Have you ever wanted to send a text message but the timing hasn't been right? Maybe it's an awkward time like early in the morning or late at night and it would make sense to send the message at a more sensible time like the day after, so you don't disturb the recipient.
Worst case scenario: you completely forget to send the text and now your plans and events have been put on hold, but how can you prevent this from happening again?
Scheduled text messages can make your life easier and make sure you never forget the important texts. You can plan reminders to keep family, friends, and co-workers on schedule - without having to remind them at the time.
It's a great tool for businesses too, especially for remembering customers' birthdays, seasonal events, and scheduling messages that will arrive at the right time on their phone.
How to Schedule a Text Message on iPhone
There is no way to schedule a text message on an iPhone device, however, there are a few workarounds.
Option 1: Use a third-party app
The app store has many third-party options to schedule a text message. Scheduled is a great option. Many apps like Scheduled have a free and upgraded version, you can upgrade to a premium or business subscription priced from $3.99 to $4.99 a month. Here's how to use Scheduled on iPhone:
Schedule a message
Select a contact or multiple contacts
Select if you want to auto send the message or not
Select if you want to repeat the message or not
Get the notification that your message was sent successfully via auto-send
Other third-party options offer the option to either schedule a text or set a reminder to notify you at a chosen time to send the text manually.
Option 2: Use the iPhone Reminders app
Reminders is a pre-installed app on all iPhone devices. It works as a great workaround option for those who want to keep it simple and not download any apps.
You cannot schedule a text message to be sent, but rather give you the option to write the text message in advance and set up a notification to alert you to send the text at the time you have chosen. Here's how:
Open the Reminders app.
Tap "+New Reminder"
Give your reminder a title
Type your text message as a reminder
Enter details (optional)
Add it to a list (optional)
Tap the calendar icon to schedule your reminder, choose a time and date
Tap "Done"
When you get your reminder, copy and paste the message into iMessage or SMS.
How to Schedule a Text Message on Android
If you are a Samsung Galaxy or Note user, you can natively schedule messages using the default Samsung SMS app. Other device users will need to use a third-party app to schedule a text message.
Option 1: Use the default Samsung messaging app
If you have a Samsung Galaxy or Note, you can schedule a text message using the default app, if not, refer to option 2, here's how:
Open Messages
Compose the message
Schedule the message
Set a time and date
Option 2: Use the Google Calendar app
Similar to iPhone's Reminders app, Google Calendar is a workaround that will alert you to send a text, the text can be written ahead of time. These steps will work on all Calendar apps but have focused on Google Calendar:
Open the Calendar App
Create a new event
Choose a date and time, write your text
When you receive the reminder, copy and paste the content into your messaging platform of choice
Option 3: Use a third-party app
There are plenty of third-party apps with scheduling features available on the Google Play store. Textra SMS has thousands of positive reviews and many people choose to use Textra over their phone's default messages app. If a third-party app allows you to send scheduled messages from your android phone and you like it, consider upgrading your subscription.
How to Schedule Text Messages for Business Needs
Businesses can benefit massively from scheduled messages, especially those that have customers in various time zones. Without the use of a scheduled message, businesses would have to delay their SMS campaigns so that they do not hassle the customer at awkward times.
Third-party apps are the most efficient way you can schedule business messages, but there are setbacks with these workarounds such as the 160 character limit. There are also security concerns with third-party app integration. These apps will have access to data which your business might want to keep confidential.
Business texting software can assist with the scheduling of messages such as appointment reminders, SMS marketing campaigns, preventing fraud, and confirming transactions.
This is what you should look for in a business text message scheduling app:
Easy to use
Support multiple users
Creates groups of customers
Saves messages as templates for future use
Texts can be automated
Manages opt-in and opt-out
Integrates with other apps and offers API solutions
How to Use Messente to Schedule Text Messages
Messente is an SMS API that provides businesses with a solution to delivering business-critical texts such as pin codes right to your customer's phone. These texts can be sent at a scheduled time to customers anywhere in the world.
After creating a Messente account and verifying it, follow this step-by-step to schedule text messages from the dashboard:
Go to the Send Message view
Choose your Sender ID
Enter the recipients or group that you want to send a text to
Write the content of the text message
Click "Preview"
Click "Schedule for later"
Pick a date and time
Click "Schedule"
If you want to edit or cancel scheduled messages, go to Messaging - Scheduled messages
Conclusion
There is no shortage of ways to schedule text messages on mobile devices. Whether you want to schedule an automatically recurring message for marketing purposes or leverage personal automation to deliver customized versions of the same text message to existing customers, scheduling text messages has never been easier. You just need access to the right tools.
Using the right platform, you can create scheduled text message sequences with ease. There is no denying the power of SMS messages for both small businesses and large enterprises. If you can harness the potential of personal automation with a messaging app, you can begin to engage existing and potential customers quickly.
A scheduled message can be used effectively in the following scenarios:
Marketing campaigns: When launching a bulk SMS campaign, you can alert customers at specific times to encourage them to check out deals or refer a friend to your services. You can also nudge customers to visit deals before they end.
Follow up with prospects: You can stay in touch with sales prospects after the initial talk with scheduled messages.
Appointment reminders: You can schedule a text message to alert a customer about an appointment the day before they need to attend. The alerts are also used to confirm transactions.
Ready to start scheduling your business text messaging? Use Messente for smarter and simpler SMS solutions.
Ready to start scheduling your texts as a mobile user? Depending on your device, some people can schedule texts right out of the box. But most users will need to use a third-party app, found on the Apple or Android app stores.
Don't want to download an app? Use your phone's default calendar or reminder app, schedule a reminder with the time you want to nudge yourself to send the text, and write the text into the 'details' section, so you can copy and paste this straight into the messaging app later.