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:

1. Personalised greeting - use the recipient's name wherever possible for increased message engagement
2. Clear, concise wording - gets straight to the point, being informative without being impolite
3. URL shortener used to avoid lengthy URLs making the message look messy and off-putting
4. 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
5. 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 use a default message template to create a signature that will auto-populate in every new 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
• Use the Socially Aware Sending feature to help you avoid sending messages during unsocial hours
• 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 a messaging expert about how best to structure your emergency messages and build your overall messaging strategy, contact us customersuccess@messagemedia.com.au