![](\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Nike-push-notifications.png\")
<\/p>\n
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- App updates. <\/b>People use apps because they provide some kind of benefit, whether it is a customer messaging app<\/a> that helps you keep in touch with your users or a crossword app that helps you relax after a long day at work. App update notifications are valuable because they often indicate improvements to the user experience, which, in turn, can improve app usage. Whether it\u2019s a new accessibility feature that makes using your tool easier or a new set of daily crosswords available to play, this type of push notification creates a better experience for users.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What to consider before designing your push notification<\/h2>\n
These short, powerful messages take planning to get right. Start by building a strategy based on information about your recipients. Think about when they\u2019re normally active on your app or program, or how often they might like to receive blog articles, news or updates from friends.<\/p>\n
Begin by asking yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n
When should I ask users to opt in for push notifications?<\/h3>\n
When (and how often) you encourage users to opt in for future push notifications can affect whether or not they choose to do so. There are several options to consider:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Once, upon installation of the app.<\/strong> Many mobile apps will prompt their users to opt in for push notifications only once: upon installation and activation of the app. If your app\u2019s functions are integral to a user\u2019s workflow or day-to-day time management (such as an email or calendar app), chances are you\u2019ll need to ask only once.<\/li>\n
- Every time the app is opened.<\/strong> Remember, not all push notifications require the user to complete an action. Even opt-in notifications can be designed to be dismissed without clicking \u201cagree\u201d or \u201cdisagree.\u201d In this case, you could ask users to opt in for notifications every time they open the app, until they\u2019ve either agreed or disagreed to do so.<\/li>\n
- Intermittently, after a certain number of log-ins.<\/strong> You can choose to send opt-ins intermittently based on number of log-ins or on predetermined time increments. This tactic is used as a less aggressive approach to \u201cevery time the app is opened.\u201d<\/li>\n
- When a user completes an action.<\/strong> This particular scenario is similar to the \u201calert status\u201d type of notification. For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re a Twitter user who has never opted in to receive desktop or smartphone notifications. One day, you click \u201cfollow\u201d on a specific person, topic or tag. Twitter might send you a prompt asking you to opt in to push notifications so that they may send you real-time updates on those people or topics you wish to follow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Keep in mind that push notifications should improve a user\u2019s experience, not hinder it. If it\u2019s difficult or confusing to turn notifications on manually, consider offering your opt-in prompts intermittently instead of only once. You can always talk to your users to find out what they like or dislike about the timing and frequency of your opt-in notifications.<\/p>\n
How am I displaying the opt-in?<\/h3>\n
Again, think about the user experience. When deciding how to deliver and display your opt-in notifications, consider what it will look like within your app\u2019s UI on the user’s device.<\/p>\n
A simple in-app, full-screen opt-in prompt is often the go-to delivery method for smartphone apps. As an app publisher, you\u2019re helping ensure that your users get the experience they want, without them having to manually search through their phones to find the right opt-in settings.<\/p>\n
How often will you send push notifications?<\/h3>\n
How frequently you send your push notifications will depend on your marketing goals, user behavior, and the type of content you\u2019re sending.<\/p>\n
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- Daily.<\/strong> High-activity apps, such as social media platforms, are good candidates for daily push notifications. Take a look at your user trends. Do most people use your app at least once a day or every other day? If so, daily push notifications will likely be very relevant and engaging for your users and will potentially increase the amount of time they spend on the app.<\/li>\n
- Weekly.<\/strong> More infrequent push notifications, such as ones sent on a weekly basis, are effective at keeping users engaged with your app, even when they aren\u2019t actively using it. A great example is Nike Run Club\u2019s \u201cweekly recap\u201d message that I shared earlier. I may not be tracking a workout that week, but that doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t use the app to monitor my fitness progress.<\/li>\n
- Real time.<\/strong> Push notifications sent in real time keep users informed or notify users of events directly related to them (social media mentions, new emails, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Think about what type of content your app provides its users and how it provides value. If people use your apps to stay up to date on industry trends, consider sending real-time or daily push notifications. If someone is looking to improve their health but needs help getting motivated, weekly push notifications might be exactly what the user needs to keep themselves on track.<\/p>\n
7 best practices for push notifications<\/h2>\n
Now that you have the basics down, let\u2019s talk about some best practices for creating, sending and monitoring the effectiveness of your push notifications.<\/p>\n
1. Always A\/B test<\/h3>\n
Before sending out mass push notifications, A\/B test on a small percentage of your audience. This will help you identify what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not. Begin by testing individual variables, such as the following:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Message content.<\/strong> You can measure how well users respond to your messages by monitoring open or click-through rates. Test factors like simple URLs, a short sentence, or the beginning of a story that gets cut off and encourages users to click through to learn more.<\/li>\n
- Frequency\/timing.<\/strong> To find out how frequently you should send push notifications, A\/B test a couple of variables (daily vs. weekly) and monitor your \u201cunsubscribe\u201d rates. You can also use metrics related to click-through and open rates to test what time of day your users are more likely to engage with a push notification.<\/li>\n
- Delivery method.<\/strong> Open rate, click-through rate, bounce rate and conversion rate are all metrics that indicate whether or not your push notifications are successfully engaging your users. Use this data to determine which delivery method your users respond to most. For example, do full-screen pop-ups engage more desktop users than slide-ins? Do text messages have a higher clickthrough rate than pop-ups? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
A\/B testing is helpful only if you have the right tools to measure success. Try using Intercom\u2019s A\/B testing capabilities<\/a> to experiment with your push notifications. You may not be able to get it right the first time, but don\u2019t be discouraged. Just keep testing!<\/p>\n
2. Personalize your messages<\/h3>\n
Personalization is the key to improving <\/span>engagement: i<\/span>n order to compete with notifications such as messages from friends, family and coworkers, push notifications from brands must pay attention to the smallest details. We can\u2019t emphasize enough how critical it is to use accurate, person-level data to inform your notifications. Event parameters, language and life cycle are all great ways to make sure your message is as personal and targeted as possible.<\/p>\n
For example, just adding the receiver\u2019s first name can help push notifications perform better (in some cases up to 4x better<\/a>). Intercom<\/a> is great for sending these targeted push notifications, but the advice remains the same no matter what tool you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n
![\"\u201dwhat\"](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Say_This_Not_This_Final-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3. Don\u2019t be spammy<\/h3>\n
If customers aren\u2019t reading your messages, or if you\u2019re seeing a lot of customers turn off or opt out of push notifications, your messages are either not relevant to your recipients, are being sent too frequently or are simply reaching customers at the wrong time. Make sure your messages are hyper-targeted and relevant to your recipient by monitoring open, click-through and unsubscribe rates.<\/p>\n
4. Pay attention to mobile use patterns<\/h3>\n
Despite the incredible amount of mobile usage, most forms of content are still closely tied to the rhythms of the desktop computer. Newsletters are delivered to a subscriber\u2019s inbox at 9 a.m.; blog posts are scheduled to publish at 5 p.m. These schedules have long worked for traditional types of media but don\u2019t automatically translate to notifications and mobile.<\/p>\n
Andrew Chen<\/a> has pulled together some excellent data that shows that while brands are sending a ton of pushes leading up to the evening (and dropping off quickly after), open rates are actually higher after 6 p.m. The data is clear: send push notifications between 6 p.m and 8 p.m., when engagement is at its highest.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sent_vs_Opens.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCredit: Andrew Chen<\/a> and Leanplum<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> 6 p.m.-8 p.m. should only be taken as a rule of thumb. The timing of your push notification will also partially depend on the urgency of the message. In this case, it\u2019s worth creating a simple notification map that matches each notification with the right priority.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Notification_Map.jpg\")
<\/p>\n5. Choose clarity over cleverness<\/b><\/h3>\n
Interactive notifications mean little if what you\u2019re communicating is of <\/span>no value to the user in the first place<\/span><\/i>. Most businesses continue to use notifications as a signpost \u2014 a piece of vague, cryptic content meant to entice you back into the app. But notifications work best when the notification <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> the message.<\/span><\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Same_Terrible_Content-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/image00.png\")
<\/p>\nThe message above, from Quartz, works fantastically well because<\/p>\n
- \n
- It tells me something interesting in a concise way,<\/li>\n
- It allows me to dig deeper if I want to, but also respects my choice not to, and<\/li>\n
- It reaffirms my choice of downloading the Quartz app by pushing me interesting content.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
6. Adapt your push notifications to real-time information<\/h3>\n
Real-time adaptive notifications might be beyond most brands right now, but push notifications with current, immediate information get the highest engagement.<\/p>\n
Some publishers are doing incredible work designing notifications that automatically update as new data becomes available. It means you\u2019ll only ever get the most timely and accurate content delivered to you. These types of notifications can include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- News that affects your plans and decisions in the real world (think Uber surge-pricing notifications)<\/li>\n
- Fleeting opportunities someone is likely to take advantage of (such as price drops on Amazon)<\/li>\n
- Status updates about content the user is monitoring<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Real-time adaptive messages provide users with the information they want, the minute it\u2019s available.<\/p>\n
7. Measure real effectiveness, not vanity metrics<\/h3>\n
- Frequency\/timing.<\/strong> To find out how frequently you should send push notifications, A\/B test a couple of variables (daily vs. weekly) and monitor your \u201cunsubscribe\u201d rates. You can also use metrics related to click-through and open rates to test what time of day your users are more likely to engage with a push notification.<\/li>\n
- Weekly.<\/strong> More infrequent push notifications, such as ones sent on a weekly basis, are effective at keeping users engaged with your app, even when they aren\u2019t actively using it. A great example is Nike Run Club\u2019s \u201cweekly recap\u201d message that I shared earlier. I may not be tracking a workout that week, but that doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t use the app to monitor my fitness progress.<\/li>\n
- Every time the app is opened.<\/strong> Remember, not all push notifications require the user to complete an action. Even opt-in notifications can be designed to be dismissed without clicking \u201cagree\u201d or \u201cdisagree.\u201d In this case, you could ask users to opt in for notifications every time they open the app, until they\u2019ve either agreed or disagreed to do so.<\/li>\n
- Once, upon installation of the app.<\/strong> Many mobile apps will prompt their users to opt in for push notifications only once: upon installation and activation of the app. If your app\u2019s functions are integral to a user\u2019s workflow or day-to-day time management (such as an email or calendar app), chances are you\u2019ll need to ask only once.<\/li>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Intercom-push-notifications.png\")
<\/p>\n