Overview
In-app messages are only displayed to your users while they’re using your app. This mean that you’re not necessarily sending an in-app message, as you are simply setting the rules for when the message should display.
For this reason, scheduling an in-app message doesn’t guarantee that everyone within the chosen Audience will see the message—only if they open the app (ie, have a session). Scheduling allows you to choose when exactly in their app usage the message should appear (ie, at session start or after a certain action).
Scheduling an In-App Message
At the scheduling step of building your in-app messaging campaign, you’ll see three options:
- Trigger
- Frequency
- Schedule Message (start and stop)
Let’s dive into each option.
Trigger
The trigger for an in-app is the action that the end user takes in order to see the message. You’ll have two options:
- Session Start
- Event
The Session Start option means that your message will appear at the beginning of the user’s session. This can be any session, or after an app upgrade.
Scheduling an in-app message is a great option if you’re looking to message users about any number of things:
- A new sale on their favorite item
- Encouraging them to upgrade to the latest version of your app
- Onboarding workflows
You can also add filters to your trigger to better qualify users for your message. This is similar to qualifying users to your Audience—so if you’ve already done this in an earlier step, you don’t need to repeat it.
Use filters to qualify users who have a certain app version, language.
The other option you have for a trigger is to schedule the message after a user takes a certain action. These can be Localytics default events (like Localytics In-App Displayed), or custom events you’ve built within your app (like Added item to cart).
Again, you can add further filters to better qualify the event.
Frequency
Scheduling a frequency at which your audience sees the message allows you to better control how often they see the message.
You have two options for frequency:
- Display this message once per device
- Display this message each time the device qualifies
Once per device is pretty self-explanatory—the message will only display once on the device when the end user qualifies to see it.
For example, if your message is an onboarding workflow, you’d probably want to only show this message once per device.
Alternatively, you can choose to display the message whenever the user qualifies. This means that your end user will see the message whenever they do they action that triggers the message. This is great if you need end users to update their app to your latest version.
Like with push message frequency, you can limit the amount of times the message is shown on the device. You can limit the total number of times the message is displayed, how often they see it within a given period of time, or both.
Start and Stop
Lastly, you have the option to set a start and stop time for your message. This is a great option if you have a flash sale, or a limited time offer.
Scheduling allows you to set a Start date and time, and a Stop date and time.
A start and stop time are required for your in-app message.
Here’s a quick overview of all we covered in this article:
|
Feature |
Definition |
|---|---|
|
Trigger |
For users in the qualifying Audience that have a Session while the message is active, when the message should be prompted to display. |
|
Frequency |
If a user in the qualifying Audience performs the Trigger behavior more than once while the message is active, how often the user should receive the message. |
|
Schedule |
The time range over which the message should be active. |
After you’ve scheduled your message, it’s time to confirm and send it. Click Continue and Confirm to head to the final step, and click here to view that article.