Many companies are already implementing push notifications in their marketing strategy. Here at Digital Response, we still remember when some of our clients first asked us to incorporate this new communication method into their strategy. And the thing is that the evolution of smartphones and apps has forced Marketing departments to find new ways to adapt to this context. In this case, push notifications complement apps and allow direct and non-intrusive contact with the user.
In this blog post, we will learn what push notifications are, the different types, the advantages of the implementation, and other elements to be considered.
What are Push notifications?
Push notifications are instant messages that the users receive on their devices. It is a way of communication via the Internet in which the send request originates from the server. Oftentimes, when we think of push notifications, what comes to mind are the notifications that we receive on our smartphones when we have installed the app of a brand. However, promotional SMS, the messages that our web browser sends us, or even new email alerts are also push notifications.
Today we will focus on those push campaigns that we receive through the apps on our smartphones. These are, without a doubt, one of the mobile strategies with the highest ROI.
Types of Push notifications
Push notifications are divided into different categories depending on what we want to achieve by using them.
- Sales or special deals notifications: These are the push notifications that we are most used to receive. They are sent during sale season or whenever the company has special deals or promotions for specific products. Usually, to incentivize the app’s use, those deals are only valid when the transaction is done via it, excluding the purchases done via the website or physical stores. Here are some examples:
- Loyalty campaigns: As its name suggests, these notifications inform the user of the loyalty program benefits. They could show the number of points accumulated, steps left to reach the next loyalty level, wish them a happy birthday, or thank them for a recent purchase.
- Segmented campaigns: Push campaigns designed according to the user’s behavior on the app: visits, clicks, unfinished transactions, purchases, etc.
- News: These notifications keep the user up to date with the latest news and changes on the app that the brand considers their clients should know about in order to have the best experience possible. For example, they could inform of a new section or feature.
- App updates: The goal of this notification is to notify the users of an app update. This way, they can get the latest version of the app and all its new features.
What are the advantages of the implementation?
Push notifications will help improve user engagement. On the one hand, we have a user downloading the brand’s app, and so we know they are interested in the new arrivals and deals the brand could announce in the future. When receiving a notification on their smartphone in such a direct and personal way, the chances of the user taking some sort of action increase. Therefore, we could say that push notifications drive specific actions while increasing ROI. On the other hand, they help us strengthen customer loyalty and retention with its double function: offering a series of advantages to the clients while improving communication with them.
Tips on how to create effective Push notifications
Lastly, here are a series of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of your push campaigns:
- Set a goal for your campaign. You need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve: interaction, loyalty, conversion…
- Don’t be too insistent. Creating top-of-mind awareness is good, but, as with everything, there has to be some level of moderation. Creating a schedule and setting the date and send time for the campaign will help you. This way, you will have a more detailed vision of your send frequency.
- As is the case with emails, a good segmentation is important with push notifications. Your messages will be more effective and in line with the user’s interests. Here are some of the criteria you could use:
- Age
- Gender
- Active, non-active, and loyal users
- Operating system
- Customer behavior or in-app events
- App version
- Use emojis! If you look at the push notifications shown above, you will notice that emojis are frequently used. Emojis give the message a warmer touch and go hand in hand with the “smartphone” and “social media” context.
