David Game College: What makes a good Push Notification?

Push Notifications can be incredibly effective when utilised correctly. Here are our tips and tricks to get the most from them.

Consistency

Your users will receive regular push notifications from the David Game College App containing safeguarding updates, alerts and blogs. It can therefore be important to differentiate any push notifications sent out directly from the College. Try and keep your Title's and bodies used similar, by using similar structure and language to help differentiate. You could even use "David Game College:" at the beginning of the PNs from the College.

Clear and Concise

Push notifications have a 200 character limit in the Body, and only 40 for the Title. It is important to make your push notification clear and concise. We suggest include what a post relates to in the title, for example if its the latest blog post, titling it "New DGC Blog post!". You could even include a newspaper emoji 📰 or an exclamation mark emoji❗if something needs urgent attention.

Other Considerations

1. Is it timely? You can schedule a push notification for a specific time or date to ensure it has the best engagement. For example, PN's to busy parents first thing in the morning might get lost in the start of their day, but it might be ideal for a student as they're heading into classes.

2.  Is it actionable? The push notification should make it clear what the user should do next. For example, if you are wanting to inform staff of a Safeguarding Risk, include a link to and article within your David Game College App that would give them guidance on what action to take next.

3. Is it Specific? You can send the push notification to a specific user role. Ensure the contents of a PN is appropriate to the group you're engaging with. For example, telling the boarder's parents about roadworks on Jewry Street may not be relevant as they shan't be picking their children.