What's the difference between push notifications and SMS?

Call me Captain Obvious, but it&#;s clear that business owners want to get their customers&#; attention. 

The company is the world’s best Itniotech - Notification SMS supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

The hitch here is that there&#;s a lot of static to cut through first. Currently, the average US smartphone user receives nearly 50 notifications per day. So, how can you stand out? 

Digital marketers need to be aware of all the tools they have at their disposal to reach their audiences. Two of the most effective tools out there are SMS notifications and push notifications.

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Pus notifications vs. SMS notifications

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Let&#;s go over what they are, when to use them, and how to choose between the two.

What are SMS notifications?

SMS notifications are notifications that are sent when you receive a text message. Basically, if you&#;ve ever seen your light up with a preview of a text message you just got, that&#;s an SMS notification.

SMS stands for &#;Short Message Service.&#; SMS notifications are sent the same way as any other text message. Usually, they&#;re limited to 160 characters. 

With our expanded messaging feature, however, you can send SMS notifications that are up to 306 characters long. While SMS can be used as a marketing tool, SMS notifications can be used for time-sensitive and safety purposes also.

This is what an SMS notification looks like.

Why use SMS notifications?

Many businesses and organizations choose to use SMS notifications because they work on every device. There&#;s no app to download or software to install. Nearly all cell phones can receive SMS. 

Consider the following: your friend needs to inform you about something quickly. Would you rather them send you a quick text, call you, or you? If you&#;re like most consumers, you answered text.

When to use SMS notifications

SMS notifications can be used to send emergency text alerts, inform users about new features, and send out advertising messages&#;among other things. Here are just a few of the most common use cases:

• Spread the word about upcoming events
• Send internal messages to employees
• Increase profits with sales and cart abandonment texts
• Inform patients about upcoming appointments
• Fundraise or find volunteers for nonprofit organizations
• Let customers know about reservation confirmations

What are push notifications?

Sometimes mistaken for SMS notifications, push notifications are pop-ups that appear on a mobile device. These messages may appear while customers are on their phones, or on the lock screen if the device isn&#;t in use. 

The biggest difference is that push notifications come from an app or website, not as a result of a text being sent. 

The maximum character count of a push notification varies from device to device, but the usual length is between 100 and 200 characters.

Here are a few different push notifications on a &#;s lock screen display.

Why use push notifications?

The main benefit of push notifications is that users don&#;t need to be in a particular app or on a site in order to see them. App or website publishers can send them at any time. Plus, many people opt into push notifications when they download an app. 

Data from Moengage tells us that push Notifications carry an impressive delivery rate of 90%. Not to mention that 40% of users engage with push notifications less than an hour after they pop up.

When to use push notifications

Push notifications can be used for many things: to ask users to take an action, let them know about new updates, and send them promotions. The most compelling reason to use push notifications is to make sure users don&#;t forget about your brand.

You can also simply encourage customers to return to your site or app to see new content or product drops or restock on products.

When used correctly, push notifications can help retention rates. In fact, Notify Visitors reports that push notifications generate a 39% retention rate.

3 key differences between push notifications and SMS notifications

A push notification is a notification itself that can come from any app and most websites and will appear on your &#;s lock screen. It is quite literally &#;pushing&#; you to open your and read the notification.

SMS notifications, meanwhile, are specific to your native messaging app. An SMS notification appears on your lock screen, usually with an opening snippet of the text message you&#;ve received. 

Push notifications and SMS notifications can be used for similar purposes. However, the platforms used to send them are vastly different. 

Want more information on Itniotech - Verification SMS? Feel free to contact us.

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When deciding between the two, here are three points to consider:

1. SMS notifications don&#;t require apps or websites

If your business offers a mobile app or hosts a website, you may want to send out push notifications. If you don&#;t, SMS notifications are perfect for you. 

To add push notifications to a web app, you must have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. SMS notifications, on the other hand, can be sent without any coding experience. You can send your first message in just minutes.

2. Push notifications require just one tap 

When sending a text, the idea is to have customers read and respond to the message.

Push notifications take some of the effort off your customers&#; plates by encouraging them to just tap the notification to head to your app or landing page.

3. Customers can reply to SMS notifications

Push notifications are convenient for one-way communication. If you need to provide customer service or want your users to be able to reply with questions or requests, you should probably use SMS notifications. 

Our platform allows for two-way conversations. And, all incoming SMS messages are free!

4. Push notifications are cost-effective

While you&#;ll need an SMS marketing service to set up SMS notifications, push notifications simply require some coding to get started. 

That represents a little more work on your part, but for brands on a budget, this could be a plus.p

5. SMS notifications can be triggered by other software

Effective notifications need to be sent to the right people at the right time. With our Zapier integration, you can trigger messages to be sent when events occur in other pieces of software that you use. For example, you can send SMS notifications via SimpleTexting to new Constant Contact contacts. Or send SMS notifications via SimpleTexting to new Shopify customers.

Try our SMS notification service for free

It&#;s easy to add SMS notifications to your brand. Our platform was designed from the ground up to be as simple to use as possible. 

Sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how texts can benefit your business. With our SMS API, you can plug your website or app directly into our platform.

Alfredo Salkeld wrote this piece on 12/27/18. Lily Norton contributed.

Keep in mind that the open rate numbers can be a little misleading. You can see and read a push notification without opening it&#;although opening it usually takes you within the app, regardless if that's what you want to do. On the other hand, with SMS messages, you typically need to open them to read the contents of the message, and users can simply read an opened text without taking further action.

Whether SMS or push notifications are right for your message largely depends on your audience, industry, and product. However, here are a few use cases where it's generally best to use SMS:

• Urgent messages
• Travel alerts
• Delivery updates
• Confirmation messaging
• Appointment reminders
• Fraud alerts
• Marketing messages

In short, if time is of the essence, it's almost always better to send an SMS than a push notification.

Customers don't give out their numbers as easily as their addresses&#;it's something they safeguard and limit. However, you'll find consumers are much more willing to download an app (especially a free one). In fact, the average person has 40 apps installed on their , and these apps can message the user on a whim if they've enabled notifications.

Push notifications might not be as timely as text messages, but these are still crucial in messaging customers. Here are a few times when it's usually best to send a push notification:

• Product updates
• New features
• Reminders
• Feedback requests
• User-designated triggers
• Sales and discounts

While push notifications aren't as urgent or visible as text messages, these still get eyeballs and opens. Less intrusive than SMS, users are more likely to opt in to this messaging channel.

Conversely, your text message campaigns need to be spot on (every time), or your customers will unsubscribe. The same isn't always true with push notifications. Users won't necessarily turn off all notifications if they find them unhelpful&#;instead, they might ignore them for a time or tailor their preferences within your app.

It's not always a debate about which channel is best for your message. Sometimes, it's best to use SMS and push notifications together&#;although not at the same time, of course. Used together, you can enhance your campaigns and ensure your audience sees the messages and have a chance to engage.

• Marketing campaigns: Need to send users periodic text and push notifications about a recent campaign, product launch, or sales happening? Text messages might send users back to your website's ecommerce store, but push notifications take them inside the app.
• Urgent messages: Need to contact a customer immediately for things like fraud, travel alerts, or canceled appointments? Send an SMS first, then follow it up with a push notification.
• Account information: Need your customer to update information like billing or shipping? Trigger them with a push notification first. If they don't take action soon, follow up with a text.
• Feedback requests: Need to request feedback for a product, service, or experience with a push notification? Follow up later with a text if they haven't responded.
• Confirmation: Need your customer to confirm an appointment? Let them do it in the app. If they don't respond soon, follow up with a text.

Whether you need SMS, push notifications, , chat, or something else, Twilio has you covered. Sign up for a free account to try all our channels and build the messaging solution you've always wanted.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Voice Batch Notification Service.