Anatomy of a good push notification

For behavior-based campaigns, try a weekly push

“Even valuable push notifications can come off as spammy when they are sent too often. For example, users may want push notifications from a social app every time a friend posts new content or shares an update, but for an retail app it could easily come off as spammy sending notifications with that same frequency. Test, evaluate, and see what push frequency works best for your app. Keep in mind that people are most weary of push notifications triggered by behavior tracking. However, 90% of people are willing to receive one push per week without disabling notifications, making experimentation relatively safe,” said Kristin Cronin, Director of Marketing Communications, Localytics.

Giver users more options

“Instead of initially sending people notifications based on location and in-app behavior, give them options to receive specific types of notifications. For instance, a retailer might consider adding preferences for Online Specials, Local Specials, and Product Suggestions. Truly great push notifications are upfront and honest with users, telling users right off the bat (usually as part of the app onboarding process) what types of messages they will be sending, how frequently push notifications will be sent, and letting users opt out if they’d prefer. Transparency with app users helps to increase push message opt-in rates and boosts engagement,” said Cronin.

Try location-based push

“App users crave individualization and they want their interactions to be tailored to their preferences, location, and in-app behavior. After stated preferences, we found that location tracking was deemed the most valuable type of trigger for push notifications. So if you’re a business with physical locations, geofencing is worth testing in order to give users content that’s personalized to their current location,” said Cronin.