Available templates
Click an image below to download the corresponding in-app template. These include templates for single action button, double action button horizontal (vertical version here), carousel, and NPS. For more on NPS and how to increase app ratings, see this lesson.
Overview
In this Project, you'll learn how to engage your users with custom in-app message creatives. These templates (which can be downloaded from the "Requirements" section above) can be customized for a number of different use cases. We will go through a few of them in detail below.
Why it matters
In-app messaging offers you a channel to engage with your users while they are inside of your app. With in-app messaging you are able to create a stronger, richer app experience by hosting content relatable to the user's behaviors. With a little help from a web developer, you can customize the templates we will be mentioning to make them 100% native to your application. To help setup your creative to track clickthroughs, deep link users, and tag custom events, consult our Custom Creative Javascript API documentation for iOS and Android.
How-to guide
The following steps will outline some best practices and examples for in-app messages using pre-made templates that you can customize for your own use cases. We'll review four templates, which you can download here.
Step 1: Name your campaign, set your Goal, and choose an Audience
Before diving into the creatives, you'll need to be sure your campaign is configured correctly. First, give your campaign a unique name to reflect its specific objective. Then, define the Goal of your campaign. Are you trying to onboard new users? Do you want to re-engage a lapsed user? Knowing your goal will make it easier to identify the right Audience, craft effective creatives, and ultimately determine if your campaign was a success.
Once your campaign is named with a proper Goal associated with it, define an Audience reflecting that goal. Construct this Audience by combining Event, Session, and Profile data to target users who fit your criteria. If you want to render this message when a user performs a specific behavior, define an Event trigger to surface the message (note that this functionality is defined later in the process after your creative is properly uploaded in the dashboard).
Step 2: Define & customize your in-app creative
It is important to note here that a web developer or an individual fluent in HTML/CSS should be consulted to properly customize these creatives so they render properly. Below are use cases for three types of in-app creatives including Single action button, Double action button, and Carousel with action button:
Single action button
The most simplistic, yet useful of in-app messages is one containing a single button or call-to-action (CTA). This gives users a single possible action as well as the default choice of dismissing the entire message, if they choose not to engage. While some of these messages use the button simply as another "dismiss" button, it can be used to deep link a user to a specific location in the app or even a website for a cross-channel campaign. Some deep link use cases include:
- Sending a user to a new article or video
- Redeeming a coupon for a certain product
- Send users to a particular point within an activation or conversion funnel, e.g. a registration page
- Showcase the latest mechandise available for purchase
As mentioned above, these types of messages have also gained popularity without having a CTA, and instead, the action button serves as another dismiss made clear by the text within the button (i.e. "Okay" or "Got it"). Some examples of using a single action button in-app for this purpose include:
- Displaying updates and new features of your app
- Notifying a user of an "achievement"
- Serving educational content around usability
Double action button
While the single action button message is sufficient when you want your user to go down a specific path, there are many use cases that require two different paths. Giving users a choice when interacting with a message lets you collect even more information about how they choose to engage with a given campaign.
Because the dismiss button will still remain, you can have both buttons act as a CTA with individual deep links associated with each button. You can also set up one button to dismiss the message yet record an event while the other serves as another CTA (i.e. "Yes or No" button text). Consider using a double action button creative to:
- Increase permissions opt-in rates (see specific lesson on push permissions here)
- Show promotional products with "Details" and "Purchase" CTA's
- Convert free users to premium with "Upgrade Now" and "Don't ask me again" CTA's
- Serve a piece of news content with the choice of "View more" or "Add to my watchlist"
Carousel with action button
One of the biggest advantages to using in-app messages is the degree of interactivity you can achieve within the HTML. While many in-app messages contain a single image or GIF, it is possible to have an interactive window with multiple pieces of content. Through our carousel template, users can swipe back and forth through several images accompanied with a CTA.
Using a carousel enriches the user's in-app experience by hosting a collection of content which usually contains a CTA deep linking the user to where the content is located within the app. Alternatively, the CTA could serve as another dismiss with button text such as "Okay" or "Get Started". Here are a few ideas for using a carousel in-app message:
- Increase permissions opt-in rates (see specific lesson on push permissions here)
- Onboard new users by displaying features and functionality of your app
- Showcase multiple product offerings
- Display a photo gallery of the most trending topics
Step 3: Upload & test your custom in-app creative
To successfully upload a custom in-app creative in the dashboard, all files must be compressed into a single folder (zip format). If there are multiple folders uploaded in the dashboard, the creative will not render properly.
Before launching your campaign, be sure to test that the creative renders properly on a given device. Because there may be many different devices a campaign will be sent to, it is best practice to make sure your creative fits the smallest screen seen in your user base. To instantly see how your device handles the creative, utilize the “Test on Device” button at the ‘Confirm’ page of the campaign builder (as seen below). You will be prompted to use a QR reader where you will then be linked to the creative.
Key takeaways
- In-app messaging is a powerful tool to help influence behavior (i.e. push/location permissions) as well as educate users (i.e. onboarding flow).
- Use these templates to begin creating your in-app strategy. Measure performance with each creative and optimize when appropriate.