyone updated at all times. It's also a method that many are yet to adopt. Here's why more scout leaders should earn their badge in group texting.

Breaking News and Emergency Updates

Important events can happen in an instant, and letting an entire group of kids plus their parents know what's going on is not always easy.

Whether it's as low key as tomorrow's fundraising event being cancelled or as ludicrous as a bear roaming the forest near camp, emergency announcements will crop up every now and again that a scout leader needs to ensure everyone is informed about.

This is where group texting comes into its own. With most people keeping their mobiles virtually attached to them at all times, group text messages are often read within minutes by the vast majority who receive them. It is the quickest, most reliable way to guarantee that large numbers of people will know what's happening at all times.

Mobilize the Troops

It may be an unscheduled meeting, a last-minute field trip or an impromptu fundraiser. Whatever the occasion, sometimes events are arranged with little advance notice, and getting people to come along is never easy when most don't even know they're occurring.

This is where a text message marketing service can come in handy. Able to reach countless people in an instant -- and with messages that by their very nature are concise and easy to digest -- an SMS texting service can help mobilize as many as possible in a short time frame.

Keep Customers in the Loop

Being a scout leader has many similarities with being a businessperson, one of which is actually having to run profitable schemes every now and again.

With selling cookies as the classic example, scouts man their own fundraising projects occasionally to raise money for their activities. Therefore, not only can group texting be used to keep them and their parents in the loop, but it can be used for their customers as well, who will be happy to hear when the next batch of cookies has arrived.

More Reliable than Kids

It seems horrible to say it as the scouts are built on the belief that children have the potential to exceed all expectations, but in reality they aren't always the most reliable message carriers.

Some leave notes lying around, others forget to pass on important information and the rest are often inconsistent at best. As a result, many parents end up not knowing what's happening in upcoming weeks, leaving them either clueless as to their child's activities or calling the scout leader for updates, wasting their time.

With group texting, you can skip the middle kid and send messages straight to their parents, guaranteeing that every piece of information reaches its intended recipient.

Improve Your Troop Today

With so many ways that text marketing can help make a scout leader's role run a lot smoother, it's a wonder more haven't taken advantage of this method so far. If you'd like to give it a go for yourself, then try ClubTexting for free and add another badge to your chest.