How to create a push notification marketing strategy

You’ve worked hard to create a great web and mobile app experience. You’ve earned users’ trust and they’ve opted in to receive push notifications. Your brand now has a direct line to reach your audience at a moment’s notice across devices. But just because you have a new channel to engage your audience doesn’t mean they’re primed to respond.

Push notifications can be a great way to connect with users — but it can be all too easy to overuse them or send the wrong messages to the wrong people at the wrong time. Effective push notification marketing requires a thoughtful strategy that carefully balances timing, content and context to inspire users to take action.

In this post, we’ll explore the key elements of a successful push notification marketing strategy, which include:

• Writing effective push notifications
• Requesting permission
• Crafting effective CTAs
• Engaging new users
• Sending notifications at the right time
• Using location data
• Notifying users of abandoned shopping baskets
• Segmenting your audience

Writing effective push notifications

Compelling writing for marketing takes a balance of art and science. And crafting effective push notifications is no different. Not only do you have to make a strong case for why users should opt in to receive your messages — you also need to make sure those messages are interesting, on brand and tied to a clear call to action when they pop up on someone’s screen.

Here are a few tips for writing push notifications that will keep users coming back for more.

• Convey the benefits of receiving push notifications. Before opting into push notifications, people want to know what’s in it for them. Give users a reason to say yes by serving up exclusive access to deals or limited-edition products, geotargeted alerts and offers or just-in-time tips and information to help them make the most of their relationship with your brand.
• Craft your message for your target audience. Today, everyone is a savvy consumer of marketing content — so generic messaging isn’t going to cut it. Apply what you know about your users to craft relevant, specific and timely messages based on their behaviour, customer journey stage, interests and location.
• Be transparent about how many notifications users will receive — and how frequently. Setting upfront expectations can put users’ minds at ease. If they know they’re only going to receive a couple messages a week, they’ll be more likely to opt in than if they’re bracing for multiple notifications a day. If you plan to use geotargeted notifications, give people a heads-up that notifications will happen when they visit specific locations.
• Include a catchy headline in your notifications to grab attention. Whether you’re pushing notifications on desktop or mobile, your brand is competing for users’ attention in a high-decibel, jam-packed digital landscape. Your push notification headlines need to be intriguing, succinct and relevant to draw people in and give their full attention to your message.
• Keep copy short and informative. While your headline can be more playful to capture someone’s interest, the rest of your notification content should get straight to the point. Focus on a key piece of information, then tell the user what action you’d like them to take next on their journey with your brand.

Requesting permission

Sending unwanted messages is a fast way to lose fans — which is why asking users for permission is a critical step in every brand’s push notification strategy. Just like any other opt-in marketing channel, your success rate depends on three key factors: building trust, communicating value and making your ask at the right time.

Cultivating trust with users starts with your marketing team’s overall approach to relationship-building. People are much more likely to opt into push notifications if your brand:

• Provides value through free, relevant content and giveaways
• Respects your audience’s time and communication preferences in other channels like email, SMS and social
• Sets clear expectations around privacy and data usage
• Focuses on helping and entertaining users as well as promoting products and services

Communicating the value of your notifications is equally important. As we explored above, people are more likely to opt into your programme if they understand what they’ll get out of it.

Providing early access to a new product drop, sharing a one-day discount for people near a shop front, letting people know when newly released content is available or providing a helpful tip at the moment someone is about to start a specific task are all enticing offers that users will want to access. If you share these benefits in your push notifications signup flow, people are much more likely to convert.

Asking for permission at the right time is also essential. Even the most relevant, compelling push notification offer could receive low engagement if it’s shared at three in the morning, comes minutes after communication from your brand in another channel or pops up 30 seconds after someone has downloaded your app and has barely used it. Pull in data from different marketing channels and product analytics platforms to ensure your push notification opt-in ask comes at an opportune moment for users.

Crafting effective CTAs

Push notifications are all about getting users to take action — and that means your CTAs need to be on point. Here are a few tips that can help you craft click-worthy calls to action:

1. Promote relevant offers

The more you understand about individual users, the more specific and appropriate your CTAs can be. For example, if someone recently bought a latte from your cafe, you could offer a discount on a large latte the next time they’re in the neighbourhood. Or if someone recently abandoned an item in their basket, send a push notification with a discount for their next order so they hop back in to finish their purchase.

2. Focus on user benefits

Saving time and money. Solving a problem. Learning useful information. Joining an exclusive group of users. All these are tangible, concrete benefits that appeal to users. If you can weave these into your push notifications and related CTAs, people will be eager to learn more and click through to your deal, product page or content.

3. Encourage action at the right time

With real-time user activity and purchase metrics, you can make sure you’re not annoying consumers with poorly timed CTAs. Let’s say someone just purchased a new blender from your company a week ago. Instead of promoting a discount on a different blender model, you could drive the user to purchase some related accessories for their new machine instead.

Engaging new users

There’s no better way to gain loyal customers than to roll out the red carpet for them. Push notifications are a great way to welcome new users and create an immediate connection with your brand. Use your welcome message to reinforce your brand’s personality and offer something special, whether it’s a discount, exclusive content or a freebie with an initial purchase.

Even if someone’s been a customer for a while, sending a unique initial offer when they opt in to push notifications can keep them engaged. While deals and promotions are always a great choice, pointing out specific features or content can be just as valuable. For example, highlighting a rewards or referral programme, favourites list or upgrade options can drive immediate action that contributes to repeat business in the future.

Sending notifications at the right time

Timing is everything when it comes to driving engagement with your push notifications. To give your messages the best chance of success, you need to understand when users are most likely to be using your website or app — or when they’re most available to stop what they’re doing and connect with your brand instead.

Context is vital to inform when you should schedule push notifications. If your brand sells consumer goods, sending messages during the middle of a typical workday may not get as much traction. You may see higher engagement after hours when people are enjoying their post-work routines. On the other hand, if you provide business products or services, intruding on people’s personal time in the evening may rub users the wrong way. A notification during work hours may drive a higher response rate when they’re in the zone professionally.

Limited-time offers are also an important push notification lever. If your company switches out products seasonally or monetises services or content with a specific availability window, sending a last-chance message can inspire users to act quickly so they don’t miss out on your offer.

Using location data

Location-based push notifications can be a highly effective way to engage your audience, whether your brand has physical locations or you provide products and services to customers across different geographies.

Say your business sells clothing online to buyers in three different countries. Using location information, you can send push notifications promoting specific products or deals that are only available in a given country or region within a country.

If your brand has brick-and-mortar shop fronts, you can get even more granular and send push notifications only to people who come within a specific distance of your location. For example, if you work for an ice cream chain, you could send a message to anyone who’s downloaded your app within a mile of a shop front when a new flavour drops or you have a special event happening at your shop.

Notifying users of abandoned shopping baskets

Whether consumers add items and then get distracted by other tasks, hop over to other sites to comparison shop or have hesitations about going through with a purchase, abandoned shopping baskets are all too common for ecommerce companies.

Push notifications can be an effective way to remind users to finish the checkout process. In some cases, a reminder that drives them back to their shopping basket can be enough to drive conversions. In other cases, offering free delivery, a discount code or financing options can provide additional incentive to buy.

Segmenting your audience

Personalised push notifications resonate best with users. Audience segmentation is the key to offering more targeted, relevant notifications that address specific user interests and needs.

Segmenting your user base using time zones, IP location or geofencing can also help you to deliver push notifications at the most effective time and place for each individual person.

Creating your own push notifications marketing strategy

Push notifications are a core audience engagement tactic for many businesses today. A well-considered push notification marketing strategy can help you to reach your audience in a compelling and efficient way that drives repeat purchases and brand loyalty.

To start developing your own strategy, review your customer data and explore what times and places your audience is most likely to engage with your app. This will help you to decide when to deliver messages to your users and what content is most likely to resonate with them.

The right technology can make push notification analysis and scheduling a breeze. With a platform like Adobe Journey Optimizer, you can manage omnichannel campaigns and one-to-one moments for millions of customers from a single application to scale your programme.

Find out more about how Journey Optimizer can help you to create a winning push notifications marketing strategy.