With so many opportunities available for marketers looking to engage and connect with their audience, it can be difficult to decide which direction to head. No matter which platforms you land on, having a cohesive strategy in place is crucial for success.
Two such avenues that many brands utilize are email marketing and web push notifications. Both provide unique opportunities for engaging leads, closing sales, increasing customer loyalty, and a lot more. Is one better than the other? No. Rather, their differences allow you to connect with your audience in different ways.
So, how can you make the best use of both platforms? From the content that is best suited for each, to opportunities to use both together, to general considerations and best practices, let’s get into what you need to know.
There is almost no other platform that can guarantee this high of a level of immediate visibility. Web push notifications will display on a subscriber’s device no matter what- even if they aren’t at your website or using a browser. Your most time-sensitive messages are perfect for delivering via web push.
There is almost no other platform that can guarantee this high of a level of immediate visibility. Web push notifications will display on a subscriber’s device no matter what- even if they aren’t at your website or using a browser. Your most time-sensitive messages are perfect for delivering via web push.
Think messages like flash sale alerts or breaking news content. This is information you want to be delivered right away. No matter the industry you are in, you’ve likely got content that fits into this category. Share it with push!
Web push notifications are also great for quick notifications relating to subscriber action at your website. If you have a message board at your website, alerts about new comments or messages are great to share via web push. Or, consider sharing account alerts that need immediate attention.
If there is information that a subscriber would like to know immediately, share it via web push. This makes it easy for them to keep up with activity and engage or respond as quickly as possible. Not only does this elevate engagement levels at your website, but it also helps with customer satisfaction.
Email is still a wonderful option for campaigns that need more detail or feature information that your audience needs to save. Here are some campaign types that are perfectly suited for email:
Use email campaigns to show off new products of yours- and we really mean show off! Email is great for including large, high-quality visuals that can really help sell your products.
In the above example, men’s clothing brand Ben Sherman shows off a new collection of sweaters, complete with compelling visuals and corresponding information that encourages customers to click and shop.
The key here is high-quality visuals that will help you capture attention. Visually appealing campaigns will help boost the effectiveness of your email campaigns. While it is okay to sometimes rely on stock photos, original graphics will provide the best results, according to a study from Venngage.
Another great type of content that is best to share via email is any information that customers want to save, such as important updates about their orders.
Sharing this information via email ensures that your customers will have this information saved so that they can reference it as needed. As consumer expectations continue to rise, brands can help meet those expectations by keeping customers informed about any important information relating to their orders, such as order numbers, tracking information and delivery timelines.
In most situations, a strategy that relies on both web push and email will give you best results in terms of visibility and engagement with your campaigns as well as your website or other content you are promoting (such as a YouTube video or other social media content).
Here are just a few example campaigns that are suitable for both web push and email, as well as tips on how to most effectively use both platforms together:
You can create drip campaigns for both web push and email. Web push drip campaigns help keep brands top of mind for shoppers at every phase of the buyer’s journey. Email drip campaigns serve a similar purpose, but the additional space gives you the chance to really tell a story about your brand. Consider an introductory drip campaign that shares information about your brand’s history, values, and other info that can help your audience get a better understanding of your brand as they decide if they want to shop with you.
Sale announcements are great to announce via email and web push. Consider sharing the announcement earlier via email to raise awareness and follow it up with a push notification once the sale is officially live!
Email campaigns are great for sharing information and raising awareness, but there is always the chance that a message ends up in spam or is deleted without the shopper reading it. With web push, there is immediate delivery and prime visibility. A cohesive approach will rely on the strengths of both email and web push so that you can maximize your chances of shoppers knowing what your sale is and when it is happening.
Retargeting abandoned carts will always be a top strategy for ecommerce brands looking to increase revenue. A multichannel approach that retargets customers with an email and a push notification increases your chances that they come back and finish their purchase.
We recommend that you stagger your times for your push and email abandoned cart campaigns. For example, you might send your push notification 30 minutes after the cart is abandoned and an email campaign two hours after the cart is abandoned. Most research agrees that quicker is better when it comes to abandoned cart messages, but the difference in timing can help maximize your campaign effectiveness. Be sure to compare results between the two platforms and consider adjusting your strategy accordingly as needed.
You can also use both web push and email to increase visibility and engagement for various forms of content you produce, including blog posts, videos, and even social media campaigns. This is great for engaging subscribers who are higher up the sales funnel.
RSS feed campaigns are a great example of an automated push campaign that can be quickly established for nearly any RSS feed to automatically send to an entire audience, or preferably, a segmented group of subscribers that have previously engaged with this type of content, making them more likely to be interested and click.
As you are crafting your campaigns for both platforms, keep in mind that messaging consistency is crucial as you develop a brand identity and awareness. This is something that your audience will come to expect, so it is in your best interest to take time to develop a cohesive strategy that functions across all platforms you utilize, including push and email, as well as other platforms like social media.
The good news? This work is likely to pay off especially with regards to conversions! 2020 research from Omnisend found that marketers utilizing three or more channels to promote a single campaign had a purchase rate that was 287% higher compared to those that only employed one channel. By utilizing web push, email, and social media, you are likely to set yourself apart from your competition and make more of a lasting impression with your audience.
So there you have it! Marketers should not choose between email and web push, but instead should leverage the strengths of both platforms in order to create a more cohesive strategy that will result in increased conversions, engagement, lead generation, and more.
Be sure to utilize push campaigns to send time-sensitive messages, and email for longer form content that has quality visuals or information your audience wants to save. For both email and push, create cohesive messages and target users in various ways, including retargeting abandoned carts, with drip campaigns, and to increase awareness for your content marketing, like blog posts or videos.
Are you looking to start using web push notifications within your overall marketing strategy? If so, you can start today for free with Aimtell, or you can learn more by reading our Beginner’s Guide.