Something that businesses with a local presence should really think about integrating into their marketing is location-aware app development. With location-based apps, you can connect with potential customers where they are. One component of that is what is called push notifications. Push notifications can be a powerful connection platform when used correctly. The following are some things to know about how to use them i.e guide to the push notifications.
What Is a Push Notification?
Article Summury
Push notifications are pop-up messages that can occur in browsers and also on a mobile device. It’s just a message that an app publisher can send at any time.
It’s not necessary that the person you’re sending it to be using their device or app to get the notification.
A push notification can look similar to a mobile alert or text message, and they only go to users who’ve installed your app.
When you send a push notification, it will need to show up correctly on a lock screen, which means you should limit the characters.
The general idea of sending this type of notification is that you’re reminding your users of something or letting them know relevant information.
Click-through rates tend to be higher with push notifications than emails, and they’re not going to get stuck in a spam filter.
Examples of types of push notifications include interest-based location notifications, reminders, and triggered notifications.
With location notifications, users are getting an alert based on what’s happening in their vicinity. Reminder notifications can be used to alert users of a sale, to remind them of an abandoned cart, or to alert them of an opportunity they might be interested in.
Triggered notifications are sent at different points in a buyer’s journey.
Using Location
A mobile app operating system will ask users for permission to share location-based information. With an iOS device, there’s an opt-in alert that a user will get, and then with android, users can opt-in to locations as part of the permissions when installing an app.
You can utilize a combination of location-based data and behavioral data to make sure you’re sending out the most relevant messages.
For example, you can use location data to let people who have downloaded your app know that you’re having a sale or an event.
The most important thing to realize with these notifications is that you need to be providing value. If you aren’t, then your notifications will get ignored, or someone might even uninstall your entire app.
The Effectiveness
When you send out this type of direct notification, you are connecting in a very concise way with your customers.
It’s estimated that app users who enable push notifications end up using the app itself 53% more each month compared to users who don’t enable them. Retention is higher, and users remain engaged for longer. Push notifications may also have open rates that are 60% higher than email open rates in some cases.
The Opt-In Message
The opt-in message is so important with push notifications. The opt-in notification will be the first thing you send to possible subscribers. You need user’s permissions to send notifications, and you need to convey the value of them opting in right away.
Best Practices
If you’re thinking about using push notifications, and especially ones that are location-driven, the following are some tips and best practices to keep in mind:
- Personalization is extremely important. You don’t want your users getting messages that are irrelevant to them because engagement will go down. The good thing with these notifications and having an app, in general, is the fact that you have access to a user’s information and you can build that over time. Personalized notifications can increase conversions by four times.
- Something simple you can do to make more compelling notifications is to use emojis, but not too many. One properly used and contextually relevant emoji makes a push notification seem warmer and more like a casual conversation.
- Be very concise. You have a limited number of characters, and your ultimate goal is to drive a user to take a specific action. You want to make an impact and you also want everyone who receives a notification to know what you’re asking them to do.
- Don’t send notifications at odd times. If you send someone a push notification in the middle of the night, they’re either not going to see it, or they’re going to be annoyed.
- Be very sparing with how frequently you use them.
Push notifications are a great marketing tool for local businesses and any business really, but they do need to be used correctly.
