Determining when is the best time to send SMS marketing messages depends on many factors; like the industry you work at, your target audience, and what your campaign is about. There’s no such thing as a universal best time. However, we can highlight some general guidelines that you should consider at the moment of starting your SMS marketing campaign:
- Business hours (from 10 AM to 8 PM) is the optimal time to send SMS marketing messages to your subscribers.
- Tuesday and Saturdays are usually the best days.
- Regardless of the day of the week, 12 PM to 1 PM is the best range of hours, as they coincide with people’s lunch break.
- The beginning and end of the month tend to have better conversion rates; with the 13th as a data point.
- It’s not recommended to send your messages on Mondays.
That being said, let’s explore more in-depth about when is the best time to send SMS marketing for different industries; the frequency, and some additional tips that can help you get the best out of your SMS marketing efforts.
When is The Best Time to Send SMS Marketing by Industry
Here are some examples on how some industries in particular use text messaging for marketing purposes, and what strategies they follow timewise:
Services
Service providers like healthcare providers, beauty salons, marketing agencies, and basically any industry that heavily relies on meetings and appointments should send a first message right after booking confirmation. Then, a second SMS appointment reminder is recommended to be sent 24-48 hours before the appointment’s time.
Doing this can reduce no-shows, cut down costs, and improve customers’ experience. Doing it manually, of course, can be extremely tedious, time consuming, and prompt to error. Text message automation allows setting workflows that send those messages automatically. With Trumpia’s automation, you can also track who’s confirmed the appointments, provide 2-factor authentication, and much more.
Restaurants and Bars
Just like service providers, restaurants also benefit from SMS marketing’s ability to avoid no shows and cut down staff costs. They can also use texting to offer discounts, promote new menu options, send order confirmations, book reservations, and collect feedback. The challenge for restaurants is to send these notifications as precisely as possible; not too early, but not too late.
People usually go to restaurants in the evening, so the timespan of 3 PM to 5 PM would be ideal to send text messages. That applies especially to weekends, but it also works on weekdays. In case the restaurant or bar broadcasts sports matches or similar events, they can promote that by sending campaigns around 7 PM to boost reservations.
Retail
SMS marketing for retail is commonly used to launch new products, send special offers, and confirm order deliveries among other tasks. The ideal time to send these messages would be Saturdays and/or Sundays in the time span of 10 AM to 1 PM (Saturdays) and 3 PM to 7 PM (Sundays). Retail SMS campaigns typically perform better at the end of the month; from the 26th to the 31st approximately.
Although they’re approximates, these days and hours are particularly useful for retail because customers are more relaxed at that time. They’re also in a moment in which they are more prompt to spend money than during the week, when they’re usually busier and more preoccupied about other things.
eCommerce
Online stores benefit from SMS marketing by addressing the problem of abandoned carts. When people add items to their carts but don’t checkout, it’s recommended to send a follow up message no longer than 48 hours after cart abandonment. In that timespan, you have the chance to send more than one message that can be used to lead to conversion.
A first message can be sent as a reminder to continue the purchase. Then, another message can offer an incentive like free shipping or a discount, or ask if the client has any questions about the purchase. These messages, of course, can also be automated. However, due to the massive number of clients an online store needs to cater, the use of an SMS API is highly recommended.
SMS Marketing Frequency – a General Overview
As a general rule, it’s advisable that the frequency in which you send text messages is roughly 4 or 5 text messages per month. That would mean you’re sending between 1 and 2 marketing text messages per week. If you see you’re having good results, you can increase the SMS marketing frequency to 10 or 12 messages per month.
Keep in mind that in SMS marketing, it’s extremely important to be careful and not to be invasive and comply with SMS regulations. If you acquire Trumpia as your text marketing software, you receive compliance advice as well as many other consulting services that can help not only to better strategize your campaigns but also make sure they’re safe for your clients and for you.
Additional Tips on Timing and More
- Mondays are not the best time to send marketing text messages. Sundays are not recommended either, as people tend to spend it with their families.
- Avoid sending text messages during Easter, Christmas, or other widely celebrated holidays. eCommerce Christmas offers should be sent a few days before the date.
- You can find some advantages in sending your texts at odd times that are not on the hour or half-hour. So for example, sending a message at 1:33 PM or 11:28 AM can help you stand out from other competitors using SMS marketing.
- Paydays are great times to send promotional text messages for a very simple reason: people have money! Keep in mind that these days are usually the first and the 15th day of the month; or every other Friday.
- Keep time zones in mind and segment your contacts lists accordingly.
- If you want to promote weekend activities, Thursday is an ideal day to promote them. You should also send a reminder the morning of the event.
- Rely on data to refine your timing. Trumpia’s tracking tools can give you an idea on how many people clicked a link you sent on a text message, and when they did it.
Use The Best Texting Software for Optimal Timing
All the information shared in this article can definitely help you understand when is the best time to send SMS marketing. However, only practice and day-by-day trial and error will give you the exact timing you’re looking for. You can take this information as a kickstarter and then refine your strategy. And what you definitely need to do is to choose the right texting software.
Start a 14-day FREE trial and experience the power of Trumpia by yourself! No coding required. Our user interface is so intuitive and easy to use that you and anyone in your team can start using it right away. If you want to know more about our software and how to use it in your business, call or text 1-888-707-3030.
