Drive action with mobile push notifications
More than 72% of ecommerce sales take place on a mobile device. While text messaging is seen as a predominantly sales-driven channel, consumers often respond well to other types of content via push notifications.
Push notifications are particularly beneficial when sending time-sensitive reminders and promotions unique to your client’s mobile app. Let’s explore how you can seamlessly weave push into your client’s strategies and why it proves effective.
Differentiate standard vs. rich push
You should predominantly send push notifications to alert customers of updates, deals, or time-sensitive offers in your client’s mobile app. In doing so, there are 2 types of push types to choose from in Klaviyo to spur a conversion.
Standard push
A standard push notification is your baseline. It’s text-based and appears on a mobile device's lock screen or notification center.
Example:
SWAK’s agency team sends a mobile push alert to anyone who has either viewed, started to check out, or bought their SWAK simply sweet chapstick. Their team is discontinuing this item in a week, so they offer an exclusive, app-specific sale to sell old inventory and ensure a positive customer experience for those who showed interest before it’s too late.
Quick tip: Non-text elements such as emojis or push alert sounds can quickly spur a click while also reducing the amount of text needed in your copy.
Rich push
Rich push notifications include 1 added multimedia content; this can be an image, GIF, or video. These elements can drive further engagement, catching the eye of a push subscriber and enticing them to click.
Example:
SWAK’s agency team adds an image of a new product that they plan to launch early for mobile-app users. In this case, they test rich push to see if a visual boosts sales. When they send the wider text announcement the following week, their rich push performance will help them decide if adding an image to their text (thus, paying for an MMS) is worth the cost.
Note: While images are available for both iOS and Android apps, GIFs and videos can only be sent to iOS apps. If you send a GIF to an Android device, it will appear as a static image of the first frame of that GIF.
Create a seamless omnichannel experience
Omnichannel marketing is all about playing to the strengths of each channel and leveraging the right one at the right time to stand out from your competition. Your ultimate goal is to build a communication cadence that feels relevant and helpful.
As you expand your client’s omnichannel strategy, follow these best practices for mobile push and beyond:
Keep messaging consistent
Different channels allow you to tailor messages to meet your client’s customers in a way that leverages each channel's potential. That said, don’t stray too far from your client’s central marketing goals.
Create a cohesive experience across email, text, and push, maintaining 1 unique brand voice throughout. Be sure to align deals and promotions (unless intentionally different for certain segments) so you avoid sending mixed messages.
Be mindful of the timing of your messages
Think about your customers' experience and what messages they have recently received. For instance, you don’t want them to receive a text message and then a push notification 30 minutes later with the same content.
Consider all the content they experience during their customer journey and how it motivates them to take the desired action. Push alerts should only be sent for timely, relevant alerts that they have not yet received through other channels, like text or email.
Get right to the point
Use active voice and have one, clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA) per message (e.g., shop now, learn more, upgrade, etc.). This applies to email, text, and push.
That said, push has character limits (which can vary between iOS and Android). As a general rule of thumb, we recommend keeping your client’s character count under 178 characters.
With minimal copy, make sure the content is direct, intentional, leads with value, and tells the user precisely where they will be sent upon clicking.
Encourage brand loyalty
While all subscribers are valuable, your push subscribers tend to be your most engaged audience. Treat them as such.
When you send push alerts that deviate from a time-sensitive announcement, make sure that the deal, discount, or promotion is worthwhile for them and emphasize the exclusivity of each offer.