Push notifications can be an effective way to bolster product awareness or seal the deal on a sale, signup or upgrade. But you have to know how to put this technology to work without annoying your target audience.
Here are five best practices you can leverage to create more effective advertising via push notifications.
1. Don’t Hit Users with the Same Verticals Over and Over
You know what people don’t want to see? The same messaging multiple times a day or even many times a week. It’s annoying, especially if they’ve already passed on the offer or aren’t particularly interested at the moment.
Instead of serving up the same vertical repeatedly, concentrate on four to five verticals of ads a day and rotate them. Some benefits of this include:
- The ability to test different verticals and ads and swap out lower-performing ones
- Keeping your name or products fresh in someone’s mind without showing them the exact same ad or ad type repeatedly
- Targeting subsets of your audience with different verticals
- Providing a developing message via different levels of ads so that someone becomes increasingly engaged as they receive new notifications
2. Focus on the Headline
Mobile devices account for more internet access than desktop computers today, and even Google has prioritized smaller screens with mobile-first indexing policies. You should follow suit with your push notifications, concentrating on the headline and logo, which may be all that shows up on mobile devices. Including additional messaging or a large image may require the user to swipe or click through to see more. While these are still important for the actual conversion, it’s the headline that initially catches consumer interest and ensures your push notification does the job of engaging.
3. Make Push Notifications Personalized
Just as it’s essential to personalize the content and ads you show users on your website or email newsletters, the same should be done with push notifications. Every user is different, so sending repetitive, irrelevant push messages might mean users will miss out on the ones that concern them or they’ll become frustrated with the mass marketing messages and churn more quickly.
We’ve found that user experience and personalization are intertwined. The better the personalization, the better the user experience. By adapting the messaging and content of your push notifications to users’ unique preferences and interests, you increase the likelihood that users will click on them. For example, if you only promote a sale to a specific group of users that will find the offer relevant, you’re more likely to push them towards a purchase, thus impacting your revenue.
4. Pay Attention to Language Settings
If someone can’t read or understand the notification headline, they’re not going to click or swipe. In fact, they might assume that the notification is some type of spam or a potential cyberattack, which could prompt them to block all further communications from you. Set up notifications or ads to use the language of the person’s browser and not the OS settings to keep this from happening.
5. Use a Global User ID Option
Finally, if you’re pushing ads across multiple sites via push notifications, consider opting for a global user ID to identify various users across channels. This lets you push ads to them via separate websites and makes remarketing easier to accomplish.
In short, make sure every user gets treated to a customized experience. It’s a win-win. You’ll leave a positive impression as a company that’s attuned to consumers’ needs, and your consumers will directly receive content and ads that interest them, eliminating the hassle of trying to find it themselves on your website.
If you have additional questions about push notifications or would like to get started with implementing your own push notification strategy, feel free to contact us today!
