How To Best Use Push Notifications

When it comes to promoting a business or creating a brand identity online, at times how you market the product, rather how successfully or indicatively you market the product, if of more importance than what you are promoting. But what one also needs to keep in mind is, where do you draw the line between annoying disruptive marketing and acceptable reminders?

Online is a cruel world and I think, as there is so much that you can do, at times people try to do everything and end-up annoying their consumers. But if you are a content curator and want to have a loyal fan base, then maybe, just maybe, Push notifications can be the sweet dish that you are looking for.

What is push notification?

If you check for the definition on the internet, it would say- Push notifications lets your application notify a user of new messages or events even when the user is not actively using your application. On Android/iOS devices, when a device receives a push notification, your application’s icon and a message appear in the status bar. What it doesn’t say is that now it can be achieved on the desktop and mobile browsers too. So the whole idea of push notifications being limited to apps, is now obsolete.

How can it be effective?

Timing matters strongly

You can refer to it as a trigger that would remind your followers that you exist, even when they are not thinking about you or your brand, therefore, you need to make sure that you catch their attention at the right time. Not before, not after!

Imagine a user getting a notification to use a food delivery message anytime before 11AM! Well, goes without saying he/she would ignore it. Before lunch time and post office time is the best time to hit your consumers with such messages. So plan your content uploading schedules accordingly. Of course, the genre would decide the timing, and the above example is just a way of putting things in front of you.

Personalize the message

Look for patterns in the usage methods of a consumer. How about personalizing such notifications, with something that instantly clicks with the user, such as, “Is your lunch option not worthy of your time? Try some kabab instead!” This will help you figure out, when and what your consumer is looking for at what time, and this information would serve as an advantage tool to you in the long run.

Bring in the humor factor

Risky yes, but worth a risk too! Bring in that element of casualness and Witt to your notifications. Pun and one-liners are generally accepted more by the consumers in the online world than the normal boring messages that they keep receiving. Instead of being too in your face and cutting straight to the point, using humor is very advantageous for getting the user to open your app.

Never be pushy

Yes, push notifications only go when a consumer opts for it, but that doesn’t mean you would spam them. Make sure that you only send notification in limited numbers in a certain time-frame and only for content that is of high importance. The day even one subscriber opts out of it, do realize that you have started to push it too hard. Stick with occasional push notifications, especially when there’s a long period of no usage.

Promos work great here

Sale, contest, giveaways, freebies or something genuinely new on your platform would excite the consumer and a push notification is a good way to remind users. There’s a new cashback on your platform? Push it. The idea is- if a consumer would feel ‘wanted’; he would want you! So make sure that you keep doing such activities which would keep their interest flowing towards you.

Best tools to get started?

I have been trying my hands on couple of tools for push notification on www.stylerug.net and would write my reviews for the same in the coming week, which would help you gain decent amount of followers on your portal. So stay tuned, to remain updated.

– Sandeep Verma