You are on your mobile phone scrolling down your Facebook timeline and then this push notification from Uber just popped-up
It’s your Birthday, and we got a special gift for you A 50% Discount on your next ride! Click here to get your gift
Feel the urge to hit the CTA already? But, what exactly causes that urge into you? Is that the 50% discount? Or is it the intimacy you feel when you found out that the app knows your birthday, or maybe it’s the happiness of receiving a gift?
… Let me tell you something; it is them all!
This push message got it all; it evokes the feeling of intimacy, it is personalized especially for you, in addition to the excellent offer of course. And that’s what power words are; they are those words that bring you a certain feeling that makes you immediately hit the CTA button without any second thoughts. Think of it like that: your push notification is the wizard who can get your app more engagement, traffic, and conversion, and in that scenario, “power words” is your wizard’s magic wand! Only if you use it right. Using power words – or trigger words as people may call it – is not enough to make your push messages bring you all the magic. You need to know how, when and where do you use them; you need to use them smartly and witty.
So let’s deep dipper in that.
Words have hugely influential power in human psychology. Using only the power of words, you can generate a variety of feelings; anger, excitement, trust, anticipation and more. For us, we mobile marketers, that can matter a lot!
The thing that Forbes studied for almost a year. Through analyzing 2.6 billion push notifications sent between January 1 and December 31 of 2016, they found out a list of 120 “power words” that has the upper hand on manipulating the users’ feelings leading to the increase in app engagement, and the total outcome was these four main categories:
Urgency
What a faster prompt strategy than creating an urge to purchase your product/service? Words like limited, one-day offer, don’t miss it, breaking news, quickly, immediately, etc. will get your user’s’ attention right away!
Exclusivity/Personalization
Two techniques that fall under the same category: Making your user feel special like you are doing that particular service just for him/her. Besides using words like you, we, exclusively, especially for you, etc. you can use user’s profile data – such as names, location, birth date, etc. – to make your push message more personalized and sincere.
Emotions
Evoking a certain feeling helps a lot in users’ decision of whether to respond to your push notifications or not. A medical app can use words like warn, avoid, etc. to evoke the feeling of awareness and cure from diseases.
A musical app can go for words like Epic, Awesome, one-of-a-kind hit, etc., while a traveling app can involve words like indulging, happiness, dream, etc. to get users’ to imagine how amused they will be by clicking the CTA, and the list goes on.
Value
No matter which industry or audience segmentation you are targeting, offers always work out! People love when you present something valuable to them. Always go for words like a discount, free, offer, sale, etc.
“Now I am ready to take my push notifications by storm” wait a second… not yet.
Using these power words is still not enough. Now you have the tools, and you need to know how to use them.
Overdosing of power words can fire back at you. It’s like when a girl wears too much makeup that ends up with being so ugly. So, you need to make your mind and choose just the two or three power words that will get you the result you desire.
Answers these questions will give you guidance about the words are you going to pick:
- Which Industry am I Targeting?
- What is the audience segmentation regarding this particular industry?
- What is the emotional state that I need to arise the urge of hitting the CTA?
For example, if you are creating a push message for a news app, you must know that this kind of audience segmentation is so keen on being updated with every single piece of new incident or event. So you can choose from the urgency category “Ex. Breaking news” mixed with emotional teasers “Epic speech by…” While in an E-Commerce app you can use the power of value, with some personalization and exclusivity, so you will go for something like “Hi Mary, your free meal is ready now, made especially for you.”
Extra Tips:
USE EMOJIS
Who doesn’t love emoji? Emojis can save you space, convey your message clearly and smoothly, and get the attention and love of your users without using so many words.
WATCH THE TIME ZONE
Off course you don’t want to annoy your users by sending them to push notifications late at night or so early on the morning of their vacation day! Watch for the timing you users push messages; it matters a lot.
There are endless tips and tricks on how you can use power words to boost you push messages. Keep digging deep into that and always remember that you have got a total of 150 characters to deliver your message, get your users’ attention, and to make them hit your CTA. Make sure to use them to the MAX!
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