We regularly come across the question of the best time to send group text messages. There is no one right answer to this question, as the nature of the campaign, the target audience and the content of the message all play a key role. However, there are better and worse times to send group text messages and we have put together here our tips on the best time to send different types of group text messages.
A text message will reach 98% of the target audience, but if you want the recipient to do more than just glance at your message, you should pay attention to timing as well as content.
Which day of the week is best?
It's generally thought that Monday is when people are just starting their week, so it's not a good time to target them with marketing messages. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday should be the best days and Friday and weekends the worst. But it's not quite as black and white as that. A study published in The Drum magazine(1) found that online sales were highest on Thursdays, but Monday was almost as high. On the other hand, some companies are successfully sending SMS messages on weekends.
Marketing text messages
The content of marketing text messages can be, for example, discount codes, offers or invitations and often direct the recipient to a website via a link. Whatever the content, respect your customer's life and respect their time. For example, messages sent too early in the morning or too late at night may annoy the recipient.
You should also consider the time when your target audience is most likely to notice your message and have the best time to react to it. Generally speaking, the optimum time is between 10am and 12 noon on weekdays. This is when the morning activities are usually done, but you have not yet had time for lunch.
On the other hand, if you sell online, you seem to have better access to customers in the evening before bedtime. This is confirmed by data from SaleCycle's(2) recently published 2020 Online Shopping Statistics Report, which shows that peak shopping time is between 8pm and 9pm.
Appointment confirmations and reminders
The nature of the appointment reminders is slightly different. It is recommended that you send an SMS immediately after the booking so that your customers can add it to their calendar. It is also effective to send a reminder 24 hours before the booked time to avoid unnecessary cancellations. Sometimes it may be appropriate to send a reminder message an hour before the appointment or event.
Crisis messages and urgent information
The advantages of text messaging are its superior reliability and rapid reach compared to other channels. If you have an urgent need to inform a large number of people, SMS is by far the most effective channel. If it concerns something very important to the customer, such as a power cut or a water supply interruption, it is clear that the time of day is not so important and the most important thing is to inform them as quickly as possible.
If you have your customers' phone numbers stored in Quriiri and ready-made message templates created, it won't take you many seconds to send a message that reaches a large number of people at once and with confidence.
What do you want your customers to do?
The most useful tip for deciding when to send messages is to find out what you want your customers to do and when.
If you have a restaurant and lunch specials, consider scheduling SMS messages for the morning, so customers can make a decision on where to have lunch that day. For event marketing, on the other hand, it may be better to send text messages weeks or months in advance, depending on the type of event you have in mind. If you sell online, you should track when your website gets the most visitors and purchases and schedule your SMS messages accordingly.
Time each text in prime time with Quriiri
Once you have decided which time is best for your target group, you can schedule group text messages in Quriiri. You can also schedule a message to be sent once a week, for example. It is also useful to monitor Quriiri reports and test which time of day is best for your SMS messages.
If you don't already have Quriiri, you can try sending and scheduling group text messages by free of charge here.
You can read more about group text messages here.
