The "Targeting Rules" tab in NotifyVisitors push notification’s campaign creation interface provides you with a set of rules to ensure that your notifications are effectively delivered to the right audience at the right moment. By utilizing these rules, you can optimize your push notification campaigns, increase user engagement, and deliver personalized experiences to your app users. With precise targeting, you can tailor your notifications based on user behavior, preferences, location, and other relevant factors, enabling you to maximize the impact of your messaging and drive meaningful interactions with your app users.

Let's delve into the functionalities of each tool and understand how to configure them effectively. 

Basic rule: 

The "Basic Rule" function allows you to target specific subscribers based on their enrollment within a specified time period. This rule is helpful when you want to tailor your notifications to users who recently joined your app or website.

To set up the Basic Rule, follow these steps:

1. Set the "from" and "to" dates: Specify the start and end dates of the enrollment period to determine the time range for which you want to target enrolled subscribers. Only subscribers who enrolled within this timeframe will receive your notifications. For example, you can choose to target subscribers who enrolled within the last week, month, or year.

2. Choose known or unknown users: Decide whether you want to include known users, unknown users, or both in your targeting. Known users are those who have created an account on your website or app, and you have their credentials. Unknown users, on the other hand, are subscribers who enrolled for your subscription but do not have an account.

3. Include all known/unknown users (optional): If you want to include all known or unknown users, regardless of the enrollment period, leave the "subscribers enrolled" section blank.

4. Update and save: Once you have selected your desired options, click on the "update" button to save the targeting rules.

Example: Let's say you have an e-commerce app and want to send a special promotion to users who recently joined. You can utilize the Basic Rule to target subscribers who enrolled within the last 30 days. By specifying the enrollment period and selecting known users, you can send a personalized push notification offering a discount to new customers. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of engaging these users and converting them into active shoppers.

Location Rule:

The Location Rule feature enables you to target users based on their geographical region. This rule allows you to send customized notifications to users in specific countries, states, or cities.

To set up the Location Rule, follow these steps:

1. Choose the group condition: Decide whether you want to target users from "any of these" locations or "none of these" locations. If you select "any of these," users from any of the selected locations will be targeted. On the other hand, if you choose "none of these," users from all locations except for the selected ones will be targeted.

2. Specify the locations: Add the country, state, or city that you want to target. You can add multiple locations by clicking on the "add more" button. This allows you to create a granular targeting approach by narrowing down the geographic scope of your push notifications.

3. Update and save: Once you have selected the desired locations, click on the "update" button to save the targeting rules.

Example: Let's consider a scenario where you have a travel app, and you want to send a notification about a special offer for users located in specific countries or cities. Using the Location Rule, you can precisely target users in these locations, and promote exclusive travel deals or local attractions relevant to their specific geographic area. This level of personalization increases the chances of user engagement and conversion, as the notifications are tailored to their interests and location.

Select Group:

The Select Group function allows you to choose specific groups of subscribers to target. This feature is particularly useful if you have different subscription options for multiple products or services, and you want to ensure that your notifications reach the intended audience based on their preferences.

To select specific groups of subscribers, follow these steps:

1. Choose the desired groups: Tick mark the checkboxes next to the groups you want to include in your targeting. By selecting specific groups, you are ensuring that your push notifications are delivered only to the subscribers who fall into those chosen categories.

2. Update and save: After selecting the desired groups, click on the "update" button to save your selection.

Example: Let's say you have an e-commerce app that offers a wide range of products, including clothing, electronics, and home decor. You have created different subscription groups for each product category. Now, you want to send a push notification about a sale on electronics to only those subscribers who have expressed an interest in electronics.

Using the Select Group feature, you can tick mark the checkbox next to the "Electronics" group. This ensures that the notification will only be delivered to subscribers who have subscribed to or shown interest in electronics. By specifically targeting this group, you can increase the relevancy of your message and improve the chances of driving engagement and conversions.

Audience:

The Audience function allows you to define your target audience based on specific segments. You have two options to choose from:

› Send to all users: If you select this option, your push notification will be sent to all users. This is useful when you want to broadcast a message to your entire user base without any specific segmentation.

› Send to users in multiple segments: If you choose this option, you can further refine your target audience by selecting specific segments whose users you want to include in the campaign. This allows for more targeted messaging based on user preferences, behaviors, or demographics.

Once you selected “send to users in multiple segments” option, you can follow the following steps to add segments:

1. Choose the condition: At first, you need to determine whether you want to include “users in all of these segments” or “users in any of these segments. This depends on the targeting strategy you want to implement.

2. Select the desired segments: From the drop-down menu, select the segments you want to include in your target audience. If you want to select multiple segments, click on the "add more" button and continue selecting the additional segments. 

3. Exclude specific segments (optional): If there are certain segments that you want to exclude from the campaign, you can also choose to do so. By selecting these segments in the “exclude users from these segment” section, users belonging to those segments will not receive the push notification.

After selecting the desired option, click on the "update" button to save your selections.

Example: Let's say you have a travel booking app that offers various types of travel experiences such as adventure trips, beach vacations, and city tours. You have created segments based on user preferences, including "Adventure Seekers," "Beach Lovers," and "City Explorers."

Now, you want to send a push notification about a limited-time offer for beach vacation packages. Using the Audience function, you can select the "Beach Lovers" segment. However, you may want to exclude users who have already booked a trip within the last month, as they might not be interested in another vacation so soon. To do this, you can select the "Recent Bookings" segment in the exclusion section. This ensures that users who fall into the "Recent Bookings" segment will not receive the push notification.

By selecting "Beach Lovers" as the included segment and "Recent Bookings" as the excluded segment, you are effectively targeting users who are interested in beach vacations but excluding those who have recently made a booking. This allows you to focus your campaign on potential customers who are more likely to engage with the offer.

Geofencing Rule:

The Geofencing Rule feature within the Targeting Rules for Push Notifications allows you to create conditions for triggering or delivering notifications based on a user's entry or exit from specific geographic areas. By leveraging geofencing, you can deliver highly relevant and timely notifications to users when they are in proximity to a particular location.

To set up the Geofencing Rule, follow these steps:

1. Enable geofencing: Click on the "enable" button to activate the geofencing rule.

2. Enter location details: Fill in the latitude and longitude values, along with the radius in meters, to define the geofenced area. You can manually input the coordinates or use the search box to enter a location name, and the system will generate the corresponding longitude and latitude values for you.

3. Add multiple geofencing rules (optional): If you want to set up multiple geofencing rules, click on the "add more fields" button. This allows you to define multiple geofenced areas and create specific targeting conditions for each.

4. Update and save: Once you have set up the desired geofencing rules, click on the "update" button to save the changes. Then, click on "save and continue" to proceed to the next tab.

Example: Suppose you have a retail app, and you want to send a notification to users when they enter a shopping mall where your store is located. Using the Geofencing Rule, you can define the geographic coordinates of the mall along with an appropriate radius. When users enter the specified area, they will receive a push notification informing them about exclusive offers or discounts available in your store. This targeted approach ensures that users are notified when they are in close proximity to your business, increasing the likelihood of driving foot traffic and boosting sales.

Additional Resources

› Types of Push Notifications

› Understanding Advanced Options For Push Notifications