Do you know that push notification is the most powerful tool in the arsenal of marketers? Yes, you read that right. Sending just a single onboarding push notification to a new client can boost retention rates by 71%. More than 40% of mobile users interact with push notifications within 1 hour of receiving them. Sounds cool?
But Is This The Way The Cookie Crumbles?
You’ve just sent push notification with a warm gushy welcome message only to be met with deafening silence. A message promoting your latest product update meets with the same fate. You can almost hear radio static.
Why Aren’t Your Customers Responding To Your Messages?!
- They have a negative preference to a certain product/service and ignore it
- Your competitor has wooed away your customer
- You send straight-out-of-a-soup can messages that have no recall value
You know the answer. It is option 3. Not upping your push notification game negatively affects your bottom line. Do you know that 71% of app uninstalls are due to annoying push messages? Pushes are an important touchpoint and getting it wrong means you lose a customer, sometimes for life.
# 1 Personalize
Personalizing your messages gives it an instant 4% lift. Sending personalized messages or alerts based on user profile, previous interactions, purchase history will engage users instead of annoying them. Nothing can put people off more than a generic message in the middle of a busy weekday. The easy 3 step plan to personalize messages:
- Who: Be clear who your target demographic is and tailor your message accordingly.
- What: Send out a clear message as clickbait stuff doesn’t work anymore. “Save 10% on your next bill” is way better than “Eve swooned when she saw this. Check.”
- Why: This is where your CTA comes in. Send out clear CTAs that tell the user what the next step is.
#2. Be Time Sensitive
Yes. Don’t startle them awake at 3 AM to announce a new product rollout. Schedule messages based on the time zone of your customers. A push message sent at a reasonable time will obviously get more interaction and client love than one sent at odd hours. Also studying user behaviour to understand when they’re more likely to engage will get you more brownie points.
How do you know when they’re most active?
- Track open rates and other vital metrics. Carefully document them to arrive at the best time to send out messages
- There are several market studies that reveal what the happy hours are
#3. Say It With An Emoji
:) Move over boring text, emojis are here. A study by Moving Ink states that emojis improve open rates by 45%. They are the language of millenials and scientists reveal that people react to emojis the same way they respond to a human face. Emojis strike an instant connect and make your marketing efforts look more fun and relatable. These little guys can breathe life into marketing messages and drastically decrease the usual irritation most of us feel when we’re at the receiving end of a promotional message. You can also design your own emojis and give a creative twist. Sites like Emojipedia provide an emoji for every emotion, moment or occasion.
Ensure you don’t send emojis that could be taken out of context. Otherwise using emojis is the simplest way to reach out across glass screens and sound up, close and personal.
#4. Provide A Clear Value Proposition
The people who receive your pushes are the ones who’ve opted in. They are special. Treat them like that. Infact, give them a discount, an exclusive offer, an early preview, a ‘for you’ only sneak peak in the first push message itself. A sweet welcome message is good. A welcome message that clearly lets them know there is value in opting in for push notifications is better.
This way they’ll start engaging with your brand right from the outset. And also checkout your future messages as they know there could be something special for them in there.
#5. Use Topical Push Messages
Almost every brand worth its salt cashes in on what’s trending online. Including hashtags or aligning your push with what’s hot online drives up open and engagement rates.
Sending out relevant messages that intersect with a clever marketing campaign is sure to give your push messages the ‘push’ that it needs!