Push Notifications: Finding the Balance Between Being Effective and Being Annoying By Tory Darling, ​Codal Inc
______________________________________________________ Mobile is taking the technology world by storm and is the new go to device for mobile app development agencies to use to reach users. The extended use of mobile allows the ability to reach your target wherever and whenever. Although even though you are able to constantly reach the target audience, grabbing their attention is another hurdle to overcome for ux designers. Hence, the creation of push notifications. Push notifications are messages that pop up on mobile devices. These push notifications resemble SMS text messages and mobile alerts but only reach the users that have installed the app. Whether the push notification is used to alert the user of a score update on the game or sending promotional content to increase sales, a user can be bombarded with push notifications.
Don’t be Annoying Push notifications are set up in a way that the user has to allow each app to send out push notifications. The last thing you want as an application development agency is for the user to turn off the push notifications because they are getting irrelevant or an obnoxious amount of notifications. Some of the ways ux designers can risk the user taking action in turning off the push notification are sending at bad times and sending irrelevant information. Today a lot of people are choosing to go to bed with their mobile device in arms reach. That being said, nobody wants to be woken up at three in the morning from a push notification. Additionally, even though a user downloaded the ESPN app, does not mean they want to be updated on every score of each game.
How to be Effective Firstly, if you choose to use push notifications, you have to be respectful to the user. The mobile age offers the ability for marketers to gain access to abundant personal information and thus is important to utilize push notifications in an appropriate manner. Secondly, providing relevant content to the user is crucial in order to be effective as a ux designer. Ways to provide relevant content can be including an aspect of personalization to the push notification. When the user feels like the message is directed at them, they will be more likely to click through the notification, as opposed to clearing the message. Lastly, utilizing mobile functions is key in order to effectively use push notifications. A common function is being able to reach a user when they are near a specific location. For example, a retailer can send a push notification of a special deal that is going on in store when the user is walking by the store. This is relevant because of the person’s location and can very much entice the person to enter the store. Conclusion Push notifications can be extremely effective when done correctly. Ultimately, the goal of push notifications is to grab the user's attention. This attention grabber can pose as very effective and should not be overdone in a way that risks this privilege entirely. Looking for more insight on UX design services? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.
Codal Inc App Development & UX Design Agency www.codal.com