When Is the Best Time to Send a Text Message?

I’m sure you want to make sure your text messages are heard and well-received. While SMS boasts an incredible open rate, you still need to time it right to make sure the conversion is as high as possible.

One of the fastest ways to upset a customer is to send them messages at the wrong time. Wake them up at 2 a.m. to share a fast food coupon? Unsubscribe. Text me at 4 a.m. with a payment reminder? Unsubscribe.

When is the best time to send an SMS?

First, you need to consider the times of day that your mobile audience is on their phone the most and what periods are most appropriate within their daily routine.

A text marketing campaign should follow the schedule of the audience being targeted to get maximum engagement. The best time to send text messages will be when the audience is on their phones and in the right mood to respond.

Text times

Unless your text messages are related to that specific date (or a reminder), Mondays have shown the lowest response rate. Most likely due to the overwhelming content that people receive after the weekend via email, television, and mail.

Since it is text messaging, people cannot read or engage with a text message during standard rush hours, typically between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. local time.

Don't send an SMS too early in the morning and not too late at night. A good rule is to compare sending a text to a phone call. When would you want to receive a phone call? A text message has a similar alert method, and people typically don’t want to be bothered at those times. The best time to send text messages is during working hours of weekdays as this is when most people would be most responsive to a phone call.

Always keep local time zones in mind. Send text messages at the times most impactful to those in each local market. Especially for retail sales and time-sensitive offers.

The bigger the news, the more lenient you can be with messaging outside of mobile business hours.

Reminders & notifications

SMS appointment reminders

Schedule reminders should be sent at least 24 hours before the appointment and the texts should contain all necessary information. Also, consider sending a second text on the appointment day, preferably early in the day.

Ongoing reminder messages

Daily/monthly reminders on any subject are popular in this increasingly busy world. Send at the time that best fits your goals: horoscopes in the morning and high school football score alerts on Friday evenings.

Delivery notification

The industry standard is to send a delivery notification a day before a courier arrives. This will give the customer a chance to plan their day accordingly and change the delivery time when necessary.

Marketing

Drive midday foot traffic

Trying to drive people into your establishment during lunch hours? Send out your blast at 11:30 a.m. local time to catch those who are making lunch plans and even add an offer to incentivize the visit instead of treating it as a plain advertisement.

Drive weekend foot traffic

Thursdays are popular dates to send text messages with strong response rates and Fridays between 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. have shown great success for retailers.

Support upcoming events

Send out a couple of reminders spaced out including on the actual date and links to increase RSVPs and attendance. Send text messages including specific event information to assist attendees with planning and logistics.

Seasonal and holiday messaging

Send holiday messages with valuable content up to a week before an expected action is to be taken to allow them to plan appropriately, such as an upcoming sale, in-store events, or even holiday recipes.

Send electronic receipts

There has been a significant increase in the adoption of electronic receipts to save overall costs for retailers. SMS/MMS text message receipts can be integrated quickly and inexpensively. Make sure they are sent immediately after purchase. Drive additional action by including a link to view other specials or products to drive more sales and interest.  

In general, the most helpful tip for deciding when to send messages is determining when you’re most interested in your customers taking action. If your message has information valuable for the start of the day, aim to send a text between 8 am and 12 pm.

If you think people will have a better chance of taking action on your message when they’re winding down from their day, try to send or schedule your campaign between 5 pm and 9 pm.

But whatever the case, make sure you take the time and research your customers, their time zones, markets, events in their life, etc. Make sure you then aim at maximum conversion, make the message relevant, and your business marketing campaigns will be good to go.