What are push notifications and what are the advantages of using them?

1 września 2022

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What are push notifications and ...

Push notifications are alerts that are sent to users of apps and websites and when they are clicked on, the user is automatically directed to the ecosystem of the app or website responsible for them.

Their purpose depends on the sender: it can be the announcement of an update, the notice of an unread message or mail, some news of interest or the promotion of a business.

What are push notifications?

Push notifications refer to messages sent from an app's remote server to smartphones, tablets or smartwatches or to web browsers when a user visits a certain portal. Their nature is immediate and their objective is to get the attention of the users of these devices.

The usefulness that the push service can have to capitalize on a greater marketing volume in your business is undeniable, although we suggest that you take the greatest care if you are going to use this tool to promote your products. Remember that abusing these messages can be considered annoying and invasive, resulting in the uninstallation of your app and the loss of the customer.

Types of push notifications

Push notifications can be divided into two main groups: web push notifications and mobile push notifications:

Web push notifications are defined as alerts that are displayed in browsers and web browsers and work like pop-ups. Their range of action is certainly similar to that of mobile push notifications, but they tend to be more easily disapproved or ignored. They are generally used by digital media, some social networks and some entertainment portals.
Mobile push notifications or mobile push notifications are alerts sent to devices such as smartphones, tablets or smartwatches by the apps installed on these devices, regardless of whether their operating system is iOS, Android or Windows Mobile. It is worth noting that most apps, whether they are for financial services, social networks, messaging, streaming servers or even video games, make use of this technology.

Although both types of notifications are effective, those that come from a mobile format seem to be more so. In fact, one of the advantages of this tool for mobile devices is that it is not necessary for the app from which the notifications come to be running for the push notification to appear in the device's ad bar.

What push notifications are for

To understand what push notifications mean is to understand the range of their uses. On the one hand, they are able to exponentiate the interactions that users have with an app or increase the number of visits to a web portal. Most of the time they are sent when there are new developments in a company's services or products, relevant breaking news and even traffic or weather reports in the city.

In any case, the purpose of these ads is to draw the user's attention to the news that the managers of a community consider necessary to transmit. If we go into detail, with a good use of push notifications, the following points can be increased or enhanced:

The use of an application or the traffic of a web page.
The measurement of the tastes or interests of the niche identified with an app or portal.
The interactivity of a content hosted on an app or website.
The reputation of an app or website.

In addition, the implementation of a correct push strategy can result in the following dividends:

It improves the electronic communication system between companies and their users.
Increases the feeling of closeness with the customer, since communication is more fluid.
Increases profit margins.

Advantages of push notifications

In an interconnected world, where the existence of a product, brand or business often depends on its positioning on the web, mobile devices act as a link between users and the different news offered by the thousands of companies available.

As such, the advantages of using push notifications can be the following:

Push messages are immediate. If they are approved by the customer on his mobile device, the notification will arrive in the notification bar.
Push notifications are effective in getting the customer's attention. This depends on an effective push strategy.
Push ads can deliver personalized information. If a customer is interested in sports news, for example, a good part of your push notifications will revolve around this topic.
In the case of apps, push notifications can be sent without the need for the app to be running.
As a consequence of the previous point, push applications are energy savers.

How to send push notifications from your app?

Push notifications can boost your business to win unsuspected customers. If you are the administrator of your business mobile app, you can go to the notifications tab and then click on the option to send push notifications to users . These, as we know, will reach the electronic devices that have the application we are managing installed.

Best practices for sending push notifications

Don't forget that push notifications battle with each other to be taken into account. Generally, users receive notifications from their social networks, from the news sites they subscribe to, from applications such as YouTube or Spotify, from streaming servers such as Netflix, so we recommend you take these aspects into account to capture the attention of your affiliate:

Write an eye-catching and suggestive title. That is to say, one that has a hook.
Think of an intense and catchy copy. Use as few words as possible.
Attach an image that makes an impact on your users. It should be warm, attractive and have a jovial spirit.

However, the conceptual management of these three items is not enough for the push messages you send to be successful, since you must also consider the following particulars that explain how push notifications work:

Be clear about the objective of the push notification. To achieve this, we recommend segmenting your customer niche, taking into account data such as place of residence, age, gender and general interests.
Don't be pushy. It is not necessary to send a push notification every time your business receives any product. Use these notifications to promote experiences or events such as Mother's Day discounts, end-of-month offers or special auctions.
Don't complicate the message. Push notifications should be easy to read and should invite the user to follow the link you send. You can propose word games.
Decide the best time of day to send push notifications. For example, sending a push notification in the early morning is not recommended. The ideal, according to several experts, is to do it at lunchtime on weekdays or during leisure hours on weekends.
You can make use of emoticons if the case allows it.. These give life and expressiveness to the message. For example, if you program a discount of more than 50% on some products you can accompany the push notification with several emojis of astonishment.

It has been proven that push notifications increase by almost 10% the total CTR or amount of clicks that users make on the ads. Likewise, you must be very careful not only with the periodicity of their delivery, but also with the content you send from your app. Here are some tips to keep in mind if you want to know how to send push notifications in the right way and thus prevent users from uninstalling your app.

Send really important notifications. Think about whether the push notification you are about to send is going to help you increase your profits or add customers to your business.
Don't be invasive. Your goal is to consolidate the customer-business relationship, not to drive them away. If your notifications become a nuisance for the user, he will have no choice but to silence you or uninstall your app.
Define the purpose of the push notification. Ask yourself if you plan to promote a new product, announce an offer or invite your customers to a special event. Remember that, for example, if your business is a gym, the least your customers need is a push notification with a political recommendation.
Make good use of copywriting. Create optimized content with a high probability of catching your customers' attention. And never send a push message with spelling mistakes. This detracts from the credibility and seriousness of your business.
Don't get married with the times push notifications are sent. While it is true that you can start with the recommended times, if these do not work for you, you can always try new time slots. The important thing is to find the one that works best for you.

Push notifications: successful examples from other companies

Large companies are usually at the forefront of innovation and technology. Two of the global giants of streaming services such as Amazon Prime or Netflix serve us to know and think about successful examples of push notifications.

Amazon Prime

The case of Amazon Prime, in fact, follows the line of the e-commerce giant, the multinational Amazon. To promote new content on their server, they usually make use of creativity. Of course, it also takes into account user behavior in this app.

Let's look at an example:

"A journey, a hope and a life beyond the stars: watch Interstellar starting in August."

Netflix

Netflix, on the other hand, plays more with curiosity, humor and emotionality. In addition, their ads usually link to the trailers of the movie or series they promote. As this company specializes solely in streaming services, its push messages are usually complemented with audiovisual content.

Let's look at this other example:

"Never has the night been so dark... or has it? Dark, premiering this June 27".

AgendaPro push notifications

It is clear that push notifications can be a fundamental ally when it comes to streamlining the management of your business. So much so that, when it comes to running a gym, a beauty salon, a beauty salon or a barbershop, they can serve to simplify a myriad of administrative tasks.

Just imagine these push examples arriving on your cell phone:

For gyms: "The end of the month is approaching. Time to remind your customers to keep up with their monthly payment".
For beauty salons: "Client Maria Gomez is scheduled for an ultrasonic peel at 2:00pm. Make sure everything is in order".
For beauty salons: "Christmas is coming. Think about the promotions you will launch this year".
For barbershops: "Client Gabriel Ramirez cancelled his appointment today. Tell your staff to reschedule his appointment.

Knowing more details about what push messages are, we understand their usefulness and know that they can boost both productivity and business management tasks.

If you use the AgendaPro app, you can use this tool to keep track of activities that are happening in your company. The push notifications included in the software are located in the app used by the owners or managers of the centers, and have the following functions:

Notify you about new reservations made by your customers.
Know instantly if an appointment or reservation has been canceled.
Notifying you about modifications made to already scheduled appointments, such as a change of schedule or location.

With the software's push service you will be able to find out about any new developments in your company, which is a unique opportunity to make your customer service more efficient and also to modernize all the management practices you have been using up to now.

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