What is push notification?

For a while, my product sales had been dwindling; to pull my customers back to me, I offered some really good discounts. I updated my website and store app with new features, but I didn’t know how to inform them.

I didn’t have their correct contact information either; I didn’t want to stand in the middle of the square like old-timey criers and shout, “Hear ye, hear ye…”

So, with much despair, I turned to Google hoping to find a solution; as I searched through websites, I saw some pop-ups that elegantly asked me to subscribe to their news. It was here that I exclaimed like Archimedes: Eureka! I found it!

It seemed to me that my solution was just this, advertising with push notifications.

Of course, I wasn’t unfamiliar with push notifications. We all receive them on our phones, like social media notifications. I should use this same method for advertising. But how? So, I started researching and compiled everything I learned for you in this article.

Comprehensive Guide to Push Notifications and Their Uses
Push notifications are messages sent daily from apps, social networks, and websites, appearing in the notification area of your phone or desktop corner. This service is a fast and powerful means of communication used for announcing updates, discounts, advertisements, etc. Apps and websites try to attract users back to their programs or encourage them to make purchases through engaging messages.

Unlike other communication methods like email and SMS, push notifications don’t require having customers’ contact information, and users only receive them when they’ve given permission for push notification delivery.

6 Advantages of Using Push Notifications

Businesses can attract users to their sites and apps by sending timely and personalized messages (messages tailored to users’ profiles) via push notification service.

This service has 6 significant advantages that make businesses eager to use it; let’s see what these 6 advantages are.

1. Increase Message Open Rates
Unlike SMS, which may not be opened immediately and remain unread, or email, which may be hidden in the spam folder, notifications are quickly seen, which is a key advantage of push notifications. So, pay attention to the timing of message delivery and send notifications during peak hours when users are awake and alert to get the highest open rates.

2. Increase Returning Traffic
With attractive offers through push notifications, you can bring users back to your site and significantly reduce your sales and marketing costs by using customer return strategies.

3. Increase Leads and Potential Customers
Many users prefer not to enter their information into websites or apps and become members, so you have no information to reconnect with them; but for sending push notifications, there is no need for any information, and users have already declared their consent for this communication.

4. Time Saving
Push notifications are short and concise, and they can be sent very quickly. You don’t even need to have an app; you can send push notifications directly to users’ desktops or mobile browsers and attract their attention.

5. Create a Relevant User Experience
Suppose a customer has filled their shopping cart on your site but hasn’t completed the purchase. You can notify them to complete their purchase by sending a notification. Or send them their invoice and receipt information. Or in the case of a purchase, notify them of the transaction, informing them of payment and completion of the purchase. With this method, the user receives a relevant notification based on their activity within the app or site, which can provide a better user experience.

Types of Push Notifications Based on Purpose

Push notifications are divided into two categories: transactional and promotional, based on customer marketing journey and advertising campaign objectives:

Interactive Notifications
Transactional notifications are messages sent to users based on their interaction with the website or application when they want to inform them of transaction status. These notifications usually inform users of steps such as order confirmation, payment status confirmation, two-factor authentication, shopping cart alerts, and some security checks.

Promotional Notifications
Promotional or marketing push notifications are usually used to announce special offers such as discounts, lottery opportunities, updates, and generally any marketing activity aimed at increasing sales or brand awareness. These notifications, due to their low cost and high return rate, usually have an economic advantage and can be considered as an effective instant channel.

Types of Push Notifications Based on Display Platform

Notifications have the ability to be displayed to users on various devices. Therefore, you can display your audience on web platforms, desktops, mobile apps, and smart wearable devices such as Apple Watch. Below, we examine all of these cases.

Web Push Notifications

Web push notifications are communication messages sent to users via desktop or mobile browser. You’ve probably been asked to receive these notifications when you’ve entered a website. If you agree, you will be added to the site’s contact list and will have the opportunity to receive notifications.

Desktop Push Notifications

Desktop notifications only appear on your laptop or personal computer screen. These alerts are usually sent through programs installed on your computer and usually inform you of new events or status changes in the tool you are using.

Mobile App Push Notifications
You are probably familiar with these notifications and encounter dozens of them daily. Some of these notifications are published from the apps you have installed, and others are advertising messages. Since mobile phones are always available to users, this is the best opportunity for marketers. So be sure to send push notifications to mobile device users in your advertising campaigns.

Push Notification Services

Get acquainted with the top 6 push notification tools designed to increase interaction, retention, and conversion of users with targeted and personalized messages across multiple platforms:

Amazon SNS – Amazon Simple Notification Service
Pushwoosh
Airship
Leanplum
Mixpanel
OneSignal
To get familiar with the general features of push notification tools, let’s examine a few examples.

Amazon SNS
Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service Amazon) was launched by Amazon in 2010. This service is compatible with Amazon’s web services and helps businesses send push notifications to mobile phones for iOS, Android, Fire OS, Windows, and Baidu-based devices. With this tool, you can also send SMS and email messages.

OneSignal
OneSignal is a multi-platform messaging service company used on websites and mobile apps to send desired messages to users. Some big brands like Virgin, KFC, and HQ work with it.