Choose the sending methods for each alert based on what’s best for your organization. This guide outlines options—not directives. Your team is responsible for configuration and should test before broad use.
Email Templates
Saved email layout and sender details (From/Reply-To, header/footer, logo/colors) used to send consistent, branded emails.
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Typically suited for: Branded, archivable messages (after-action summaries, policy updates, trainings, non-urgent advisories).
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Considerations: Use a monitored From/Reply-To and authenticated domain; don’t rely on email alone for urgent alerts—pair with push/SMS/voice.
Pre-canned Notifications
Saved subjects/bodies (and optional voice script) you can insert during compose to send the same message quickly.
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Typically suited for: Repeat scenarios (e.g., weather closures, planned drills).
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Considerations: Saved text can get outdated—review on a schedule; avoid for unique or sensitive situations that need custom wording.
SMS / App Push
Short messages sent to phones via text (SMS) or your mobile app’s push notifications.
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Typically suited for: Fast attention on personal devices; short, time-critical directions.
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Considerations: Keep clean opt-in lists and handle opt-outs; remove landlines from SMS lists and expect some users won’t have the app.
VOIP (Voice Calls)
Automated phone calls that read your alert using text-to-speech or a recorded audio clip.
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Typically suited for: Very urgent alerts, accessibility needs, or when data service is limited.
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Considerations: Recognizable caller ID improves answer rates; start with clear identification and use retries for missed calls.
Social Media
Posts to your organization’s official accounts to inform the public.
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Typically suited for: Public/community updates and status changes.
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Considerations: Follow approvals and timing; don’t post sensitive/internal info and monitor for replies or misinformation.
RSS Feed
An RSS feed, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, is a web feed that delivers frequently updated content to users automatically that others can subscribe to so new alerts appear automatically on websites or dashboards.
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Typically suited for: Sites or tools that automatically pull in your updates.
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Considerations: Choose public vs internal visibility; shared links can spread widely—make sure destinations are maintained.
CAP Alerts
CAP alerts refer to the Common Alerting Protocol, an international standard format for sending out and sharing emergency alerts and public warnings across multiple communication channels simultaneously
- Typically suited for: Agencies/devices that need CAP format.
- Considerations: Fill all required fields or the alert can be rejected; test before broad use.
WebHook
A webhook is an automated message sent from one application to another when a specific event occurs, using an HTTP POST request to a user-defined URL. Webhooks push real-time data as soon as an event happens, making them more efficient for real-time integration. They are commonly used to automate workflows such as sending notifications or triggering deployments.-
Typically suited for: Automatically starting actions in other tools (tickets, chat posts, signage, system updates).
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Considerations: Needs a working destination URL with authentication and logging; add retries to catch failures.