Interesting and useful articles about marketing, our product and online communications

Tips for Digital Marketing & Sales in Altcraft Blog

Our experts will guide you in maximizing the effectiveness of Altcraft Platform for achieving your goals.

Elevate Your Business 
to a New Level

By continuing to use our site, you consent to the processing of cookies that ensure the proper functioning of the site.

Download documentation

Anti-Spam policy

Blog

Contacts

Support

Partners

Pricing

Privacy Policy

Why Altcraft

Page not found

Help Center: Guides on How to Use Altcraft Platform

Personal data policy

Privacy Policy
and personal data policy

Request a demo | Fill Out the Form | Altcraft Platform

Get Started With Altcraft's Software

Why business chooses Altcraft

processing of personal data

You can ask us your questions. Our experts are ready to answer them within the working day.

What else 
would you like to know?

How to set up a tracking pixel

What is a loyalty program

How to create a customer database

How to manually import customer data

You may be interested

<Img
img="/uploads/Top_6_Push_Notification_Mistakes_and_How_to_Fix_Them_d2774b1b1c.jpg"
alt="Top 6 Web and Mobile Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them"
/> 

In today’s competitive digital landscape, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to get consumers to click through marketing messages and engage with them. Push notifications represent a versatile marketing tool that can help you drive user traffic, stimulate engagement and boost user conversion and retention.

However, push notifications can only work for the benefit of your business when done right. Herein are common mistakes that marketing teams make when managing push notification campaigns and how to correct them.

## 1. Not Implementing User Segmentation

Appropriate audience segmentation is an essential component of any marketing activities, including push notification campaigns. Failing to assess, group, and segment your target audience means that you're unable to formulate tailored messages to appeal to consumers in unique stages of your sales funnel. Failing to segment your audience for tailored messages, especially for [**mobile push notifications**](mobile-marketing-101-push-notifications), leads to frequent subscriber opt-outs.

It’s imperative that you know your [**target audiences**](creating-a-customer-profile). Analyze and segment your audience into groups based on on-site actions (behavioral segmentation). These actions may include reading a blog, viewing a certain product, watching a video, or subscribing to a newsletter. Other types of segmentation include geographic, demographic, and social.

With push marketing technology, you can track custom data points far beyond automatic tracking. Utilize custom tracking and other tools, including metadata filters, aliases, and tags to engage segmented audiences with relevant push messages. Overall, analyze brand interactions and activity and align them with your push strategies.

## 2. Sending Generic Non-Personalized Messages

Sending generic push notifications indicative of a lack of customer research and consideration will result in low click-through rates and engagement. Consumers today want relevant, [**personalized marketing messages**](/features/personalization). It indicates that you understand their needs. It also saves users' time by catching their attention with actionable updates, information, or offers that are of interest.

Serve personalized recommendations based on specific user behavior (purchasing or browsing history), user purchasing stage, known preferences, and personal information. A good practice is to utilize placeholder tags. These tags enable you to replace placeholders with users' first names and relevant data for every push notification. With message tags, you can extract data from your data system and incorporate user-relevant information into the messages.

<Img
img="/uploads/personalized_mobile_push_4834dccfd9.png"
alt="personalized mobile push message"
/> 

## 3. Not Scheduling and Automating Push Notifications

Failing to schedule and automate your push notifications is a big mistake for marketing campaigns. With push notifications and any marketing communication channel, timing is a critical aspect. Even the best-designed push messages won't receive attention if you time them wrongly.

Ensure that you collect your subscriber/consumer profile. Utilize [**analytics data**](/features/analytics) to learn your users’ time zones, day-to-day activities, and when they are most active. Using this information to segment your audience. Doing so enables you to plan, schedule, and create automated push sequences using marketing automation software to send your messages at appropriate dates and times.

<Img
img="/uploads/right_timing_of_push_notifications_af7544bdbf.png"
alt="right timing of mobile push notifications"
src="Setting up push notification sending in Altcraft Platform"
/> 

## 4. Failing to Formulate a Clear Call-to-Action

The attention span of the average user is just a few seconds for any notifications they receive on their computers or mobile devices. Your push messages are likely to be discarded if your push notification does not include a clear CTA. Notification messages allow you to include a limited text, and you need to make the most of it. A clear CTA influences your audience to take a well-defined valuable action.

Utilize proven CTA phrases and words in your push messages and avoid jargon and filler words. You need to create a sense of urgency. Aim to avoid vague messages that your audience won’t know what to make of. Since you have limited text, it's good practice to include images that denote a clear CTA. Visuals catch the user’s eye and elicit better response rates.

<Img
img="/uploads/web_push_CTA_6825b58c69.png"
alt="CTA in push messages"
/> 

## 5. Choosing the Wrong Landing Pages

Where you are sending your customers is a crucial component of a push notification campaign. The landing page you direct your audience to must contain what you want them to see. Suppose you want to communicate to your customers about an attractive discount on a certain product category. You prepare the push message and activate your campaign. When your customers click on your CTA, they are directed to your homepage.

The above scenario clearly represents a subpar user experience since they can't locate your amazing offer that caught their attention. Consequently, you lose traffic, sales, or even subscribers. Ensure that you link the appropriate landing pages to your push messages. Your landing pages must have relevant information for a rich experience that boosts user retention.

## 6. Failing to Track Key Metrics

Much of web and mobile push notifications campaign success originates from hard-learned lessons. Not tracking [**key metrics**](top-digital-marketing-metrics) and optimizing appropriately equates to doing your campaign a great disservice. It’s crucial to closely monitor KPIs to determine deficiencies/gaps in your campaigns and inform future campaigns.

Clearly define the parameters necessary to benchmark campaign success to determine the effectiveness of your push notification strategies. Some of the top metrics you should use to measure campaign ROI include view rate, CTR, opt-in rate, retention rate, unsubscription rate, conversion rate, and website performance.

Utilize statistics regarding visits, clicks, interactions, and overall user engagement to formulate data-driven push notification strategies. Ensure that you conduct [**A/B testing**](/features/mvt) for different variables, including wording, personalization, visuals, and timing.

## Conclusion

Overall, web and mobile push notifications have become an effective marketing channel to engage your target audience. Providing the ability to reach your audience at a personal level, push notifications, especially when automated, serve as a direct communication path throughout their purchasing journey.

Getting relevant information, updates, offerings, and deals across to your customers at the right time via automated push messages is becoming ever-critical. Leveraging marketing automation software to bolster your push notification strategy enables you to save time/effort, gain new users, re-engage inactive users, boost conversions, facilitate continuous user engagement, get valuable feedback and retain clients.



Here is a list of common mistakes that marketing teams make when managing push notification campaigns and how to correct them.

large_Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them.jpg

medium_Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them.jpg

small_Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them.jpg

thumbnail_Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them.jpg

Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them.jpg

Push notifications are a marketing tool that can help you drive user traffic, stimulate engagement and boost user conversion. But they can only work for the benefit of your business when done right. 

Top 6 Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Top 6 Web and Mobile Push Notification Mistakes and How to Fix Them

<Img
img="/uploads/Mobile_App_as_a_Marketing_Channel_000b4a2ab1.jpg"
alt="Mobile App as a Marketing Channel"
/> 

Today, mobile is everything! Because everyone is hooked to their phones, mobile marketing is an easier, better way to communicate with customers and promote your products. Businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to keep up with technological advances. And that means using mobile apps as marketing channels.

As technology becomes more fragmented, so does marketing. Mobile apps have become an indispensable tool for companies big and small. The ultimate advantage of marketing on a mobile app is that you get to target audiences not so much by demographics but by their behaviors. For this reason, you can create more personalized messages that allow you to appeal to your customer and nurture them through the sales funnel.

What’s the difference between mobile app marketing and [**mobile marketing**](mobile-marketing)? Mobile marketing is any marketing that occurs on a mobile device, including app marketing and SMS marketing. Mobile app marketing is a less general term that involves creating marketing campaigns to communicate with your customers from the moment they first download your app.

Using mobile apps as a marketing channel offers the convenience of in-app purchases, which increases the likelihood of repeat purchases.

## Benefits Of A Mobile App For Business

Should your business have an app? There’s no other answer to this question other than a resounding yes!

Mobile Apps offer valuable marketing opportunities that help you reach and engage your target audience. The benefits of mobile apps for business include:

### 1. Improved customer engagement

Mobile Apps are a direct communication channel. If there’s one thing customers appreciate about a business, it’s great customer service. Sometimes the only difference between a lead and a conversion is how quickly customers can access valuable information and get a response.

Beyond support, mobile apps are great for collecting [**customer feedback**](how-to-use-customer-feedback-to-increase-sales). Customers are more likely to leave a review or ask questions if the process is easy, fast, and convenient.

### 2. More targeted marketing

Having a mobile app means you can leverage data-driven marketing by tracking shopping behavior to enhance your marketing strategies and recommend products you know your customers will love.

What this means is that your marketing campaigns are very specific to individual customers. Mobile apps mean you can reach customers in real-time with extremely targeted marketing that's bound to work.

### 3. Capitalize on the ubiquity of mobile devices

Yet another advantage of app marketing is that users carry their devices wherever they go. As a result, you can use location-based services to offer customers discounts, deals, or promotions based on their proximity to a store.

## The Mobile App Marketing Funnel

Just because you have an app doesn’t mean your conversion rates will automatically rise. It’s crucial to understand the mobile app marketing funnels so you can draw customers to your business and gain their loyalty.

The mobile app marketing funnel has 4 major stages:

- **Awareness** – The goal here is to attract targeted users to your app, and your strategy is to focus your marketing on channels where your users are known to congregate. You can raise awareness through social media, paid advertising, and app review websites.

- **Conversion** – A conversion is any action a customer takes that adds monetary value to your business and typically occurs when a user: downloads your app and creates an account to make an in-app purchase.

- **Customer relationship** – Now, this is how you nurture customers to keep them coming back for more. Otherwise, your app will be just another application on their phone. Utilize [**push notifications**](mobile-marketing-101-push-notifications) and in-app messaging to gain their attention and keep them opening your app.

- **Retention** – Keep your customers happy through [**loyalty programs**](/features/loyalty-programs) and offer rewards for completing [**surveys**](/features/forms-and-surveys). Remember, it’s more expensive to attract a new customer than to retain a loyal customer.

The key to successful marketing is to create a [**seamless purchase journey**](omnichannel-vs-multichannel) for customers. That’s why all your communication channels, from social media to SMS and app marketing, must work together to deliver a consistent message aimed at empowering the consumer.

## Creating the Ultimate Business App

It’s all about branding and the customer experience. The best business apps are those that are easily identifiable and easy to use. Without proper branding, customers won’t find your app appealing enough to download. Your brand instantly communicates what customers should expect of you and determines the demographic of people you attract.

The two biggest mistakes you can make while creating a mobile app are failing to define the real goal of the app and designing a poor user interface. Perform [**market research**](how-to-do-market-research) to determine if your customers really need an app and what they would use it for? Perhaps, a more responsive website design would be a better investment. If not, it's crucial to ensure your app fills a gap in your marketing.

A poor user interface will break your mobile app marketing. Consumers have neither the time nor patience to push through a slow, tedious interface to make a purchase or engage with your team. A good UX can actually guarantee the success of your venture, allowing you to nurture your leads better.

<Img
img="/uploads/when_an_app_experience_is_positive_302378c8cb.jpg"
alt="When an app experience is positive"
/> 

## Conclusion

Attracting target audience, retaining customers, increasing sales and brand loyalty — these are the tasks that any business have to face. And in the right hands, a mobile app can help with the solution.

The ultimate advantage of marketing on a mobile app is that you get to target audiences not so much by demographics but by their behaviors.

large_Mobile App as a Marketing Channel.jpg

medium_Mobile App as a Marketing Channel.jpg

small_Mobile App as a Marketing Channel.jpg

thumbnail_Mobile App as a Marketing Channel.jpg

Mobile App as a Marketing Channel.jpg

Businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to keep up with technological advances. And that means using mobile apps as marketing channels.

Mobile App as a Marketing Channel | 3 Benefits for Business

Mobile App as a Marketing Channel

<Img
img="/uploads/Mobile_Marketing_101_Push_Notifications_98b970d15c.jpg"
alt="Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications"
/>

Today, a significant majority of the global population access the internet through mobile devices rather than laptops or desktops. In the past, mobile marketing has been described as "the latest marketing trend" or "future of marketing." The truth is mobile has become an undetachable part of life, and for this reason alone, mobile has come to rule the world of marketing.

In this mobile-dominant landscape, where millions of apps compete in app stores, customer retention is now the biggest challenge for brands. Enter mobile push notifications – a new-age marketing tool with the ability to revolutionize the way you engage with and retain customers, whether potential, existing, or lapsed.

Let’s demystify mobile push notifications by explaining how they can play an instrumental role in shaping the fate of your business.

## What Are Mobile Push Notifications?

Every time you get breaking news updates, extreme weather notifications, or updates about your Amazon delivery on your smartphone – that’s a push alert conveyed directly to your device based on your personal preferences.

What is a push alert? Push alerts are actionable, attention-grabbing messages sent to your device through an app. They can potentially include a customized notification tone, brief personalized messages, and the ability to complete certain actions without opening the app.

<Note>
It’s important to understand the difference between [**web push**](in-depth-guide-on-web-push-notifications) and mobile push notifications. Web push notifications are the messages sent to users through desktop or mobile web. These alert-style messages typically slide onto the top or bottom right-hand corner of a desktop screen. On a mobile device, web push notifications are received on the notification screen. On the other hand, mobile push notifications are the messages that pop up on mobile devices from installed applications.
</Note>

A basic mobile push notification typically consists of some text and a deep link embedded within a call-to-action. Over time, mobile push has evolved to include enhanced visual and functional options. Today, with [**rich push notifications**](updates-telegram-bot-facebook-ads-manager), you can attach media such as music, static images, animated gifs, or short videos (on iOS) for a more engaging experience.

<Img
img="/uploads/rich_push_cc7d29f13c.png"
alt="Rich push"
src="Rich push preview in the Altcraft editor"
/>

App push notifications have become exceptionally important for re-engagement campaigns, especially when paired with deep linking technology, which seamlessly routes users to the desired conversion action within the app.

In a deeply competitive mobile landscape, mobile push is a dynamic marketing tactic that introduces an easier, better way to communicate with customers directly. Push messages are a way to connect with your audience and promote long-term, high-value engagement.

In essence, mobile app push notifications are used to engage, re-engage, and retain customers.

<Img
img="/uploads/Average_App_User_Retention_For_Push_Enabled_Users_Vs_Push_Disabled_Users_9d3c4e3564.jpg"
alt="Average App User Retention For Push Enabled Users Vs Push Disabled Users"
/>

## How Do Push Notifications Work?

Characteristically, push notifications are contextual, timely, personalized messages featuring a quick-to-the-point alert or call to action. They can pop up at any time; users don’t have to be using the app or their devices to receive them. More importantly, they look like your everyday SMS text messages on the notification panel.

<Img
img="/uploads/push_notification_on_ios2_a75cbfbcb8.png"
alt="Push notification on iOS"
/>

Now, the push notification journey begins at user install. When a person downloads an app, they typically receive a prompt to either block or allow notifications – it’s a preference they can change whenever they want to in their app or phone settings.

So push notifications can only be sent to users who’ve installed your app and enabled notifications. Each mobile platform has a service that supports push messages. For instance, Altcraft relies on push notification providers to deliver notifications:

1. Apple Push Notification (APN) service for iOS platforms

2. On Android:

- FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) for Google-enabled devices, and
- HMS (Huawei Messaging Service) for Huawei devices

The great thing about app push notifications is that they can be targeted to specific demographics of your user base.

## Benefits of Mobile Push

Push notifications can significantly enhance your customer experience allowing you to grow and retain your customer base.

As a communication channel, push notifications facilitate a timely flow of information, allowing businesses to easily interact with their audience. And they’re considerably less intrusive than other forms of user engagement.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why you should add mobile push notifications to your marketing mix.

- **You can send messages even when users aren’t actively using your app.** All that’s required is an internet connection.

- **Easy opt-in experience.** Usually, users must subscribe or opt-in to the service to receive these messages. All they have to do is simply select "Allow" when prompted.

- **Increased engagement since messages are sent in real-time.** And this is how push notifications increase app engagement numbers and the number of visitors returning to a website.

- **Higher conversion rates.** The messages are personalized, offering users a great non-invasive experience that boosts conversion rates.

- **Reduce efforts in the customer journey.** With deep links and a powerful CTA, you can direct users to certain actions within the app – another way to boost conversion.

Nothing is perfect – not even mobile push notifications. Some of the disadvantages of this marketing channel include:

- Users must opt-in, and almost one-third of them choose to opt-out or disable notifications which can impact marketing reach.

- Are easily confused with ads which can make them feel invasive.

- They have a character limit. Basically, they're one-liners making it difficult to communicate effectively.

Even with their shortcomings, mobile push notifications are still a vital element of any mobile marketing strategy.

## Mobile Push Notifications Strategy

How do you increase app engagement? First, let’s start with the mistakes that tend to derail push notification campaigns.

- **Too many notifications** – You don’t want your messages to come across as spam. The fewer the notifications, the more likely you are to engage rather than irritate your customers.

<Img
img="/uploads/Estimated_number_of_weekly_push_notifications_that_make_people_stop_using_the_app_b37d256f3f.jpg"
alt="Estimated number of weekly push notifications that make people stop using the app"
/>

- **Ignoring time zones** – It’s not just about tailoring message content. You also have to send the right message at the right time. Poor timing will more likely get your app uninstalled.

- **Poor copy** – Push notifications are designed to be brief, so make sure the information delivered is relevant and intriguing.

- **No expiration** – If the sale is over, get rid of the notification from the system. Otherwise, it could lead to terrible experiences for customers.

Push mobile notifications are one of the best marketing tools you have at your disposal for re-engaging users. Here are some tips to help you design a user-centric push notifications strategy.

### 1. Market to people, not devices

People want personalized and relevant push notifications. Generic messages are nothing but an annoying distraction. To engage your users, you must first understand them. A great example of this is Netflix. Based on user streaming habits, the Netflix app sends push notifications informing users of shows they'd like or when new seasons of their favorite shows become available.

<Img
img="/uploads/netflix_app_push_7f7507c266.png"
alt="Netflix app push"
/>

To do this, start by [**mapping**](customer-journey-map-visualization-tools) user behavior. Did they view a product or read a post? How long was their app session? The Altcraft platform, by way of [**AK-Pixel**](ak-pixel) technology, collects, analyzes, and enriches user data allowing you to deliver push notifications that are personalized to user behavior. This way, you get to increase engagement and build a relationship with your audience.

### 2. Segment your audience

Good marketing is [**personalized**](/features/personalization) marketing. Accurate audience segmentation allows for perfectly tailored messages that suit your user behavior and needs. It's the era of big data – details about user demographics, browsing habits, and interests are readily available for you to customize your messages.

### 3. Get the Opt-In

Returning to the subject of operating system push notification services, it’s important to note that the APN service requires iOS users to grant permission for an app to send them push notifications. Android does not. The majority of iOS apps show a standard opt-in message when the app is first installed.

A better approach would be to create a customized welcome message that briefly explains the value of opting in. It's important to make a great first impression.

## Big Impact, Low Effort

Yes, mobile push notifications are worth all the hype. App push notifications expand your marketing reach, and they take very little time and effort to set up. So, what are you waiting for?

In a deeply competitive mobile landscape, mobile push is a dynamic marketing tactic that introduces an easier, better way to communicate with customers directly.

large_Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications.jpg

medium_Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications.jpg

small_Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications.jpg

thumbnail_Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications.jpg

Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications.jpg

Enter mobile push notifications – a new-age marketing tool with the ability to revolutionize the way you engage with and retain customers, whether potential, existing, or lapsed.

Mobile Push Notifications | Benefits for Your Business

Mobile Marketing 101: Push Notifications

All user information is systematically collected in a unified customer data platform

Distributing messages across various communication channels: email, SMS, push notifications, messengers

Promo codes, bonuses, and points for building long-term customer relationships

You can create and edit any HTML template, as well as save your own custom blocks

Personalized distribution of messages to clients through communication channels

Conducting experiments and optimizing marketing strategies

Tracking the effectiveness of marketing campaigns to make informed decisions

Connecting external systems to the platform and synchronizing data with company databases

Creating questionnaires, surveys, and feedback forms of any level of complexity

The ability to communicate with your clients anytime and anywhere

Customer Data Platform

Omnichannel Marketing

Loyalty programs

HTML Email Builder

Personalized mailings

A/B/n Testing

Real-time analytics

Integration and WebHooks

Forms and Surveys

Messenger Communication

Interesting and useful articles about marketing, our product and online communications

Don't forget to subscribe to our Blog