Kaitlyn Orred
Timing is important when sending mass messages. If you send your messages at the wrong time, you risk catching your recipients when they’re distracted or frustrating them by messaging them when they’re not expecting it.
Understanding the right times to send your texts can significantly impact engagement rates, conversion rates, and overall campaign effectiveness. In this comprehensive guide, we explore the science behind timing SMS blasts, the factors influencing the best times to send texts, key considerations for maximizing engagement, and tools and technologies to streamline your process.
The Science of Timing SMS Blasts
Timing isn’t just about convenience but is also a strategic decision based on data and consumer behavior. By using data to support your messaging decisions, you can ensure you’re optimizing your messages.
Numerous studies have explored general consumer behavior patterns to determine the best time to send text messages. These studies apply to the general population and do not consider individual-specific situations. Here are some of the key takeaways from some of these studies:
- Tuesday and Saturday are the best days of the week to send text messages, as these days historically yield the best conversion rates.
- Monday is the worst day of the week to send mass texts because your recipient will be catching up on messages from over the weekend.
- The best times of the day to send text messages are:
- Noon: Recipients have used the morning to be productive and may be on a lunch break where they are checking their text messages.
- 2 PM: In the middle of the day, recipients are more likely to have time to address your message.
- 6 - 8 PM: At this point, many people’s workdays are over, which means they will be more likely to be on their phones.
Factors Influencing the Best Time to Send Text Blasts
Deciding the right timing for sending text message blasts requires a good understanding of various factors that influence recipient behavior.
Audience Demographics
Demographic factors such as gender, age, occupation, and lifestyle can significantly impact when individuals are most active and receptive to receiving text messages. For example, younger demographics might be more responsive during evenings and weekends, while working professionals might engage more during weekdays and lunch breaks.
Message Objective
The objective of your text broadcast —whether it's to increase awareness, promote a product or service, or send a reminder—can influence the best time to send it. For instance, promotional messages may perform better during peak shopping hours, while reminder messages may be most effective when sent just before an event or deadline.
Geographic Considerations
If your target audience spans multiple geographic regions, accounting for time zone differences becomes crucial. Segmenting your audience according to location and scheduling SMS blasts ensures that each recipient receives messages at an appropriate time, regardless of their time zone.
Industry Insights
When considering when to send your text broadcasts, you want to make sure you think about the industry you’re sending your message to. Different industries may have varying peak engagement times based on the nature of their audience and the products or services they offer.
For example, while a retail brand may have heightened engagement during weekends and holidays when people have time to shop, a financial institution may find success in sending messages during business hours.
Psychological Factors
Beyond demographics and industry norms, psychological factors also play a role when timing SMS blasts. Understanding the emotional triggers that prompt action can help businesses craft messages that resonate with recipients on a deeper level, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
Here are two examples:
- Health and Wellness Reminders: Sending reminders to exercise or eat healthily in the morning may resonate well with individuals who are more motivated and optimistic at the start of the day. Similarly, sending messages of encouragement or stress-relief tips during the evening hours can provide emotional support when people feel more stressed or overwhelmed.
- Financial Management Tips: Sending budgeting advice or reminders to review expenses at the beginning of the month when people are often more focused on setting financial goals and planning can be effective. Additionally, sending messages about savings or investment opportunities towards the end of the month, when individuals may be more mindful of their budget and looking for ways to save money, can resonate well with recipients.
5 Key Considerations for Timing Your SMS Blasts
While understanding the factors influencing timing is crucial, there are additional considerations to optimize your SMS marketing strategy.
1. Avoiding Peak Spam Times
Sending messages during peak spam times, such as early mornings or late evenings, can increase the likelihood of your text getting lost in a sea of messages. Aim to schedule your blasts during less congested times to improve visibility and engagement.
2. Testing and Learning
The key to finding the most optimal timing for your SMS blasts lies in continuous testing and learning. Conduct A/B tests with different send times and examine the results to refine your strategy based on real data and audience feedback.
3. Time Zone Challenges
If your target audience spans multiple time zones, sending messages according to their specific schedule is essential. (For example, sending a message at 9 AM in New York translates to 3 AM in Hawaii.) Consider segmenting your audience based on their geographical location and scheduling SMS blasts accordingly to ensure each recipient receives messages at an appropriate time.
4. Frequency of Messages
Discern the right balance between staying relevant and avoiding overexposure to your audience. Experiment with different frequency messages to gauge their response and adjust accordingly.
5. Seasonal Variations
Consumer behavior often fluctuates with the seasons, holidays, and special events. Adjust your SMS blast timing to capitalize on seasonal trends and align with your audience's mood and mindset at specific times of the year.
Read: Insider Tips & Tricks to Optimize Your Mass Messaging Strategy
Tools and Technologies for Scheduling SMS Blasts
Using advanced tools and technologies can simplify the process of scheduling and automating your texts, ensuring timely delivery and maximizing campaign effectiveness.
Advanced Scheduling Features
Look for platforms that offer advanced scheduling features. These features allow you to specify the exact date and time for sending SMS blasts and create recurring schedules for ongoing campaigns.
With Text-Em-All, we offer scheduling capabilities as well as repeating broadcasts. We also just recently released a beta feature called Sequences. Learn more and get on the waitlist.
Automation Solutions
Automation solutions streamline the process of sending SMS blasts by enabling you to create predefined workflows, trigger messages based on user habits and events, and personalize content for individual recipients.
Some features you should look for when choosing a solution include:
- Auto-replies
- SMS keywords
- Personalization
- Segmentation
- Text templates
Integration Capabilities
If you have an existing CRM, choose a mass texting platform that integrates seamlessly with your software. If you use other tools, you should also research whether any mass texting platforms integrate with those tools. This empowers you to leverage customer data and insights for more targeted and effective campaigns.
Moving Forward with Mass Texting
When communicating with your audience, timing is everything. Leveraging tools and technologies such as Text-Em-All can further streamline the process, enabling you to reach your audience at the optimal moment for maximum engagement.
If you want to explore a mass texting solution first-hand, create your free account with Text-Em-All today. We don’t have any contracts, and we offer two different plans so that you can choose what meets your needs.
And remember, success in mass texting hinges on finding the perfect timing—so experiment, learn, and continuously refine your plan to achieve the best results.