For a lot of companies, an audience full of active, continually engaged users is their holy grail. But while this sort of regular engagement is great to see—and can do a lot to boost your revenue and long-term customer loyalty—it can be a difficult thing for marketers to make happen. One key strategy that can help? Activity messaging.
What Is Activity Messaging?
Activity messaging means sending users regular updates and messages via an app’s mobile messages (for instance, push notifications), a website’s web push capabilities and/or email, but it shouldn’t be confused with traditional email marketing. In email marketing, the messages tend to be promotional and created by the company. With activity messaging, on the other hand, the notifications are triggered by actions carried out by other website or app users. One prominent example of activity messaging is the regular, automated updates Facebook sends users to let them know if someone in their circle of friends has liked or commented on a post, image, or video.
Activity messaging isn’t meant to come across as promotional in nature; it simply keeps the recipients informed about what their connections and/or other users on a given platform are doing. If, for instance, customers sign up for activity messaging from a luxury jewelry brand, they may get messages notifying them if people they are connected with purchase a piece of jewelry from the company, post a photo of themselves wearing one of the company’s items, or leave a review. Those who post information on the site or app will get notifications if others like or comment on one of their posts. These notifications can show up even if one isn’t using the app, making it easy for users to see their connections’ activity without signing on.
What Are the Benefits of Activity Messaging?
Activity messaging is an effective way to remind customers about what you offer without continually sending advertising emails or mobile messages. Once your activity messaging program is up and running, your customer base and their organic engagement with your brand is what moves this sort of messaging it forward. You don’t have to pay marketing professionals or SEO experts to come up with winning ways to keep people engaged; your user base does that all on its own. This makes activity messaging not only an effective advertising platform but also a very cost-efficient one.
Another benefit of activity messaging is that it gives your satisfied customers a platform to recommend products and services to their friends. As we know, word of mouth marketing is extremely effective; recent stats show that 92% of consumers trust recommendations made by a family member or friend while only 70% trust anonymous reviews.
How Can You Get Started With Activity Messaging?
Is activity messaging a good engagement strategy for your platform? That depends. Generally speaking, activity messaging is ideal for businesses that already include social elements in their web or app experience. Hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets are just some of the many industries that can increase sales and boost customer engagement via activity messaging. On the other hand, this form of advertising isn’t a good fit for companies that work in sensitive or personal industries such as healthcare.
Before jumping in, take some time to plan what type of actions you want to build triggered activity messages around. Some general recommended options include:
- Content posting campaigns
- Content response campaigns
- Check-in campaigns
- Review campaigns
You’ll also need to set up a messaging preference center. This center makes it easy for app users to select their preferences and thus avoid receiving messages they aren’t interested in. It also benefits your business as it helps you see which products and services are most (and least) attractive to your target audience.
Make it easy for new clients to sign up for activity messaging by including it in your email sign-up campaign. When people sign up to your site, they should also see a short message letting them know that their email address is automatically signed up for activity messaging unless they opt out of the service. Automatic sign-up helps to grow your base, increasing engagement and encouraging others to join the community.
A Final Note
Activity messaging is an effective marketing tactic that’s worth considering. It’s not hard to leverage, especially if you already have an app or website that has some social elements and existing user engagement. At the same time, even brand-new businesses without an existing app or site can set up activity messaging with relative ease.
Interested in evaluating emerging messaging channels to support an activity messaging strategy? Check out what other channels your brand can take advantage of.
