When Is the Best Time to Send SMS Marketing Texts?
Perfect the timing of your outbound text marketing messages, please your customers, and continue driving more conversions by understanding when is the best time to send SMS marketing messages.
Generally speaking, the best time to send SMS marketing texts is during regular business hours, when most audiences are alert and near their phones.
Now I know you are probably thinking — hold on, audiences are always near there phones, so why should regular business hours matter? And, you’d be correct; most people have their mobile devices on or near them almost 24 hours a day. But does that give your business permission to text your customers at any time? Spoiler alert: absolutely not! Think of text message marketing like professional handshaking. If you approached your customers off hours to shake hands and discuss business, you would likely receive a much different response than at a more appropriate time, like during regular business hours or on the weekend. Timing is everything, and that applies to text marketing.
Why It Matters:
Whether it’s the time of day or the year, perfecting your timing is crucial to growing your business using text message marketing. Time it right, and you’ll delight your customers, keeping them engaged and ready for what's next, as you drive more leads into conversions. “Reading the room” to understand your target audiences’ preferred messaging cadence makes the difference between customers converting via text or unsubscribing and ejecting from your brand.
If your business wants to get the most out of the time invested in carefully crafted text message marketing campaigns, it’s time to reassess when you're contacting customers. From the moment you start your first SMS marketing campaign, it’s important to understand that effective text message marketing is intentional, considerate, and requires a certain level of texting etiquette to be successful. Continue reading to learn more about the best time to send SMS marketing texts and see the biggest return on your outreach efforts.
Best Time of Day to Send Text Marketing
So, when is the best time to send SMS marketing messages? Unlike the best times to post on social media, the technical answer to this question isn’t “one size fits all.” Each business is unique and may have specific variables around its audience, product, or service that can impact the answer. That said, here are a few general guidelines on the best time to send SMS marketing texts daily to benefit your business:
Avoid Sleeping Hours. Would you enjoy disrupting your deep sleep with phone chimes and promotional reminders? Not likely, and neither do your customers when you’re trying to build customer lists. So, avoid sending text messages during regular sleeping hours. Be considerate, and allow your audience to wake up or unwind from the day before reaching out.
- EZ Texting Tip: Do not text late at night and in the morning. Otherwise, customers will likely block or opt out of your contact list. If you have your messaging and contact list handy, you can even schedule your texts ahead of time.
Consider Peak Hours. What’s your target audiences’ daily schedule look like? Knowing what peak hours look like for your specific audience is extremely important to ensure your text message marketing campaigns reach and resonate with your customers when they are most engaged naturally. While text messages receive a 98% open rate compared to other channels like email or phone, it’s important to remember there are still good and bad times to press send.
- EZ Texting Tip: If your audience consists of busy daytime professionals, consider launching your messages between 7 PM and 9 PM instead of during the day’s craze or while they may be in hurrying to and from work.
Test For Success. When is the best time to text your specific audience? Regardless of industry, one easy way to determine the best time to send your text marketing messages is to test different times to identify which performs the best. Testing messaging times gives you a good idea of when your audience will most likely engage with your messages or take action.
- EZ Texting Tip: Test different times and measure the engagement results using EZ Texting’s Reporting feature to gain insights into chief performance indicators, including Delivered Messages, Replies, Clicks, Unsubscribes, and more.
If you’re still wondering how to select the right time to text message your audience, here are some additional considerations that can help point you in the right direction:
- The type of message you want to send
- Target customers’ online habits
- Personal privacy laws and regulations
Best Times to Send SMS Marketing Texts
In 2023, text message marketing is an undoubtedly powerful tool for businesses to reach their customers, but discovering the best time to send these messages can take time and effort. If you send text messages at the wrong time of day or in the wrong situation, you risk your customers unsubscribing or leaving your message unread. On the other hand, sending your messages at the optimal time can lead to higher engagement rates and a stronger response from your target audience. To offer a holistic view of the best time to send SMS marketing messages, we've included some scenarios of times you should be engaging your customers using text messaging if you’re not already.
Thanks for Customer Consent
Capitalize on Demand
Avoid Cart Abandoment
Drive Shopping Events
Remember: legally you cannot cold text customers unless they have expressed a desire to hear from you by opting-in to your text marketing communications. See the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to learn more.
Unlock the Benefits of Text Message Marketing in 2023
Finding the best time to send SMS marketing messages can take some trial and error, but is always worth it. By considering your audience's schedules, the purpose of your message, and the results of your testing, you can determine the optimal time to send your messages and maximize their effectiveness. Learn about SMS marketing, or if you have any questions about SMS marketing best practices, please book a demo, or you can start a free trial today. Let EZ Texting show you how to turn text into action!
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