Lessons From the Rise of TikTok Marketing for Push Notifications

An image showing a mobile phone with TikTok app and multiple notifications popping up.
Image: FlareLane

In the fast-evolving landscape of SNS and online communities, TikTok has emerged as a powerhouse in digital marketing 2023 for both B2B and B2C, enabling CRM marketers to reach millions worldwide with engaging short-form content. But did you know push notification marketers can take valuable lessons from TikTok's success to provide an even more engaging, personalized user experience? Let's find out.

Personalize the user experience

An image explaining the importance of personalization in user experience by using a magnifier.
Everyone's unique—if you look close enough. Image: FlareLane

Whether you're a digital or brick-and-mortar company, the importance of personalization cannot be stressed enough. Research by McKinsey indicates that over 70% of customers expect personalized interactions, and companies excelling at personalization generate 40% more revenue than average players.

TikTok's sophisticated algorithm excels at delivering personalized content tailored to users' preferences. With more tools to achieve the personalization effect in their contents, creators are now able to provide more engaging, immersive user experience. 

Your push notifications should adopt a similar approach, leveraging user data to create personalized messages aligned with individual interests and behaviors. Crafting a genuine message with the user's name and favorite product has been proven to resonate with millions of users,  increasing the chances of achieving marketing goals. 

Make a good first impression

While great storytelling is a key prerequisite for successful content, nothing beats a well-designed thumbnail with crisp headlines that captivates audiences. Research by TikTok shows that over 63% of videos with the highest click-through rates highlight their key message within the first 3 seconds.

Drawing from TikTok's lesson, marketers using push notifications should think twice before hitting the 'send' button, considering questions like, "Is the message captivating enough? Does it include eye-catching graphics or multimedia elements?"

It's essential to develop a creative strategy supported by ongoing, in-depth trend analysis that identifies preferences of target customers, which will help you craft messages that evoke empathy and add value.

Optimize the timing

An image with multiple clocks stressing the importance of timing in push notifications.
Time is of the essence. Image: FlareLane

TikTok's algorithm determines the best times to display content and its frequency, optimizing user engagement. The research says TikTok’s strategically-designed algorithm entices users to keep consuming content without leaving the platform.

Marketers can adopt a similar strategy with mobile & web push by analyzing user behavior and sending notifications when they are most active, ensuring maximum impact.

Push messages demand an immediate response from recipients, especially when dealing with diverse time zones in a global market. This underscores the significance of timing. An often overlooked aspect is the failure to consider the time zone of your prospective customers.

Equally important is factoring in their fatigue level when determining the message frequency. Experts recommend consistent monitoring of metrics like CTR, bounce rate, and opt-out rate to inform your decision-making process.

We understand, it's more complex than sending out notifications in a single batch. However, crafting a highly-personalized environment requires effort and diligence on your part. The good news is that you only need common sense and quick research to optimize the timing, no sophisticated algorithm necessary.

Keep it simple

In today's world, most people have a very short attention span. Data indicates that the average attention span for watching videos was 2.5 minutes in 2004, and it has now reduced to approximately 47 seconds. This shows a shift in mass preference towards shorter and more diverse content, rather than prolonged focus on one theme at a time.

The success of TikTok marketing, employing short-form videos, serves as a great example of promptly recognizing the shift in trends and integrating speed and brevity into their approaches. Push notifications can draw inspiration from this case and focus on delivering simple and crisp messages.

You can easily compose concise messages by selecting efficient words that encapsulate your message with as little volume as possible. This way, your users can quickly grasp the message without feeling overwhelmed. According to expert opinion, messages should ideally fall in the range of 40-120 characters.

Final Thoughts

The rise of TikTok marketing in 2023 serves as a lesson for marketers looking to connect with potential customers through highly personalized channels like push notifications. Well-crafted, personalized messages create a closer bond between businesses and customers, establishing a foundation to evolve services that meet their expectations.

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