Texting is increasingly being used for business purposes, but if not done appropriately it can cause misunderstandings and reflect poorly on the person sending the text and their company or organization.
Here are seven important etiquette suggestions for business texting, adapted from Entrepreneuer.com.
Consider your audience: Business texting is an entirely different animal than personal texting. Whenever you send a business text, present yourself in a professional manner and make sure that it is tailored to your specific audience.
Communicate clearly: By nature, texting is different than sending an email. Since texts need to be brief, they sometimes are more susceptible to being misunderstood, which can adversely affect what you’re trying to accomplish. Make sure that your texts are clear and not open to the reader’s interpretation.
Respond promptly: Texting is meant to be a quick, easy way of communicating. So, when you receive texts, respond as soon as possible; not doing so often is viewed as a sign of inefficiency and/or lack of caring.
Use symbols and emoji only when necessary: Casual symbols such as emoji can help to lighten the mood of your text and create a friendly bond. But in general, they’re much more suitable for non-business texts. If you use them in business communications, don’t overdo it.
Don’t be long winded: Business texts walk a fine line between being brief but clearly conveying information. Pay attention to the length of the texts you are receiving from people with whom you are communicating. If their texts are very short, this might indicate that they would like yours to be very brief, too.
Be patient: Sometimes, people get frustrated when they send texts about urgent, important matters but don’t hear back right away. Realize that the person you are texting might not be available and that most likely, he or she will get back to you as soon as possible. So, it’s generally not advisable to keep sending texts if you don’t hear back from the person; this often is viewed as rude and overbearing.
Know when to end the conversation: Be sensitive to the flow when texting back and forth with someone. You need to reach a mutually comfortable stopping point. Don’t badger the recipient for more texts if you sense that their communications seem to be winding down.
