Best Practice Message Structure
When sending messages - especially in an emergency - it's important to make sure your messages are well structured so that the information contained is easily identified and assimilated by the reader.
Here is an example of a basic message, intended to direct recipients to an information source, and to provide a contact number for them to call:
Note the core components of the message and the techniques being used:
- Personalised greeting - use the recipient's name wherever possible for increased message engagement
- Clear, concise wording - gets straight to the point, being informative without being impolite
- URL shortener used to avoid lengthy URLs making the message look messy and unprofessional
- Phone number provided in a format that will translate to a link in the message when received - no spaces included as most recipients will just tap the number to dial it
- Signature containing sender identification
These are our top tips for sending clear, concise, and effective messages:
1. Be Personal
- Use first names as specific information to make your message as personalised as possible to your recipients
- This will make your message more engaging and increase the likelihood of the recipient reading it and taking on board the information within
2. Be Known
- Use clear identifiers in your message so that recipients know who's talking to them
- You can send SMS messages using your business name in the sender field, however, if you choose to do this, your recipients will be unable to reply to the message.
3. Be Concise
- Don't use five words where one will do - this improves the experience for the reader, and can help keep messaging costs down
- Phrases like "it has come to our attention" can be replaced with "we've noticed", or "For further information" can be shortened to "For more info"
4. Be Outcome Driven
- Think about the desired outcomes of your messages and include specific "calls to action" for your recipients (e.g. "click the link below" or "call us")
5. Be Time Conscious
- Increase engagement by sending your messages at the right time for your recipients
- Be considerate of different time-zones when sending messages - you may want to categorise your contacts by region to help manage this
If you want to talk to one of our friendly messaging experts about how to send emergency messages, reach out via our 24/7 live chat. Simply click the face in the bottom right corner of your window.