Best time to send SMS marketing: Data-driven strategies for successful campaigns

82% of people open their text messages within 5 minutes of receiving them, making SMS the most time-sensitive marketing channel. Unlike email messages, which may sit ignored for days, if they’re ever opened at all, SMS is immediate and personal. 

That urgency is both a strength and a risk. Nail the timing, and you capture attention at the right moment. Get it wrong, and you risk annoying or alienating potential customers.

Let’s explore how to determine the best time to send SMS marketing messages, including universal best practices and how link analytics can help you find the perfect send window for your specific audience.

Why timing matters in SMS marketing

93% of consumers report checking their texts every day, and 45% check texts ten times or more. This immediacy makes SMS a powerful communications channel, but also makes SMS marketing potentially more intrusive for your audience if you send messages at an inopportune time. 

Good timing connects you with your audience when they’re ready to engage, boosting open rates, clicks, and conversions. Bad timing decreases these metrics. If you continue to send at the wrong time, you run a real risk of recipients or SMS carriers marking your messages as spam, which comes with many practical issues and potentially even legal problems. 

Use data to find the best time to send SMS marketing for your specific audience 

General best practices help you start, but data is the key to SMS success. While your SMS platform can provide basic delivery statistics, a link management platform like Rebrandly can help you collect more profound insights on audience behavior.

Rebrandly provides real-time click tracking and timing data for all the links in your SMS campaigns. Real-time analytics give your team an up-to-date picture of how campaigns perform and provide historical context for identifying the best times to send SMS messages to your audience.

Branded short links in your messages open the door to significantly more robust analytics and tracking functionality:

• Identify peak engagement times for customers. Rebrandly provides real-time click tracking and timing data for all links in your SMS campaigns. You can track patterns across times and days of the week to determine when your audience engages most.
• A/B test send times and measure results.  You can see who clicks your links, exactly when they engage, and which time zones they’re in. 

This granular analysis lets you refine your sending schedules for each audience segment, improving conversion metrics. When running multiple campaigns with different goals, these insights help you identify which message types and send times work best for each audience.

Advanced data-based timing strategies

After implementing basic SMS timing practices, take your approach to the next level. These advanced strategies help you tailor send times to your audience’s actual behavior, maximizing engagement and reducing message fatigue.

Segment by behavior

Your subscribers have different habits, and your send times should reflect this. Segment users into groups based on their historical data on when they’ve clicked, purchased, or engaged with your content.

Take segmentation further by customizing send times to individual customer preferences. Instead of scheduling all messages simultaneously, use historical engagement data to tailor timing at the user level. For example, if data shows a segment of your audience consistently clicks links during lunch hours, prioritize that time slot for their future messages. 

Match timing to customer journey

Send timing should vary based on where someone is in your marketing funnel. New leads often respond better to information sent during daytime hours when they’re most alert. Returning customers typically engage more with expected promotional messages during the work week.

By aligning timing with intent, each message is better positioned to move customers forward in their journey with your brand.

Leverage time-sensitive events

Consider the external context to make your timing more effective. Holidays, product launches, industry events, and cultural moments all affect when your audience is most receptive to messages.

Sending a time-sensitive offer the day before a major retail holiday or just after a conference can significantly boost engagement. With Rebrandly’s reporting tools, you can track which event-based timing worked best and build smarter campaigns moving forward.

Best practices for SMS timing 

Use these guidelines when sending bulk SMS campaigns to better connect with your audience:

1. Send messages during regular business hours 

While people may be open to receiving texts from family and friends anytime during the day or evening, their tolerance for business-specific SMS messages is much narrower.

Only send promotional messages, transactional updates, and conversational SMS marketing campaigns during regular business hours. Generally, the best time to send SMS marketing is between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time. No one wants to wake up, check their messages, and see a delivery status update or salesy text. 

The business hour rule of thumb gets complicated with a national or global audience. Use an SMS platform that adjusts send times to match each recipient’s local time zone.

2. Know your specific industry considerations

Different industries have different communication norms and best practices. For example:

• Restaurants– send promotions close to, or before, meal times to entice hungry customers.
• Financial services– send offers near the end of the month when people typically get their paychecks.
• Retail- alert customers to major sales on weekends and holidays.

3. Consider local regulations

Some regions have specific rules about when you can text people. For example, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) stipulates that in the United States, text messages may only be sent between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time zone. Certain states have additional stipulations, so check the local laws to make sure you stay compliant.

Optimize your SMS marketing strategy with Rebrandly

The best time to send SMS marketing messages isn’t a fixed hour—it’s a moving target based on your audience, industry, and campaign goals. The only way to hit that target consistently is to track, test, and adapt.

When you use Rebrandly links in your text messages, you collect the real-time data you need to make smarter send decisions and turn every SMS into an opportunity. With detailed click tracking, time-of-day reporting, and customizable branded links, you can confidently optimize timing.

Ready to find your perfect send time? Get started with Rebrandly and get the most from every message.