SMS Campaign Scheduling for Better Engagement
TL;DR:
- Send messages when your audience is most likely to engage – timing matters more than you think
- Use QuickSMS scheduling tools to hit the right moments without manually sending each campaign
- Test different sending times with small segments before rolling out to your full list
- Check your click-through rates and conversion data to spot patterns and improve future timing
- Consider your audience type – retail customers behave differently to business clients
Timing makes or breaks SMS campaigns. Send a lunch deal at 3pm and you've missed the window. Fire off weekend promotions on Monday morning and they'll feel irrelevant.
The good news is you don't need to guess. With proper scheduling and some basic testing, you can figure out when your audience actually pays attention to their messages.
Getting Your Timing Right
Your audience's daily routine should drive your scheduling decisions. Office workers check messages differently than shift workers. Parents have different patterns to single professionals.
A few timing principles that tend to work:
Retail and leisure: Friday afternoons work well for weekend-focused offers. People are mentally switching off from work and thinking about their free time.
Business services: Tuesday to Thursday, mid-morning tends to get better engagement. Monday mornings are usually too hectic, and Friday afternoons see people mentally checking out.
Food and dining: Send lunch offers between 11am and 12pm. Dinner promotions work around 4pm to 5pm when people start thinking about evening plans.
These are starting points, not rules. Your audience might behave completely differently.
Setting Up Scheduled Campaigns in QuickSMS
QuickSMS makes scheduling straightforward. Here's how to set it up:
- Go to your campaign dashboard and select 'Schedule Campaign'
- Pick your send date and time
- Double-check your timezone settings – this trips up more people than you'd expect
- Review your message content one final time
- Confirm and save your schedule
Watch out for timezone issues. If you're sending to people across different regions, you'll need to think about whether you want everyone to receive the message at the same local time, or the same absolute time. Most of the time, local time makes more sense.
Testing Your Way to Better Results
Don't commit your entire list to a time slot you're not sure about. Split testing helps you find what actually works for your specific audience.
Start with a small segment – maybe 10% of your list. Try the same message at different times across different days. Track which version gets better engagement.
Common things to test:
- Morning vs afternoon sends
- Weekday vs weekend timing
- Different days of the week
- Time gaps between messages in a sequence
Keep your tests simple. Change one variable at a time, or you won't know which factor made the difference.
Using Data to Improve Future Campaigns
QuickSMS gives you the numbers you need to spot patterns. Focus on these metrics:
Click-through rates show you how many people engaged with your links. Low rates often point to timing issues rather than content problems.
Conversion tracking tells you whether clicks turned into actual results – purchases, bookings, sign-ups. High clicks but low conversions might mean your timing attracted casual browsers rather than serious prospects.
Look for patterns over multiple campaigns rather than making big changes based on single results. One campaign might hit an unusual day or clash with unexpected events.
Set up monthly reviews of your campaign data. Look for trends across different sending times, days of the week, and audience segments. You'll start to see clear patterns emerge.
Common Scheduling Mistakes
Sending everything at the same time. If all your campaigns go out at 2pm on Tuesdays, you're missing opportunities to reach people in different situations.
Ignoring your specific audience. General advice about 'best times to send' might not apply to your list. A gym targeting shift workers will see different patterns to a consultancy targeting executives.
Not accounting for message type. Urgent updates need different timing to promotional offers. Emergency notifications work any time. Marketing messages need more careful timing.
Forgetting about frequency. Even perfect timing won't help if you're sending too many messages. Space your campaigns appropriately.
FAQs
How do I schedule an SMS campaign in QuickSMS?
Go to your campaign dashboard, select 'Schedule Campaign', choose your date and time, check your timezone settings, and confirm. The system will send automatically at your chosen time.
Can I adjust scheduled times for SMS campaigns across different time zones in QuickSMS?
Yes, QuickSMS handles timezone scheduling. You can choose whether to send at the same local time for each recipient or at the same absolute time globally.
What metrics should I focus on to analyse the performance of my scheduled SMS campaigns?
Track click-through rates to see engagement levels and conversion metrics to measure actual results. Compare these across different sending times to identify patterns.
Jargon Buster
SMS Campaigns: Text message marketing sent to multiple recipients, usually promoting offers or sharing updates.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of message recipients who clicked on a link in your SMS.
Conversion Metrics: Data showing what happens after someone clicks – whether they buy something, sign up, or complete another desired action.
Wrap-up
Smart scheduling isn't about finding one perfect time and sticking to it forever. Your audience's habits change, and so should your approach.
Start with educated guesses based on when your audience is likely to be receptive. Test different approaches with small segments. Use your data to spot what's working and what isn't.
The goal isn't perfection from day one. It's building a system that gets better over time as you learn more about how your specific audience behaves.
Learn about QuickSMS https://www.quicksms.com/