Everyday life for modern people has gradually shifted to a small device. Today, we increasingly use smartphones to communicate with friends, listen to music and watch videos, read books, order food and tickets, and manage financial matters. 

Analyzing further the usage patterns, it turns out that only 9% of our mobile device usage is spent on web surfing, while the remaining 91% is spent in apps. This presents an excellent opportunity for companies to communicate effectively with their audience through mobile apps. 

In-app notifications can easily handle this task, delivering attractive offers and creating a positive user experience with the product. Below, we will share secrets on how these micro-notifications can help you stand out from competitors and win the favor of users with your app.

What is the Difference Between In-app Messaging and Push Notifications

When it comes to mobile app notifications, most people think of those alerts that pop up on a smartphone screen even when the app isn't open. These are called mobile push notifications or just mobile pushes. Usually, when installing an app, users are asked for permission to send these notifications.

In contrast, in-app notifications don't require extra permission. As the name suggests, they appear inside the app while it's being used.

The main goal of mobile push notifications is to bring users back to the app. You can send exciting news, reminders, promotions, order status updates, in-app events, new features, or product offers — anything that makes users want to engage with the app. Mobile push notifications are great for reactivating users and keeping active ones engaged.

On the other hand, everyone using the app can see in-app notifications. They aren't suitable for re-engaging inactive users, yet they can help connect with interested ones. If someone has opened the app, they already show interest in your product. In-app notifications act as guides, helping to build customer loyalty. However, sending too many inappropriate or overly promotional messages can annoy users. Well-crafted, highly targeted notifications can steadily boost user satisfaction.

How to Use In-app Notifications

An effective in-app messaging often comes from a well-thought marketing strategy combined with a great user experience (UX). Notifications should catch the user's interest and maintain their overall interaction with the app. Another statistics reveal that apps using in-app notifications retain users 3.5 times better than the rest. Let's explore real-life examples of how brands communicate directly within their apps and how this improves user retention.

Welcoming and Onboarding

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Allan & Barbara Pease, "Body language" (1981)

The modern take on this idea is the FTUE (First Time User Experience) indicator, which gauges the user's initial impression of the software interface. This first impression often defines whether the person continues using the app. Therefore, engaging the user during their first session is crucial, making all actions easy and clear to encourage further exploration of the app.

Let's look at a series of notifications during the first launch of the cashback service app LetyShops. A newcomer is greeted with a friendly-toned message emphasizing the app's benefits. Users are invited to interact with a brief guide on how purchases are made, cashback is earned, and a prompt to log in.

The system provides onboarding to simplify adaptation from the moment the user enters the application. Small tips make the app’s interface clear for users from the first stages of interaction.

It’s worth noting that in-app notifications for onboarding are not always necessary. Many of us are experienced smartphone users with dozens of apps already installed. Additional explanations might be unnecessary if most of your features are standard and intuitive. In such cases, tips should only be provided where the possibility of confusion is high.

However, in-app notifications can be used for more than just showing users "where to tap to do this" during onboarding. Highlight the unique features of your app. For example, the Maps.me service introduces users to its wallet feature with a series of notifications in a carousel. By outlining its advantages and adding engaging infographics and animations, the developers ultimately invite users to be the first to try out the new functionality.

Encouraging Users to Return to the App

If you've captured a user's interest during the initial introduction, it’s not yet a steady promise of their further engagement. The app may become another icon on their smartphone or, even worse, another listing in the App Store or Google Play. There are numerous reasons for this: personal matters, changing priorities and interests, or the abundance of competing options. Since users' activity tends to drop after a day, a week, and a month after installation, your goal is to maintain their constant interest.

Previously, earning bonuses for daily logins was a popular retention strategy for gaming platforms. Companies in other niches are developing creative campaigns to bring users back without using additional communication channels.

LetyShops follows the principles of FOMO marketing, motivating customers to regularly check the app to avoid missing out on frequently updated promotions.

The joint app of discount services, Pokupon & SuperDeal, uses gamification and the classic coin method. Users receive coins each day they open the app. Bonus coins are awarded for specific actions like inviting friends, leaving reviews, and more. You can use these virtual coins to spin the wheel of fortune and win prizes from partner companies.

Engagement mechanics are especially relevant for services related to education and self-development. Many people are familiar with starting an exciting activity with enthusiasm, only to abandon it halfway through. To help maintain users' motivation, the language learning app LinguaLeo offers the option to set a study schedule and receive rewards for sticking to it. Similarly, the Simpler service promises to issue a certificate upon course completion:

We haven't heard of any cases where a mobile app certificate has directly helped someone in their job search :) But Simpler's notification has some truth to it: having a deep knowledge of a foreign language can significantly improve your chances of getting a good job, which can be a powerful motivator.

The online library, MyBook, encourages you to challenge yourself. How many books are you ready to read in a month? One, two, ten? How about in a year? During the initial introduction to the app, users see a notification suggesting they set their own reading goal. You don’t have to aim for an impressive number—pick any goal you wish. As a result, readers are motivated to achieve their personal goals, and MyBook gains regular users.

User Engagement 

Setting big goals is great. And the app developers often use a method, borrowed from game development, to turn the ride towards the goal into an engaging process. In video games, the interaction cycle usually follows the OCR model – objective, challenge, reward – which encourages players to progress through the game step by step. Players' motivation is divided into short-, medium-, and long-term goals: reaching a treasure chest, leveling up a character, and completing the game. At each stage, interest is sustained by rewards or new opportunities earned by completing tasks.

The reward system as a tool for engaging and retaining audiences has become integral to many mobile apps. Rewards, leaderboards, progress bars, and emotionally positive messages penetrate the user's mind and maintain motivation toward their goals. Even a short-term satisfaction from achievement creates a positive association with the product, encouraging users to return to it repeatedly.

Even an app designed to reduce daily smartphone usage encourages continuous activity through incentive notifications. Focus Plant aims to boost personal productivity by decreasing gadget dependency. To concentrate on an important task, you need to set a timer and avoid using your smartphone for a specified period. Completing this task rewards you with sun and water, which are necessary for growing plants. The more time you spend away from apps, the more opportunities you have to cultivate a large garden.

Internal notifications for encouragement are relevant not only for apps that use gaming mechanics. Praise the user for their excellent taste, congratulate them on a milestone order, or simply thank them for being with you. Understanding your customer's profile allows you to find an appropriate reason for a pleasant message.

Update Notifications and Integration with Other Apps

According to research by App Annie, we use only about one-third of the apps we install. You can introduce new features or interface updates during the user's activity in the app. If automatic app updates are enabled on the device, the user might encounter unfamiliar elements or miss out on new useful features when they reopen the app. Share important updates so that users can fully benefit from these enhancements:

If the installation requires user participation, explain the benefits they will gain from it. Some users turn off this option to save device storage, believing that the essential functions are sufficient. Besides, while notifying users about the release of an improved version, you can also suggest installing a new app related to your product.

If collaboration is more than just a buzzword for you and represents real partnerships with other apps, share this with your audience. The navigation app, Waze, for instance, offers to link your account with popular services like Facebook and Spotify, expecting that such integration can extend the user lifecycle.

Promotions and Discounts

In-app messaging is a simple and quick way to delight your customers with price drops or special offers. These notifications have two advantages over other communication channels:

• You are reaching the audience segment that is using your app and is motivated.
• The customer can't miss the notification, unlike emails, messages in messengers, and social media posts.

Discounts, promo codes, loyalty program bonuses, and limited-time offers—all promotional campaigns integrate well with in-app notifications and show high conversion rates when combined with various creative mechanics.

These offers can be personalized and provide clear benefits to the user:

Or such offers can be aimed at drawing attention to a specific product, product group, or section in the app:

Inviting User`s Friends

The natural increase in new customers through existing user referrals is one of the best methods for attracting a new audience for any business. In the first place, it means a low Customer Acquisition Cost. Secondly, the new customer moves through the sales funnel more quickly because they've already received a recommendation from a trusted source. This is why inviting friends, sharing content, and creating referral programs are so popular.

On the other hand, if a user has an audience for engaging interactions within the app, it can extend their Average Customer Lifetime through social involvement. Encourage the user to join your community or add friends from social media, emphasizing in the notification why this will benefit them:

Moving from Freemium to Premium Plans

In most cases, a company's profit growth is achieved not by attracting new customers but through repeat purchases made by existing ones. Naturally, apps with both free and paid plans aim to increase their number of subscribers. Companies try to achieve this using in-app notifications, but the results can vary significantly depending on the chosen strategy.

Approach One. Offer a short free trial period and then lock the most important features, reminding users with regular subscription prompts every time they log in or during their session.

Approach Two. Provide partial access to premium features and then gently nudge the user towards upgrading through subtle hints.

Only some people have enough time during a trial period to appreciate the core features, especially if the period is just 3-5 days. The entire feature list and plan comparisons may not seem compelling to forgo the free version. The conclusion is that users must independently realize they want to upgrade their plan.

Here are some examples of a subtle encouragement to switch to the paid plan. The BookMate service provides access to books available on the paid plan, allowing the reader to explore a fragment. The VSCO app allows users to apply a premium filter to their photos and see the results. Initially, the user experiences real value and then receives a notification with a subscription offer.

At the same time, using premium features shouldn't come as a surprise. In-app notifications are appropriate if they aren't marked with a special symbol. For example, the freemium version of Spotify allows users to skip 6 songs per hour, and as they approach this limit, they receive a small notification about the restriction. This reduces potential frustration from unaware users and gives them a choice: continue using the app with limitations or upgrade to premium. A subscription offer appears after the user has exhausted the amount of skipping options.

Interface Customization

How can you create a perfect interface that everyone loves? You can analyze user behavior patterns, engage experienced UX/UI designers, and conduct A/B testing. And you should. And still, it won’t be perfect for everyone. Even if the app's ratings and user reviews indicate that most users are satisfied, some will always think it could be better. In-app notifications can be used to offer users the option to customize the interface to their preferences, earning additional loyalty points. 

For example, LetyShops remembers account settings from a desktop login and asks users which language they prefer to use in the app:

When presenting the dark mode output, VSCO's photo and video editor not only offers to try the new feature but also demonstrates what it would look like:

In this article, we wrote about how to adapt email campaigns to a dark mode.

The developers of Sense SuperApp have placed a special emphasis on personalizing the user experience. This mobile banking app asks users which style of communication they prefer: formal, neutral, or friendly. The choice made by the user determines the tone of the service notifications they receive.

Offer to Leave Feedback

Genuine user reviews are the best way to identify areas for improvement and work on fixing bugs. Additionally, asking for feedback is an opportunity to turn app notifications from one-way communication into a dialogue. You can learn the user's opinion and show that their satisfaction is important to you.

Ask for user feedback not just while browsing the app but after completing any essential action, such as making a purchase, downloading content, or completing a level. Some people enjoy leaving detailed reviews, while others don't want to spend time writing comments. Consider using two types of messages: one for quick ratings and another with the option to go to the app store and leave a review there.

Connecting Оther Сhannels

Inform your customers about other available communication channels to maintain your connection with them when they're not using the app. This approach can be most effective when the user is searching for specific information or products. Instead of getting lost in irrelevant offers, they will likely appreciate receiving curated selections and updates relevant to their interests and inquiries.

Let's focus on encouraging users to subscribe to mobile push notifications. This is a crucial way to stay connected and can re-engage inactive customers. 

When users first install an app, they are often bombarded with numerous notifications: "Allow location access", "Grant access to photos and contacts", "Allow tracking in other apps", "Enable notifications," and so on. Faced with this barrage of requests, users are likely to quickly close all pop-ups and might miss essential settings. They need to explore the app to understand the benefits of enabling notifications, assuming they will be bombarded with ads.

The customer should feel a genuine benefit from enabling a particular option. A standard message like "Allow the app to send notifications to stay updated on news and promotions" is not very motivating. Studying customer journeys and identifying points where the offer will be most relevant is more effective. Aviasales uses this approach: when a user expresses interest in tracking prices for a specific route, a recommendation to enable push notifications appears. Similarly, the Waze app has a convenient notification for the best time to leave, considering the user's location and traffic conditions. The user is prompted to enable mobile push notifications when selecting this option.

Once you've obtained permission to send mobile push notifications, keeping users engaged with valuable content is important. When users receive notifications based on their interests, purchase history, location, in-app actions, and other personal data, the conversion rate of these notifications increases significantly. Targeted segmentation and personalization are key features available when setting up mobile push campaigns in Yespo. By making notifications relevant, you can build customer loyalty towards your promotions. After establishing this trust, you can suggest that users opt into additional channels, such as email or SMS, and incorporate them into omnichannel strategies. This approach allows you to create a unified communication system where channels complement rather than duplicate each other.

According to research by Braze, combining in-app messaging and email increases user engagement by 186%. When push notifications are added to the communication system, the Engagement Rate is 54% higher than those who only received emails and in-app messages.

You can read an actual case study about how integrating mobile push notifications increased the number of orders by 65%.

Creating In-App Notifications in Yespo

Sending notifications to mobile application users through Yespo is implemented with Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). Therefore, the first step is to create a project in this service and add the key to the system. Please see the support article to simplify the creation and connection of a Google project.

By integrating Firebase with your app and uploading the token database to Yespo, you can send:

• Notification messages, which use the notification key and are displayed to the user.
• Data messages, which contain the data key and are processed by the app on the client side.

The data message type allows you to customize in-app push notifications. Notifications for mobile apps are created in the Yespo account under the section Messages → Mob Push.

In the Creating New Mobile Push window, fill in the Name, Subject, and Message Text fields. If needed, add tags for filtering. 

In the Custom Data field, you can configure how the notifications are displayed. To provide the app with the parameters needed to display the message correctly, you must specify the data in JSON format.

Since Google has not yet provided a specialized API for in-app notifications, you can manually set a field to be passed in Custom Data, such as "type":"in-app". Your app can use this flag to determine how to handle the message:

• ignore the notification display if the app is active but in the background;
• display notifications if the user interacts with the app.

You can similarly configure other fields to define rules for displaying notifications. This approach gives you flexible options for interpreting data and allows you to set custom parameters for displaying notifications in your app.

How to Make In-app Messaging as Efficient as Possible

There's a fine line between engaging the user and annoying them when sending in-app notifications. It's crucial to carefully consider the messages' content, appearance, and timing. To create an effective in-app messaging campaign, focus on three key questions: When? Who? What?

Following these guidelines, you can turn in-app notifications into a reliable tool for engaging and retaining customers.

1. Choose the Optimal Time to Send Notifications

The best time to send a notification is not the time of day or day of the week. The user's current stage of interaction with the app determines the perfect moment. Nothing is more frustrating than a promotional banner interrupting an ongoing process. To enhance the user experience, notifications should be a contextual extension of the user's actions and relate to their current task. 

If the message's content, such as an update or promotion, doesn't directly relate to the user's actions, the best time to display it is upon app launch or during breaks between tasks.

2. Segment Your Audience

As with any other channel, in-app messaging should not treat users as anonymous message recipients but as real people with distinct characteristics. Experienced users don't need repetitive tips on navigating the interface, and it would be odd to ask a new user if they like the app. Residents of City X are unlikely to be interested in establishments and events in City Y unless they intend to visit them.

At first, it may seem like more initial information about a user is needed, especially if the app doesn't require authorization at launch. However, as the app is used, you can gather sufficient data, such as location, purchasing power, and behavioral patterns. Of course, one of the primary triggers for sending notifications should be the user's actions themselves.

3. Focus on Content and Visuals

The attractiveness of a notification is crucial for making a positive impression on the recipient. To enhance clarity and engagement, use a variety of notification styles, considering the context. For some users, bright colors, images, GIF animations, mascots, and emojis might be appropriate. For others, a simple text on a plain background without distracting elements might be more suitable.

Different types of notifications can be employed depending on the message's goal. Let's look at how Hopper's flight and hotel booking app effectively uses each type in its interface.

• Banner carousels are a great option for presenting a large amount of information in a small screen area while highlighting the most important points. They are often used for initial app introductions and showcasing new features. These notifications are well-received because they present content sequentially, similar to flipping through pages, and they resemble the familiar format of stories.

• Modal windows are particularly effective when capturing the user's full attention. However, they should be reserved for truly important notifications and used sparingly, as pop-ups block interaction with other elements of the app and can be annoying. To avoid coming across as intrusive, you can vary the placement of pop-up windows by positioning the banner at the top, bottom, or center of the screen or even making it full-screen.

• Contextual pop-up tips simplify the user interaction with the app's UI. They guide new users through the main features and help even experienced users avoid potential mistakes. These messages are usually very compact yet noticeable, making them effective at accomplishing their purpose without distracting from the primary tasks.

• Notifications integrated into the main content area are designed for subtle communication. They blend seamlessly with the interface, appearing as a natural part of the app's design. The key is to ensure these notifications don't come across as aggressively promotional, as this could make users feel like they are being bombarded with ads throughout the app.

Effective in-app notifications require well-crafted text in addition to an attractive design. In the limited space of a screen, it's important to use all the copywriting tricks to influence the user with a concise message. Whether you want to encourage a specific action or simply convey information, strive to make the notification feel like a natural part of the app experience rather than just another marketing gimmick.

4. Use A/B Testing

Conducting preliminary research is crucial for achieving better results in most campaigns, and in-app messaging is no exception. Test several versions of your messages on control groups and compare the results. Analyzing clicks, conversions, and other metrics will help you better understand your audience and choose the most effective notification for a broader user base.

Conclusion

You've likely noticed a recurring theme throughout this article: "Value." In-app notifications should provide value to the customer, even if it's not immediately apparent. In-app messaging can make the app more convenient, help users find great deals, or improve their mood. Define the core message and find the right timing for sending it. By combining value with relevance, you create a formula for sustained engagement with customers through in-app notifications.

If you're concerned about users no longer engaging with the app, start integrating other communication channels now. Yespo has numerous successful case studies involving multi-channel interactions across various industries. Submit your inquiry, and your success story could be featured on our blog soon =) 

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