What Is The Best Time To Send Push Notifications?

Written by: Scott Cohen

Published on: 10-25-2024

Scott is the CEO at InboxArmy and has more than 20 years of experience in email marketing.

Push notifications are a vital part of digital marketing. Yet, if you send them to your audience at the wrong times, they lack impact and are unlikely to move the needle on your conversions.

To help you get the most out of your push notification campaign, we’ve created this in-depth guide.

We’ll tell you why timing is so important, the factors that determine the best time to send push notifications, and how to find the perfect timings for your specific audience.

Ok, let’s get started.

Why Is Timing Important For Push Notifications?

Sending push notifications at the right time is vital. Here’s why:

Increased engagement: Users are more likely to engage with push notifications at times of the day when they’re less busy and distracted. On the flip side, users are more likely to ignore push notifications if they receive them while they’re busy doing other things.

Improved conversion rates: Users are more willing to take desired actions if they receive push notifications at the right times. For instance, a business owner with a physical location is more likely to convert in the morning before they open their store.

Avoiding notification fatigue: Users tend to disengage with brands if they receive too many notifications. By scheduling your notifications to specific times, you can reduce the volume of messages and target users for maximum impact.

In addition to timing, it’s crucial that you integrate your push notification strategy with your other marketing channels, like email. However, this can be complicated, and if you lack the experience, it can be nearly impossible to get the right results.

That’s where InboxArmy comes in.

Our expert email campaign management service team will build your brand’s email marketing strategy from scratch, and execute it to perfection. We’ll also ensure it’s synchronized with your push notification campaign for a holistic marketing approach that helps you achieve your business goals.

The Best Time To Send Push Notifications

When it comes to sending push notifications, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for every business.

The ideal timings for your push campaigns depend on several factors, such as:

  • Your industry
  • The behaviors of your audience
  • The time zone
  • Geographic considerations

For example, let’s say you have a physical shoe store in downtown LA and you’re using geolocation-based push messages. These messages are sent automatically when a user enters a specific area.

So, the best timing for these messages would, of course, be when the user is close to your shoe store.

On the other hand, if you run an e-commerce store with no physical locations, the timings of your mobile and web push notifications are going to be more complex.

Regardless of your industry or audience, the best way to identify your ideal push notification timings is to continuously test and optimize. So, ensure you try out various different timings and see what resonates best with your users.

When To Send Push Notifications By Industry

As mentioned, the timing of your push notification campaigns is heavily influenced by your industry and niche.

Depending on the industry, your audience is more likely to be active and engaged at different times of the day. This means your push notification strategy should be tailored so that your users receive timely notifications when they’re most likely to engage with them and take desired actions.

To give you an idea of the best timings by industry, I’ve compiled this table. However, bear in mind that it might not be 100% accurate for your specific audience and you will still need to test your timings for the best results.

Industry Push Notification Timings
Travel 9 PM
Education 11 AM – 1 PM & 8 PM
News 10 – 12 PM & 5 PM
BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) 10 AM – 3 PM & 7 PM
Fashion & Lifestyle 12 PM, 5 PM, & 9 PM
Entertainment 8 PM – 10 PM
Hospitality 10 AM, 2 PM, 8 PM – 10 PM
Healthcare 12 PM
E-commerce 10 AM – 1 PM & 3 PM – 4 PM

If you send push notifications based on timings like these, you can align your messages with your target audience’s daily routines. This is one of the best ways to increase your campaigns’ engagement and conversion rates.

For instance, users in the BFSI industry are typically managing finances and planning financial activities from 10 AM to 3 PM, and 7 PM. So, if you send push notifications at these times, it increases their impact.

How To Match The Send Time To Your Audience

Of course, the timings of your push notifications aren’t just influenced by your industry. Target audiences are more complex than this, and groups within your wider audience respond differently to timings.

This is why it’s so important that you segment your audience based on shared characteristics. These include:

  • Demographics like age and gender
  • Preferences and interests
  • User behaviors like purchase history
  • Specific job titles

For example, a CEO will probably have a different daily schedule than a CMO. So, you need to ensure they each receive push notifications when they’re most active and engaged.

The best way to do this is to segment your audience and then create detailed buyer personas. Here are some tips for how to do this effectively:

  • Market research: Use focus groups, surveys, and analytics tools to gather data about your audience. This allows you to understand their interests, behaviors, and routines.
  • Analyze patterns: Track user data to understand how they engage with other marketing channels, like social media. This helps you identify patterns and gives you insights into when they’re most likely to engage with your push notifications.
  • Build your personas: Use this information to create detailed buyer personas. Each persona should include a name, demographic details, behavioral traits, interests, pain points, and goals.
  • Test and optimize: Target each persona with different push notification timings. Analyze the response to these messages and adjust until you find the optimal timing.

Segmenting your audience and creating buyer personas is the most effective way to ensure you send notifications at the best possible times. As a result, your push campaigns will be more successful in convincing users to convert, leading to increased revenue.

Also Read: Push Notification Best Practices , Push Notification Benefits, Push Notification Examples & Push Notification Types

Final Thoughts

The ideal time to send push notifications primarily depends on your industry and your audience’s behaviors. To get it right, you need to segment your audience and build buyer personas so you can target users with personalized messages at optimal times.

If you do this, your push notification campaigns will increase user engagement and boost your conversions.

Remember, push notifications should be integrated with your other marketing channels like email. So, contact InboxArmy today to discover how our push notification services can enhance your multi-channel digital marketing strategy, driving both revenue and business growth

FAQs

Are push notifications timings different for desktop users and mobile app users?

Yes, the ideal push notification timings for desktop or app users can vary. This is because of the differences in the ways browser and app users interact with push notifications.

  • For example, a desktop user is more likely to be at work when they receive browser-based push notifications. So, it’s best to target these users during their working hours.
  • On the other hand, mobile users are interacting with their devices constantly throughout the day. This means you can experiment with a broader scope of push notification timings.

How do time zones impact push notification timings?

When you send push notifications, you need to consider the various time zones of your users. This ensures your messages are sent to specific segments at the same hour in each time zone, which maximizes impact by targeting users at a uniform time.

About Author

Scott Cohen

Winner of the ANA Email Experience Council’s 2021 Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Award, Scott Cohen is a proven email marketing veteran with nearly 20 years of experience as both a brand-side marketer and an email marketing agency executive. He brings to our clients a unique blend of experience building and managing larger CRM and retention teams, sending millions of emails and SMS per week, and award-winning copywriting chops. For more information, follow him on Linkedin

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