Voice messaging is often overlooked as a business communication method, even if it has multiple advantages: you can communicate on your own pace, in an expressive manner, without having to be at the office.
Businesses can quickly create audio messages and send them to groups of customers or employees. It is a useful way to stay in touch with your team and communicate with your clients.
Here’s how audio text messaging works and how you can send a message that engages your audience on the spot.
How audio text messaging works
An audio text message (also called a voice text) is a short, recorded voice message that you can send to one recipient or many.
With audio text messaging, you can send recorded voice messages and other audio to recipients’ phones. The messages are sent as phone calls and are left as automatic voicemails if the call is not answered.
How to send a voice message
To send a voice recording in a text message using your Android-operated phone, follow this procedure:
- Go to ‘Messages’ and select your recipient.
- Click and hold the ‘Recording’ icon (at the bottom right of the screen) while recording your message.
- Click the arrow icon (also at the bottom right) to send your audio file.
If you’re using an IOS-operated phone, this is the procedure:
- Touch and hold the ‘Record Audio’ button to record your audio message.
- Tap the ‘Play Message’ button to listen to your message before you send it.
- Tap the ‘Send Audio’ button to send the message or the ‘Delete Audio Recording’ button to delete it.
Do voice messages disappear before being read?
iPhone automatically deletes audio messages two minutes after you listen to them unless you click on Keep. To prevent this from happening, go to Settings > Messages > Expire (below Audio Messages), then click ‘Never’. Saved audio messages are stored in the Messages app for iOS 12 and in the Voice Memos app for previous versions.
Audio text messaging tips
Creating an audio text message that engages people and generates replies is not as difficult as you may think. All you need to do is follow these four simple rules:
1. Avoid jargon
Jargon and technical terms that your recipient might not understand will only create confusion. Recipients should quickly understand what your message is about so that they can reply immediately.
2. Keep it simple
Keep your messages short and to the point. As a result, they will be clearer and easier to remember. This also helps prevent you from speaking too quickly.
3. Practice makes perfect
Unlike voicemail, you can record your audio text message as many times as you need to, so take the time to get it right. You can hire a voice actor to record your voice messages if, for example, you want to send business messages in languages you are not familiar with.
4. Provide clear next steps
By the end of your message, recipients should know exactly what you would like them to do next. A clear call to action is what triggers responses from your audience, so make sure to include it in every communication.
How to send a voice message with TextMagic
Using TextMagic to send audio text messages is simple and can be done in a few steps.
Another audio text messaging advantage is that they can be scheduled. You can contact multiple people at a time of your choosing.
Text-to-Speech
With text-to-speech messages, you send a text that will be processed by a text-to-speech program and converted into an audio file. This way, you can send urgent audio messages even at times when you can’t make a recording.
- Select ‘Compose’ from the main menu.
- Select ‘Text to Speech.’
- Enter recipients in the text box, or go to contact/lists which will open a pop-up window.
- Check the numbers or lists you want to send the audio to, and confirm by clicking on ‘Add x contacts/lists’. This will also take you back to the main screen.
- Select the number you want to send the message from.
- Type your text into the message box. Additionally, you can personalise messages using custom fields.
- Click ‘Preview’ to listen to your message.
- Click ‘Send’ to deliver your message immediately, or ‘Schedule Message’ to send it later, at a time of your choosing.
- TextMagic provides a free text-to-speech tool: you can send texts for conversion to audio files. If you want to audio reply to more than one message at the same time, this is the tool you should be using.
Voice Broadcast
Voice broadcasting lets you upload an audio file of up to 90 seconds. You can then send it as a voice message to recipients.
- Select ‘Compose’ from the main menu.
- Select ‘Voice Broadcast.’
- Enter recipients in the text box, or go to contact/lists which will open a pop-up window.
- Check the numbers or lists you want to send the audio to, and confirm by clicking on ‘Add x contacts/lists’. This will also take you back to the main screen.
- Select the phone number you want to send the message from.
- Click ‘Select Audio’ and a new pop-up will appear, where you can select ‘Upload New Audio’ to get a file from your computer or if you have audio files already in your TextMagic account, these will appear below and you can simply check the ones you want to send.
- When finished, click on ‘Use Recording’, which will take you back to the main window.
- Click ‘Send’ or ‘Schedule message.’
Audio text messaging benefits businesses
Audio text messaging offers businesses a number of benefits. It can be used to improve communication with staff and clients and also as a marketing tool.
Talk to your team
Busy team members on the move may not have the time to stop and type a text. Being able to record and send a message quickly, instead of calling in, saves time — for staff in the field and in the office. Similarly, team members who don’t have time to read a text or email can listen to a message. There’s no need to look at their phone screen.
As audio text messages are delivered as a phone call, they are useful whenever you need employees to hear a message straight away.
For example, clothing retailer Bob’s Stores decided to close its 35 stores during Hurricane Sandy and needed to send out an alert. Using voice broadcast, they were able to alert over 200 employees in a matter of minutes.
Voice messages also enable you to communicate more personally with team members in other time zones.
For remote teams, communicating only by text and instant messaging can be impersonal. Audio text messaging can add a more human touch when you can’t all be online at the same time.
Connect with customers
Audio text messaging can improve your communication with clients; for example, you can send voice messages giving updates on project progress, appointment reminders, or booking confirmations.
Sending a voice broadcast or text-to-speech message increases the likelihood of your clients receiving alerts and reminders. Consequently, this can make your service easier for clients to use.
Besides helping your customers to remember their appointments, this also prevents lost profits because of missed bookings.
For example, dentists lose an average of $31,500 a year on missed appointments. Because of this, RevenueWell uses voice broadcasting to send 80,000 personalized appointment reminders a month.
An audio text message can give routine customer interactions a more personal touch than an email or a text. It also shows clients that you provide an extra level of care.
Convert more leads
Audio text messaging is the most engaging way to send marketing communications to your leads and contacts. You can contact them in any time zone with scheduled messages.
By creating and personalizing audio files at every stage of interaction with a lead, audio text message enables more consistent follow-up contacts.
If you can respond to a lead within one minute of receiving their request for information,, you are are much more likely to get a sale. Despite this, only 7% of businesses respond within five minutes. Automated audio text messages enable a near-instant response to leads. Thanks to this, your sales team can get more conversions from existing leads.
Besides responding more quickly, audio text messaging also ensures your live agents can spend more time talking to qualified leads and less time waiting for leads to pick up the phone.
Ready to get started with audio messaging?
Audio text messaging works much faster than typing and is more practical for any business, especially international businesses where employees communicate in more than one language. There are no typing mistakes, it saves time, and a message can be opened at a time that is most convenient for the recipient.
Alexa Lemzy
