“You affect the world by what you browse.” — Tim Berners-Lee
Aptly communicated in the above quote by Mr. Lee that what we browse and look for on the web does change the way things turn up, for example, search engine rankings, the popularity of pages etc. The Web has become and is becoming more intelligent day by day. Similarly, we subscribe for what we want to be updated about. We subscribe to resources, newsletters, important changes etc. However, the reality is that making a place in the inbox or mailbox of a person or subscriber is easy but getting that user open the mail is way too difficult. So, how to notify users of the new updates on the website? One solution of the same is to set up an option of website push notifications or browser push notifications for your users. If you have an eCommerce store, then it becomes more important for you to communicate information related to offers, discounts, new arrivals, sale etc. to the users. Browser push notifications solve this problem very easily without even getting a single detail entered by the user.
So, what are browser push notifications?
Browser push notifications are the notifications which a user receives in his browser from a website after he subscribes to receive notifications from that website. The browser push notifications are very helpful in promoting new additions to the blogs, products etc. Also, the user needs not to be on the website.
Role of browser push notifications in engaging users
User engagement is what all the web based enterprises strive for. Gaining consumer attention and engaging them with the quality content has become an important aspect of marketing strategies of the online stores and websites. Let us consider some of the important factors related to user engagement before we discuss the role of web push notifications.
#1. Low click through rates of SMS & Emails
SMS and email, the two communication modes which have been used till date for conveying brand related information to users have gone outdated. Nobody reads messages and mailbox of the users are so much flooded with emails that they generally avoid promotional emails.
The click through rate of emails has also gone low. So, if you want the users to give their precious time to read your mail, make it really outstanding.
#2. Website Pop-ups help, but only when the user is on the website
Another way to engage users on the website is to show them new offers, discounts, and updates. Though this works well if the pop-up is designed keeping in mind the conversion-focused design, but for this to work, the user should be on the website first.
Thus, due to the decrease in the user’s interest in reading messages and emails and the pre-requisite of website pop-ups, the solution which works as a saviour for most of the enterprises is nothing but browser push notifications.
Now, let us see how browser push notifications help in building content engagement:
#1. The user receives latest notifications whenever he is using the browser to which he subscribed for notifications.
#2. It is just a one click subscription and the users need not provide their email id and other details. This allows users to opt in easily.
#3. Notifications are shown to the user even when he is not on the same website.
#4. The user may get curious to read the content or see the product as the notification is very crisp and conveys the message instantly.
#5. Opt-out rate from the browser notifications is very less.
#6. Click through rate of the browser push notifications is approximately 12% which is higher than most of the other methods used.
How to make the best of these browser push notifications?
In order to make the best of the browser push notifications, we need to take care of a few important things. They are as follows:
#1. Keep the subject line very crispy and action oriented.
#2. The character length of the ad copy should be at least 40 characters and utmost 120 characters.
#3. It should be such that it triggers psychological elements like fear of loss, urgency, limited stock (scarcity), etc.
#4. Make it aesthetically good. The look of the notification should appeal to the user.
Conclusion
Browser push notifications have a very high opt-in rate and a very less opt-out rate. If a user subscribes for notifications from your website, then half the battle is already won. Rest half would be won easily if the ad copy of the notification is impactful. Make the best of the browser push notifications by utilizing it for the purpose of bringing users on the website and engaging them.
