Webinar

What Are Push Notifications?

07/26/17

Meet Your Host

Aaron SawitskyLocalytics

Head of Product Marketing

AgendaThe Basics

How Does Push Work?

Advanced Features

Examples

Push vs. Other Channels

Demo

Q&A

The Basics

What Are Push Notifications?

• A push notification is a message that

appears on a smartphone

• Similar to a text message

• Are sent from an app

• Can only be received by people who have

the app installed on their phone

• Users must have push enabled in order to

receive notifications

What do Push Notifications Look Like?

• The appearance of push notifications can

change slightly depending on the following:

• Whether they are being shown on an Apple

or Android device

• The operating system version

• Where the notification is being shown

• Additional message content like images

and action buttons (more on this in a bit)

Notification on iOS

Notification on Android

Where do Push Notifications Appear?

• Push notifications are shown several

places on a phone:

• The lock screen

• The notification center

• At the top of the screen (when a push

is received while using the device)

• The menu bar (Android only)

Why Use Push Notifications?

• Push notifications allow you to engage users outside your app

• If used correctly, push notifications can create a far more loyal and active customer

base

• The key is to not over-message and only deliver relevant content

Push vs. Other Channels

Push vs. In-App Messages vs. Email

Push In-App Email

Can be viewed at

any time?

Yes No, your app

must be open

No, email app

must be open

Customized look

& feel?

Limited Yes Yes

Requires opt-in? Yes No Sort of

(unsubscribe)

Which Channel Should You Use?

• It depends on the goal of your message

• Push notifications & email great for getting users to open your app

• In-app messages getting users to perform specific actions inside your app

How Does Push Work?

How It Works

• Apple and Google provide their own push notification services

• When you want to send a push notification, you tell the notification service the

message you want to send and who should receive it

• Each device has a unique identifier called a token. This lets the notification

service target individual devices

• The notification service delivers the message to the right devices

Push Notification

Service

Device

Advanced Features

Rich Push

• A rich push is a push notification that includes

“rich content” (a picture, GIF, video, or audio

file)

• With rich pushes, you can bring content

outside your app, removing a barrier to

consumption

• Adding rich content improves message

performance:

Increase in Open

Rate

30%

Source: Localytics, 2017

Personalization

• Personalization is the process of customizing

a message for each recipient

• Good personalization combines strong

audience targeting with dynamic content

• Common dynamic elements: name, favorite

category, last purchase, etc.

• Personalization can dramatically increase

open rates:

Source: Localytics, 2017

Average Open

Rate

4.1%Open Rate w/

Personalization

6.6%

Location-Based Messaging

• Push notifications are sent when a user

enters/exits a specific location

• Generally uses geofences or beacons

• Provides some of the most timely messages

possible

Categories/Actions

• iOS Categories and Android Actions allow you

to include buttons in your push notifications

• Great way to make messages more

interactive

• Buttons must be configured inside the app’s

code ahead of time

Transactional Push

• Transactional push notifications are a form of

automated notification

• Allows any software to send a push

notification

• Great for order updates, friend updates,

breaking news, etc.

Demo

Questions