How to Schedule a Text Message

For small and medium-sized businesses, taking care of everything on your task list can be overwhelming. With fewer employees, you may find yourself wearing multiple hats within your organization. While it may be important to reach out to customers via text message, you simply don’t have the time to reach out to individuals directly. That’s where scheduled text messages come in. In this article, we’ll demonstrate a variety of ways to schedule a text message – whether you’re using an Android, iPhone, or SMS software.

As a business, there are many reasons to schedule text messages. The most pressing reason is the ability to “set it and move on,” meaning that once you schedule SMS text messages, you can check it off your to-do list. In addition, scheduling text messages can help you:

• Prepare and craft the right messages to your audience
• Schedule repeat text messages to customers
• Send important reminders to customers
• Plan for SMS marketing campaigns
• Remind customers of appointments and reduce no-shows
• Improve organization
• Reach your audience at the right time, when it’s most convenient for them, especially across different time zones
• Ask for feedback and reviews

As you can see, there are many reasons to schedule text messages. Depending on your business, scheduling text messages can improve your communications, reduce operational costs, send messages to a broader audience, and get more prospect engagement.

When to Schedule a Text Message?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for when to send business text messages. Your scheduling cadence can depend on what type of message you’re scheduling. For example, marketing campaign messaging may need a certain cadence based on the offer or promotional period. However, other scheduled messages, such as appointment reminders, may be time-sensitive and sent based on the time of the appointment.

Your use case for scheduled text messages can greatly affect the best time to send them. In addition, open and response rates can vary based on your industry and audience. So, finding the right time to send certain automated messages may require some trial and error. Analytics tracking can also provide insights into when your customers are opening and interacting with these messages, helping you to fine-tune your messaging cadence.

Use Cases for Scheduling Text Messages

Here are a few of the most common situations for scheduling SMS text messages:

• Marketing campaigns: Timely messages are crucial to a successful marketing campaign. Scheduling texts can help you let customers know about specific promotions, sales, or special events.
• Deadlines: For businesses that have certain deadlines, prompting customers to remember these deadlines can be extremely helpful. Scheduling these texts in intervals before the deadline occurs is a helpful way to give customers the nudge they need.
• Billing dates and invoicing: When your customers need to make a payment or will be billed for your services, sending them a scheduled text can help. You’ll want to schedule these texts leading up to the date you charge them or expect payment for an invoice.
• Following up with leads: It’s imperative to keep in touch with your prospects throughout your sales process. By scheduling follow-ups after important milestones in your sales cycle, you can reach prospective customers at the right time.
• Asking for feedback and reviews: For those who run a service business, asking customers to provide feedback on their experience or a review can help your business grow. Setting up automated text messages that deliver quickly after their experience can entice them to give feedback and review your business while the experience is still fresh for them.
• Appointment reminders: Missed appointments can cost your business time and money. Scheduling text messages at intuitive intervals before appointments can help remind customers and prevent no-shows or cancellations.
  
  

How to Schedule Text Messages by Platform

If you’re just getting started with text message scheduling, there are a few ways to schedule text messages on Apple iPhone or Android devices. However, you’re not able to schedule a batch of text messages on these devices and instead must schedule them one at a time. As you might imagine, this can be cumbersome and take just as long as sending them in real-time. Let’s look at how iPhone users can schedule texts.

How to Schedule a Text for iPhone

There are three main ways to schedule a text to send later on your Apple iPhone.

Using Shortcuts Automation

The first is through Shortcuts Automation. This app lets you perform multiple automated tasks, including sending recurring messages. It’s available to those running iOS 13 or later. 

1. First, open the Shortcuts app. If you can’t find it, you can always search for Shortcuts in the search bar.
2. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find an Automation tab. Click this tab and then create personal automation.
3. To create your automation, select Time of Day. Then set the time you want to send your recurring message. You can set this automation to repeat either daily, weekly, or monthly. 
4. Next, you’ll select Send Message. You’ll type your message and choose a recipient for your message. Then tap Next.
5. It’s time to review and finalize your automation. You’ll want to double-check the date, time, recipient, and message. You also have the option of selecting the Ask Before Running option. When selected, this will ask you to confirm the automation every time before it sends a text. Once you’re satisfied, tap Done to finalize your new automation.

You may also want to set a reminder to delete the automation. Once you’re ready to delete it, go to the Shortcuts app, go to the message automation, slide your finger to the left, and tap Delete.

Using iPhone Reminders App

The second way to schedule a text for iPhone is to utilize the iPhone Reminders app. It does require more work than the other option, and you’ll have to manually send the text at the right time. Here’s how you can use the Reminders app:

1. Open the Reminders app. If you can’t find it, you can always search for Reminders in the search bar.
2. In the lower right corner, you’ll see Add List. Tap on this to get started.
3. Enter your list details. For example, you might call this list Scheduled Text Messages.
4. To add a reminder to the list, tap on + New Reminder in the lower left corner and then name your reminder.
5. Choose a send date and time and then compose the text. If you want to type out what the text will say now, you can add that to the Notes section. Then tap done. When it’s time to send, copy the text into your iMessages.

Using a Third Party App

The last way to schedule a text on an iPhone is to use a third-party app from the App Store. There are many third-party options available, but they are often just apps that can remind you to send text messages. They often have the functionality to compose texts in advance, but they cannot fully automate these scheduled texts. Now that you know how to schedule texts for iPhone, let’s look at how to schedule text for Android devices.

How to Schedule a Text for Android

There are four ways to schedule texts for Android users – utilizing the Samsung Galaxy Messages app, the Messages for Google app, Google Calendar, or third-party apps.

Using Samsung Galaxy Messages App

For those with a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can use the Galaxy Messages app:

1. Open the Messages app. If you can’t find it, you can always search for Messages in the search bar.
2. Compose your message and select the recipient. 
3. To schedule the message, tap the + button or the arrow on the left side of the text field.
4. Select the date and time you want to send the message, then click Done.

Using Google Messages App

If you have an Android phone that utilizes Google Messages, you can also schedule texts by following these steps:

1. Open the Google Messages app. If you can’t find it, you can always search for Messages in the search bar.
2. Compose your message and select the recipient. 
3. To schedule the message, tap and hold the send arrow until Schedule Send appears. Choose from the suggestions or click Pick Date and Time to select your own send date and time.
4. Confirm that the date and time you see in the preview window are correct, then tap Save. Then tap Send to schedule the message.

Using Google Calendar

Like the “Reminders” workaround on the iPhone, there’s a similar workaround on Android utilizing the Google Calendar app. Here’s what to do:

1. Open the Calendar app. You can also find it by using the search bar to search for Calendar.
2. Tap the + button and create a new calendar event.
3. Choose your send date and time, then utilize the Notes section to compose your text message. Make sure to use the event title to say who you need to text. Be sure to set a notification reminder so you’ll get a push notification when it’s time to send your text.
4. When it’s time, copy the text from your calendar event and paste it into your Messages app. Then choose your recipient and tap Send.

Using a Third Party App

The last way to send a scheduled text with Android is to utilize third-party apps from the Google Play Store. As we’ve discussed, these apps can provide some functionality, but can’t entirely automate your texts.

If you’re looking for a way to schedule texts to your customers, Sakari can help.

Schedule Business Text Messages with Sakari

If you'd prefer to send your message at a later time, you can easily schedule it with Sakari:

1. Select the Intended Group
   Just as with sending a message immediately, start by selecting the appropriate group from the dropdown menu.
2. Create a New Message
   Click "New Message" at the top right of the screen to open a new message window.
3. Choose the Recipient
   In the "To" field, search for the recipient by their name or phone number.
4. Compose Your Message
   Write out the message you want to send. Ensure everything is correct before moving on to the scheduling step.
5. Schedule the Message
   To schedule your message, click the clock icon located near the message text field. From here, you can either select a pre-populated time or choose "Custom Time" to manually set the exact date and time you’d like the message to be sent.
6. Review and Confirm
   Before confirming the schedule, double-check the recipient, message content, and scheduled time. If everything looks correct, click "Schedule Message" to finalize.

Managing Scheduled Messages

If you need to review or change any scheduled messages, navigate to the “Scheduled Messages” tab in your Inbox. Here, you can edit, reschedule, or cancel any upcoming messages.

Sakari is SMS marketing software that can help you with all aspects of your SMS marketing. With multi-channel functionality, it can help you automate your marketing campaigns, enhance conversions, and optimize your ROI. With the ability to A/B test and get in-depth analytics, you can ensure that your content is resonating with your audience and spurring them to take action. 

Ready to try it for yourself?

Start your 14-day free trial and discover the power of SMS marketing to reach your audience. Our over 1,300 seamless integrations save you time while improving your customer experience and satisfaction.

Text Scheduling FAQs

How do scheduled text messages work?

Scheduled text messages allow you to send a text message at a specific time on a specific date, from mobile phones, tablets, or computers. These scheduled-time texts can be sent using specific software to reach a larger audience.

How should you use scheduled texts?

You can utilize delayed text messages for a variety of business purposes including SMS marketing campaigns, customer reminders, asking for reviews and feedback, client retention, and more.

Do you have to use a business phone to schedule texts?

You do not need a business phone number to send texts at a later time. While you can schedule individual text messages on a personal phone, scheduling business texts can be more complicated. That’s why utilizing a business text messaging service like Sakari can help simplify your business.

How do I automate SMS sending every month?

One of the best ways to automate business SMS text messages is to work with a partner like Sakari. We make it easy for you to automate your marketing campaigns and reach your customers. To get started, click here.