Push notifications on mobile devices and email are like distant cousins in your family of digital communication channels. Although they have some genetic similarities, they live distinct lives and behave very differently. Each channel can play a significant role in your overall strategy and need to be used strategically. Both channels can be utilised to boost conversions, retention, and engagement.
You must coordinate the proper material with the right channel at the appropriate moment when considering the campaigns you want to build and the results you want to achieve.
These channels have unique applications within your entire communications strategy, despite some of their commonalities. Take into account the following recommendations when determining which campaigns are most suited for each channel. But first, let’s define email and push notifications before we begin with advice.
Describe email. What are push notifications for mobile devices?
The “Father of Spam,” Gary Thuerk, sent the first mass email campaign in 1978, which is when email marketing first became popular. Email marketing services, for example, are now frequently used to send marketing emails. Brands send them to their customers that have this channel subscribed. Many other sorts of material, including brand newsletters, transactional receipts, and seasonal promotions, are sent by email. Although email is a more established messaging medium than push, its ecosystem and the methods for reaching audiences through it are always changing.
With the introduction of Apple’s APNs (Apple Push Notification System) for iOS apps in 2009, mobile push notifications became a reality about 30 years after email. Mobile push notifications, which appear as small banners that slide into view on the user’s phone screen, are transmitted from a mobile app to the device. A user must have downloaded the company’s mobile app and selected to receive notifications in order to view these alerts from them.
Real-time updates, transactional messages, behavioural cues, and other information are frequently conveyed by these notifications, which are displayed front and centre on a user’s phone screen.
Let’s discuss important factors to take into account when designing a message for email or mobile push now that we are familiar with the fundamentals of each of these channels.
Choosing Mobile Push vs. Email: Important Factors
- Channel Information
Reviewing some critical channel-specific metrics is crucial before commencing your marketing initiatives.
Click-Through and Open Rates (CTR)
The research favours mobile push over email in terms of open rates and click-through rates. Emails had a less than two percent open rate in a recent research. Push notifications, in contrast, had an average open rate of 20%.
Deliverability for email is also inferior to mobile push. According to a report from 2020, one out of every five emails either ends up in spam or is never sent to the intended recipient. From July of 2019, there has been a 4% rise in failed email delivery. In comparison, push delivery is substantially higher.
Market penetration and return on investment (ROI):
Email outperforms mobile push in terms of ROI and adoption rates, but it lags behind it in terms of click-throughs and deliverability. For every $1 spent on email, the Digital Marketing Foundation’s study found a $38 ROI. In terms of general use, email surpasses mobile push, with a market penetration rate of 90.9% in the US as of 2019.
- Message Length and Content
The content itself is the first significant difference between email and smartphone push methods. Although emails are a longer method of communication and allow for more content, push notifications are often limited to a few hundred characters.
Think about the level of detail required to deliver the intended message and if a long or short format will effectively explain your CTA. Push alerts for mobile devices require far less time to produce and execute than email, which demands much more authoring bandwidth. In spite of this, email content has more potential for originality and customization.
- Audience
How are your mobile push and email audiences different? All users who have agreed to receive notifications from your app are part of the mobile push audience for your app. While iOS users must choose to get notifications via a permissions prompt, Android users are automatically opted in. According to the report, 52% of smartphone users choose to get push notifications.
In contrast, everyone who has joined your email list is part of your email audience. These users have consented to receive messages from your business by sharing their personal information (User Identified Information). By offering incentives like first-order discounts and gated information, as well as by strategically placing and timing opt-ins on their websites, brands work hard to expand their email subscriber lists. When you’re launching email, bear in mind that creating an email list is a process and an art form in and of itself.
- Ideal Messaging Interval
Email and mobile push both enable you to gradually develop relationships with your users. It’s wise to consider how frequently you message your customers on each platform, though. Given that smartphone push messages are immediate, real-time, and expected frequently, you can generally anticipate messaging your clients more frequently. They frequently aim to get users back into your app. Many companies send a tonne of smartphone push notifications every day. We typically send you two notifications every day.
Email, on the other hand, tends to be a slower conduit, so these messages ought to be delivered less frequently. Sending too many emails may result in lower email opens and greater unsubscribe rates.
- Sensitivity
Mobile push is a more sensitive channel as compared to email. Users tend to be more deeply engaged with these alerts since they see your updates in real-time, front and centre on their screens. Remember that consumers are more likely to become irritated if you send them content that is overtly promotional, delivered at the wrong time, or unrelated to their interests when creating messages for this channel. In light of this, email is a more effective medium for consistent marketing, newsletters, and product updates. According to the data, most customers genuinely prefer receiving promotions via email. You’ll need to be more strategic and targeted in your messaging due to the intimacy of push.
- Urgency
How urgently must people hear your message? Does the speed at which someone sees your message affect its value? Or, will your subscribers find your information relevant if they access it at their convenience? Users frequently view mobile push notifications in real-time, which makes them the best channel for time-sensitive content. For your most urgent communications, such as reminders for appointments, updates on the delivery of orders, fraud alerts, or breaking news, choose mobile push.
Choose email if the message can wait. Stay tactical in your approach; providing content that can wait through mobile push in excess will only harm your overall plan. Given that customers read email later, this channel is preferable for content like newsletters, detailed onboarding instructions, and other long-form content.
- Permanence of Message
Think about how permanent you want your message to be before deciding whether to send it by email or mobile push.
For communications that consumers might wish to refer to later, like invoices, lab test results, tickets, delivery confirmations, and messages with attachments, email is the best option. Mobile push notifications are transitory and hence inconvenient for information a user may wish to revisit, in contrast to emails, which remain in a user’s inbox and can be prioritised and starred for later reference.
Mobile push is great for messages that are more transient, including brief updates given in real-time to users who are unlikely to require an official record of them.
Start using Mok.one
Mok.one is made to assist you in managing alerts and user communication across all channels, including email, in-app chat, bulk SMS, and push notifications for mobile devices and the web. Our platform is simple to set up, and without having to do any technical work, it’s simple to modify and automate your message strategy. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up for Mok.one for no cost and start notifying your users of updates right away. Sign up now and see for yourself, don’t take our word for it!