What Time of Day is it Best to Send a Text Message to Receive a Reply?

Source: Over 40,000 text messages sent across the United States.

Have you ever wondered what is the best time of day to receive a reply to your text message?  We looked at data consisting of appointment reminders, wellness messages and related alerts and found some interesting results.

Typically about 1/3 of patients reply to text messages, however there are some better and worse times for texting. 

The best time of day to send a text and receive a reply is between 3-4pm (39% of people reply).

The next best hour to send texts are between 5-6pm (37%), after that the entire morning through early afternoon (ending 2pm) and 7-8pm times are all have response rates around 31-33%

The worst time to send a text and expect a reply is 2-3pm.  Just 24% of people replied to texts in that time frame.

CONCLUSIONS:

  • If you are sending a text message and need a reply, the 3-4pm time frame is the best.
  • You should expect a reply about 1/3 of the time for all your texts.

CONSIDERATIONS:

  • With a text message, unlike a voice message or voice call, the patient can read the information.  So you are more certain they are receiving the message than with a voice message.  More and more patients are not listening to voice mail messages and therefore a text message can prove more effective (even if they don't reply to confirm).
  • Also, keep in mind that some smartphones can allow patients to easily touch and add an event to their calendar.  
  • So receiving a reply may not be as critical as with a phone call to guarantee a patient's arrival.

 

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Interested in learning more about 1-800 Notify?

Please Call us at 1-800-939-1853, visit us at www.1800notify.com or email us at: info@1800notify.com.

 

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