Online shopping is growing at an unprecedented rate and retaining app users isn’t easy for an e-merchant nowadays. Push notifications are the best-suited option for product marketing as they target almost every app user and motivates them for more purchases. Push notifications are actually real-time messages which go directly from online website to the user’s device. Even if the users aren’t browsing your store, the notifications will make their way to them if the app is installed in their device.
The traditional marketing channels like E-mails, messages were also good but they weren’t enough engaging if we compare them with push notifications. The personalized notification is what makes more influence on the audience. Now, when it is quite clear that the push notifications can easily aware the users, do you really think that the job is that easy? Well, no! Let’s find out how and why?
E-mail Marketing VS Push Notifications
A few times back the major marketing approach was through e-mails in the eCommerce industry. No doubt it was worth then but with the evolution of the mobile app industry, push notification became more convenient way of targeting audience. If we look at the statistical records today, average user spends approx five hours on the smartphone and that to 92% of the time in mobile apps. It clearly tells that the preference of mobile apps is way high than website browsing. An old saying” Early bird gets the worm” suits best to eCommerce marketing i.e. the faster you reach to the user, the more you stand to gain.
As it’s pretty obvious that mobile apps are the present and future of the eCommerce industry. So, why not adopt a way of targeting users before lagging behind in the race. That’s how push notification comes into the picture. How crucial they can be for your app’s success could be understood by fact that they boost app engagement by 88% on an average.
Push notifications aren’t similar to the traditional messages. Many e-merchants don’t realize the fact that this method requires proper strategy. Just sending notifications to users without getting any proper idea even annoys them as per the following report. Let’s figure out in this article how can we make the most of the effective push notifications marketing and keep yourself stay ahead of the pack.
1. The magic of power words in Push Notifications!
Words are merely a group of simple alphabets, yet carry immense power. Right words can be quite influential in the case of push notifications. You can find the list of some effective power words from here. However, the usage of the words should be justified else it could simply ruin the whole purpose.
There are even various non-power words which work quite well in attracting users. If they are used properly can easily convince the audience to open the app. So, whether the words have power or no power, they are the key to user persuasion. Thus, learning what to say and what not to say in a push notification is a must. You can surely find the foolproof power words with following steps:
Step 1: Deduce your desired action behind the push notification.
Step 2: Determine the right emotion to drive the required action.
Step 3: Choose your game of words wisely to trigger the right emotion.
2. Personalization of push notifications can create the right spark!
Segmentation is mainly used in the push notifications to make sure that the message is delivered to the right audience. No one can deny the fact that personalization has always been fruitful for online marketing. It also works pretty well for the push notifications. As per a report, in the year 2015, personalization increased push notifications conversions by 300%.
Segmented notification is based on dividing the users into different groups on the basis of their behavior, purchase decisions, likes, dislikes etc. Now, it makes the audience targeting quite simple in segments. Along with segmentation, there are few other factors like geo-targeting etc. which could help in making the notifications more effective. Personalization is very powerful and if used in the right spot, could be the key to gain huge sales.
3. Right content could deliver the right message!
The core motive behind sending push notifications is to deliver your message to users. Well crafted content is a must to make your notification more precise to the audience. Well, often the marketers think that the right content is just text but it’s not so. Clear push content should have any catchy phrase or joke in order to make notifications more engaging.
The name of the users, their last actions on the app can also be used for marketing. If the users were interested in any product, just notify them of any progress related to them. This approach will surely develop a sense of trust between the customer and your brand.
4. Timing is the key to success with push notifications!
Timing and relevance are the two key factors of making the push notification influential. Push notifications should always be targeted at the right time. Even though it is creative and informative, no one likes being woken up at midnight or early morning.
The best time to send push notifications is in the happy hours between 10 AM and 1 PM for effective results. A study by Localytics found that sending push notification in this time can simply improve open rates by 66%. In this study, Fridays to Thursdays are said to be the best days for getting maximum conversions and leads.
Also, when there is a requirement of too many push notifications, it’s better to prioritize them before sending to users. It will even help you with the segmented push strategy. The push notifications can be on basis of what’s happening around. Any festive based or seasonal push notification should be made a priority as they can easily connect with the audience.
5. Well-timed and personalized notifications will highlight your brand!
Earlier, over 50% of all consumers considered bulk push messages as an annoying distraction. This bounded the marketers to send fewer notifications in the fear of losing potential users. But, if we look at the current stats, the number of push messages has grown by 64% per app since 2015. Now with the increased reliance on the apps, users are getting used to bulk notifications.
So, timely and personalized notifications should be sent in an appropriate number else there might be a big chance of getting drowned in the surrounding competition.
6. Creativity works in every line of work, so is to push notifications!
Just take a look on the above notification. Isn’t it is the best approach to target users? Before trying your hands on push notification, hire a creative team for the job. Entertaining and creative messages have the very high chance to grab the user’s attention. Instead of writing lengthy texts just focus on your brand and make notification a bit interactive. A buzz should be created in notifications then whether it comes from rhyme or any catchy joke.
7. A/B notification testing will eschew any upcoming mistake!
It wouldn’t be a smart play to make assumptions about how your notification will land on various devices. However, a simple one-time test will make the picture more clear. What if there is a way to test your push notification before making final for the delivery. That’s where A/B testing comes.
A/B testing is the comparison of one or more versions of a push notification to see which one performs better. The tests are sent to small random groups and the winning version is obtained with the process.
Over to you
When it comes to the mobile world, the change is paced and ineluctably foreordained. Thus the fastest and easiest marketing trend we can rely on is push notifications. Push notifications are one of the essential reasons why e-merchants are investing in mobile applications. These 7 tips discussed above will help you in sending effective push notifications to your users and ultimately should maximize the number of sales you’re making. On the safe side, make sure you have incorporated push notifications feature while creating a stunning mobile application for your business.
As mentioned in your article that sending emails for promotion is outdated now. But I am not clear that why we should prefer push notifications if we can promote our products on text message too. And they don’t even need a campaigning.
Hi,
Thanks for reading the article.
Push notifications are actually a customized way of product marketing. With e-mails, you can’t be sure that your deal reached to the audience, but push notifications instantly pop-up on the device even when the user isn’t using the app. Though few marketers consider push notifications annoying yet the instant attention from them has proved their worth.
Please let me know for any further concern.
Thanks.
Hi,
Is there any way to make push notifications more interactive?
Also, as you mentioned in your article that these notifications could annoy the users. So, how can I hinder this from happening?
Thanks for your comment.
The interaction level of the push notifications totally depends on creativity and timing. Using the latter one more efficiently in push notifications, won’t annoy users in any way.