Leverage Push Notifications Best Practices for More Conversions

Last Edited: January 6, 2020

The most recent shift in mobility is users preferring Android and iOS apps for improved user experience over mobile websites. As the storage capacity of smartphones keeps increasing, users tend to install an app and forget about it. Push notifications enable you to remind them of your existence. If one has to answer the question, what are push notifications best practices? There is no single answer.

One of the most important reasons we have written this article is that 52% of mobile app users find push notifications annoying rather than helpful. Business owners must understand the importance of push notification and how to create push notifications that engage users.

Let users Opt-in or Opt-out of Push Notifications

Human beings try to modify their surroundings to gain control and feel secure. This thought process is valid on the portable devices we keep, which is also the reason why smartphones and product makers emphasize the use of personalization.

For a user to gain control, the option to opt-in or opt-out of push notifications is essential, which brings us to analyze the ideal number of push notifications that can be sent daily. A business owner might worry about sending too many push notifications as doing so may backfire.

The opt-in rates vary throughout the app industry. As per the data available, a maximum number of opt-ins can be observed in ride-sharing, food and beverage, financial services, eCommerce, and more.

Know the Math Behind Number of Words

The length of the message in push notification plays an important role. Consumers have a short attention span (which is around eight seconds) if the screen size is small. Hence, a more concise message has a higher Click-through Rate (CTR).

As a best practice, try keeping the message in push notification under ten words. As per the data analyzed by Localytics, push messages having less than ten words had 8.8% CTR.

Cash on Scarcity

In some instances, it is better to mention what your customers will lose if they do not avail of the offer right away.

If a push notification fails to incite Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) for a deal or offer, the user will not pay attention to simple push notifications and may treat them as spam messages.

E-commerce websites on their product page widely use this same technique. Most of you must have seen “Limited stock available” written on the product page, which creates a sense of urgency. The urgency drives the customer to make the purchase immediately. Use a similar technique for your push notification on Android or iOS.

Personalize the Push Notifications

Below mentioned stats prove the importance of personalization:

According to a study by Adobe, 66% of marketers said they struggle with personalization.
71% of marketers said personalization is highly crucial.
According to research by Marketing Land, personalized marketing emails deliver a 6x higher transaction rate.

Leveraging the user data is an effective way to send personalized and useful push notifications. Personalization can enable you to make your message resonate with the target audience and push them to take action.

One of the best names in the entertainment segment is using this technique to keep people updated is Netflix. When their user data shows that a subscriber prefers watching sci-fi based movies/series, Netflix sends push notifications around sci-fi content.

Another effective way to personalize a message is by incorporating a customer’s name in the push notification that you send.

Add a Human Touch

The most significant advice for business owners: People hate clichéd marketing. While you want the user to see your push notifications and perform the needed action immediately, you cannot do this by filling your message with marketing words.

The best way to create an engaging push notification on Android and iOS is by adding a human touch to the message as if you are reaching out to a friend and encouraging her to act.

A few ways to bring the human touch to your push notifications are by adding emoticons according to the niche of your online business. If appropriate for your business, use humor or a standard movie reference to attract your customers to the app.

Leverage the Geo-Location Feature

Businesses can leverage the geofencing feature by integrating it into the mobile app. There are multiple benefits of using this feature. Few of them are – marketers can share highly-relevant push notifications and generate more campaign options creatively to increase sales.

Businesses understand that sending more push notifications may backfire and result in users deleting the mobile app. The same is seen in industry segments such as food, travel, news & media, and social. Mobile app owners should focus on quality than quantity, and geofencing enables them to create and send push messages that are relevant for the user in real-time.

For example, if a user is passing through your geofencing range, you can send a push notification asking him to check nearby restaurants. Furthermore, you can ask the user to place an order for the food he likes and enjoy it upon arrival. That way, the user doesn’t have to wait.

Time it Well

Marketers already know that they should be aware of the time window when their audience is most active. They should upload blogs or social media posts during that time.

By analyzing your app’s traffic data, you can examine at what time maximum people prefer to use your app. From this data, you can also determine the preferred time to send a push notification to reap optimum benefits.

According to research by Appboy, leveraging upon send-time optimization can help in increasing the push notification conversions by as much as 38%.

Though it is best to base your push-notification time on the user data, research from Localytics shows that average click rates on push notification are:

3% in the morning
7% in the afternoon
6% in the evening

The above picture showcases how Ola, using its analytics, checked the time when their user usually books a cab. Ola sends this push notification during the office hours when people would require cabs the most.

Conclusion

Business owners need to know what are push notifications best practices. Businesses have to take extra care when they plan a push notification. It is the best and most direct way to reach their consumers using smartphones. Business owners must strategize every aspect of push notification as it should not be treated as spam by the audience. Check the content, design, timing, and emotion of a push notification so that the message is delivered to the user clearly and efficiently.

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