We’ve learned that push notifications can be the ultimate user engagement tool. According to multiple sources, 97% of push notifications are read, as opposed to 3-4% for email-based campaigns. Push notifications allow app owners to reach their users outside the app ecosystem, having a positive effect on brand awareness and increasing future app open rates.
We bring you 5 tips on how to use push notifications in a more effective way, without being boring or spammy.
Frequency of your messages.
The first rule of push notification marketing – don’t overdo it. Especially if you’re sending push notifications for advertising or promotional purposes: less is usually more. Ask yourself: “Would I be annoyed by the volume of messages I’ve been receiving from this app?” If the answer is yes, or even maybe, you may want to consider spacing them out.
Schedule your push notifications.
How would you like to be woken up in the middle of the night by a vibrating cell phone, flashy lights and a push message saying you have a $5 discount on your next purchase if you invite a friend? Knowing your target market allows you to send messages during reasonable hours when engagement is usually at its highest. Anything between 10 AM and 6 PM is recommended. Send anything outside the recommended period, and you risk missing the user’s attention or annoying them.
Encourage engagement whenever you can.
A relevant message is great, but it’s even better to create a discussion or an interaction within the app which leads to sharing and other benefits. Using your in-app social network, you can drive users towards engagement. For example, start a photo-based contest, such as “post a picture of X” – or reward users for the best response to a posted question.
Offer exclusive discounts or deals.
Who isn’t looking for a good deal? Use push notifications to send out ‘What’s new’ and ‘Today only’ deals. You might also think about using push notifications to inform users about discounts on products you offer.
Event reminders and announcements.
Is the big game today? What time does the DJ start at the club tonight? Will there be a change in store hours over the holidays? Friendly reminders in form of push notifications take only moments to set up, but might save your users minutes or hours of ‘search time’. Minimize possible frustration caused by last minute changes and increase brand loyalty by making sure your users have all the latest information at hand.
By optimizing your messages to increase app open and conversion rates you’re not just improving app retention, but you’re also setting yourself up to increase customer lifetime value.
And if you haven’t used push notifications in your app yet, we challenge you to get one out in the coming week. Push notifications are free to use within the BlueTreeApps platform and it takes 30 seconds to send them to every device your app is on. Enjoy the results!