Does Targeted Push Text Work Better than Broadcast? Report

It’s already been determined that push text messaging works to positively impact mobile app user engagement and retention. Users who opted in to push messaging are retained at nearly double the rate of those who are not. So if it works great, does targeted push work even better? That answers to that question can be found in a new detailed report from Urban Airship.

The most delightful finding is that highly targeted push messages drive 293% more response on average than broadcast messages, up to as high as 500% for some industry verticals. Still, there’s plenty of work to do.

Of the companies that use audience segmentation, about a third of those who gather data, like user preferences, behaviors and locations, don’t use it to create a differentiated experience for users such as tailoring app content or messaging, the report, “The Good Push Index,” found. The good news is that even adopting a single variable for targeting can drive massive improvements in response, the report said. Take location for example, marketers leveraging customers’ willingness to share their location are seeing greater response rated.

The report also looks across vertical industries—retail, media, entertainment, sports, games, gambling—to uncover differences in both the use and response to different types of push messages about apps.

Take the retail industry: broadcast push influenced open rates of 17.67% compared to the much higher open rate of 23.482% for highly targeted push texts. The entertainment industry saw huge results with highly targeted push texts with an astounding 99.87% open rate versus 15.49% for a broadcast push.

“The most successful brands will find a balance between respecting privacy and making the most of everything they know about users to deliver mobile moments of delight,” the report said.

This report offers much more research valuable to marketers working with push text messaging to impact mobile app users.