There are so many metrics playing a crucial role in mobile app marketing. It can take days together if we sit to talk about them individually. For now, let us limit our discussion to an important mobile app marketing metric playing a decisive role in user engagement, and in turn long lasting engagement. We are talking about mobile app messaging, or in popular terms “Push Notifications”.
Defining the “term”
For those not aware of the term, Push Notifications are those generic broadcasted messages, sent to users after they have left the app, re-engaging them again into your app. These messages could be in the form of in-app notifications, alerts, new product offers, information, or anything else related to the app.
The primary goal of Push Notifications is communicating the app branding in parts, after certain time intervals. However, what quantity to send still remains a mystery with most marketers. We are here to clear all those doubts surrounding the air.
Some ‘facts’ to know
The importance of push notifications can be known from the fact that 52% of overall mobile app users, have push notifications enabled, of which 46% constitutes iOS, while 59% for Android. Let us see some few other facts:
• It is easier to retain users having push notifications enabled by 3 times.
• Once enabled, app launch probability increases by 88%.
• The interval between app sessions reduces by 55% after enabling push.
• App abandonment ratio reduces from 21% to 11%.
“Underlying” problem associated with push messages
Push Notifications might appear to be mere plain messages notifying users about app updates taking place. Everything seems to be normal if looked at the surface. However, it has been a major hidden obstacle faced by most app owners today.
You might argue that users have the option of either accepting or dismissing push notifications. Then, why such a fuss? A user can either read the message or ignore it and do whatever he (she) is doing. If things are so simple, why push notifications have been a matter of concern for most?
The simplicity lying with push is also a downside as well. Because push notifications are so easy to tackle, mobile app publishers have started considering them as just another social network, wherein they can send irrelevant pushy marketing messages, instead of relevant notifications and alerts. It is fine at times, especially when the app has built good repo with the app. However, doing it frequently will only ruin things, letting app users left with no other option than to abandon the app.
Things to take care of
Focus only on driving customer retention. The single most motive behind push messages should be to poke inactive users, for getting them back into the app, by constantly sending them alerts and notifications related to the app. People, who are not using your app from quite some time now, will constantly see these relevant push messages popping up even on locked screens. This will let them lure back into the app some day.
Have contextual messaging do the trick. Augment the entire user experience with contextualized messaging. This means that users will only get messages relevant to their specific region only, as per their preferences saved. Delivering value based messages, tailored for individual users, will only increase your app credibility, with people praising about how much your app thinks about them.
Personalization communicates qualitative value. Look at every single push notification from the eyes of users. You need to ask yourself a set of questions like:
• Will a user be happy in receiving the message?
• Is the message unique enough in catering to individual needs and wants?
• How relevant the message is in strengthening the relationship, and reinforcing the journey between app and user?
• Has the message been delivered at the right place and time?
Ways to use them
You can use push notifications in multiple ways. However, do keep in mind that timing is the key. Even frequency matters, avoiding your messages to run into the trouble of spamming.
• Send reminders through push notifications, informing users regarding a set task, event, or occasion.
• Announcements made through these push notifications, informing users regarding an upcoming happening in the company.
• Promote newly launched products or services, users have already shown interest, or might be interested in as per their preferences.
• Seasonal greetings or messages, strengthen the relationship between an app and user, as users feel special, and are glad to see remembered every time.
• Informing about the changes in the existing products or services, for enabling them to do necessary changes in what they are using.
• Special time bound offerings helping them get maximum advantage out of the app. Geo-targeting can be extremely helpful by delivering regional offerings.
The ‘benefits’ involved
Re-engagement of customers is the key to push notifications success. After all, push notifications are meant towards bringing the users back to your app, by reminding about your app all the time.
Geo-targeting becomes easier with the GPS enabled on user phone. Think about it. You are showing users exactly what they want to see. It acts like a mobile advertising billboard, brought right on the palms of relevant users.
Social alerts sent to the users so that you can have them see a vague picture of what is going on with the app on social grounds.
Scheduling messages become easier with push notifications, sent at a specific date and time only to a specific user. This allows for pre-planning of future marketing campaigns.
Opt-in convenience is what you get from push notifications. Push notifications are those messages for which you have taken prior permission from users. This means, no matter how many messages you send, it does not come off as a spamming attempt.
Sending updates related to customer actions, reminders, offers, and other things related to business.
Concluding thoughts
Push notifications have been around for years now. However, app developers and marketers are utilizing advanced methods of push notifications, cutting through the channels of communication. Since 98% push notifications are opened to explore, this is a strategy requiring cautious attention.
Shivani Ajmerani works for Fusion Informatics Ltd., a mobile applications development company that offers Custom iPhone, iPad and android application development services. She loves leveraging the immense potential of the Internet to achieve corporate goals.
