EBS: COVID-19 Notification Best Practices in Everbridge Suite

As the COVID-19 pandemic will last longer than typical events many customers notify about using Everbridge, we have adjusted our recommendations to avoid Contact message fatigue and opt-outs:

Recommendation Purpose

Start message with call-to-action or “punch line”; for example, “stay home”, “register for testing”, “do not call 911 for non-emergencies”, etc.

Recipient can take requested action even if they choose to not read the rest of the message.

Use e-mail, Everbridge Mobile App, and Web pages to communicate non-priority messages.

Minimize impact on other delivery methods delivery during times when first responders have priority over landline and mobile phone services.

Send messages to the Everbridge Mobile App.

  • You can send a detailed message up to 2,500 characters.
  • Supports character sets in multiple languages without the potential for message splitting.
  • You can include attachments (maximum 2MB).
  • You can include links to web pages.
  • More secure than standard SMS.

Improve message delivery when other networks are congested.

Keep SMS messages under 160 characters. (Title and Text)

  • Improves the timely delivery of the message if it can be delivered as one SMS message.
  • Prevents mobile phone providers from splitting the message into multiple parts and potentially delivering the parts out of sequence or potentially not delivering all the parts.
  • Ensures your recipients can comprehend the message and takes the action(s) you are requesting. Reduces message fatigue by recipients.

Use "Confirmation" for notifications.

Avoid over-messaging those who have already consumed message.

Post a detailed message on a Web page.

Insert a short link in the message to allow your recipients to review the details of your message.

Select "Include a separate message for email notifications" in the notification workflow.

Send a detailed, rich-text formatted email to you contacts. You can include tables, images, and links to other Web pages.

Keep voice recordings under 45 seconds long.

Provide alternate method for recipients who prepare to hear message details than read long emails or Web pages.

Use "Interval Between Deliver Methods" for non-priority messages. 

Give message recipients time to consume and acknowledge messages before they receive it again or receive it on another delivery method.

SENDING TO YOUR ORGANIZATION

NOTE: To see an expanded view of an image in this document while online, simply click the image. To close the detailed view, click the “X” in the upper right-hand corner of the image.

    Sign In page
    1. Log into Everbridge by going to manager.everbridge.net or manager.everbridge.eu.

    Select your Organization
    1. Select your Organization from the drop-down list (for Account Administrators or Organization Administrators with access to multiple Orgs).

    New Notification
    1. Go to Notifications > New Notification.

    Enter your Message
    1. Enter your Message (SMS, Email and Use a voice recording).

    Select Contacts
    1. Select Contacts by: Individuals, Groups, Rules, or Map.

    Change your Settings
    1. Change your Settings, as needed, by clicking the Edit option.

    Click Send
    1. Click Send.

    Notification Details
    1. Your message is sent, and you can see the status on the Active/History page. Click the title of the notification to see the results you would like to review.

    SMS Example

    If received via SMS, it will look like the image on the right. 

    Everbridge Mobile App Example

    If received via the Everbridge Mobile App, it will look like the image on the right.

    Was this article helpful?
    0 out of 0 found this helpful

    Article Feedback


    While we can’t respond to you directly, we’d love to know how we can improve the article.

    Please sign in to leave a comment.