Push Notifications for Higher Education - A ‘smart’ system
Gen Z-ers practically exit the womb gripping a smartphone (98 percent use one). As a new wave of college students make their transition onto campus, universities benefit from communicating to these text messaging natives with a range of informational, logistical, and promotional content. These notifications also act to build student engagement.
As incoming freshmen know, navigating college can mean juggling a variety of new responsibilities. Accessing the full spectrum of resources available at their institution can be confusing. SMS is an excellent channel for connecting students to activities, informing them about financial resources, communicating safety and health information, and keeping them on top of their classes.
Push notifications are one of the most commonly used engagement channels for many websites from domains like media publishers, eCommerce, job portals, and many more. Using push notifications is important for any type of growth in any market.
However, what does that mean for user engagement? Why not use push notifications for colleges and universities that have thousands of students?
It is not surprising that college students expect personalized communication from their universities, with most of today's technology already catering to them.
According to the 2021 Connected Student Report by Salesforce, around 50% of the surveyed students want to have personalized communications from their colleges. Personalized and segmented emails are a more common way to get the message to the right people, but it is not as effective. In 2020, 34.3% was recorded for an open rate for higher education emails. Still, they will tend to drop into the low 20% once classes are resumed.
What are the best methods to communicate with students in a way that will capture their attention? Send them a mobile push notification.
Most college students tend to always have a phone on them, just being a part of the modern age of technology. Mobile phones have become a large part of daily life, which is for most people. Smartphones are the main thing that most college students have. A survey showed that around 96% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 have a smartphone. Most colleges have started to embrace being mobile-first or adapting digital transformations, so colleges must have a mobile app for the student portal. Mobile-first means that colleges will begin personalizing how students can engage with the world through technology and not just an app that can be downloaded and used.
Mobile strategies that work flip the script from requiring students to search for information to present them with tailored information. According to a Salesforce report, most students would like to receive as many alerts, emails, personalized messages, and reminders as they do now. In an unmistakable message, students want direct access to personalized assistance.
Messages that are of direct interest to them (for example, a tutoring appointment offered due to
It's best to send them alerts about their campus (they're unlikely to check their email while driving to campus and don't care if a parking lot is closed on another campus.)
A reminder about deadlines coming up (such as choosing student housing but only if they live on campus)
Student portals provide highly-personalized information that is extended to mobile push notifications to create highly-tailored communication strategies. Many colleges face communication challenges because they don't have a mobile app or aren't using customizable push notifications.
(The below graphic visualizes why push notifications are beginning to see more widespread use for more personalized, impactful communications for students.)
(As you can see, email notifications can easily get lost in the noise whereas a targeted push notification offers greater relevance, brandability, and urgency.)
One of the primary benefits of mobile push notifications is that they are the best way to ensure that critical information is seen.
34% of your recipients are opening your email, which means 66% aren't responding. This may be due to inbox fatigue. They might not check their email. Perhaps school emails are being sent to spam. They might not care. There are several reasons why this may occur. The most important thing is that your communications aren't reaching your target audience.
When students are required to open an app, visit a website, or sign in, it creates an obstacle that your message must cross. Whenever they receive a push notification, it will appear so that it can't be missed.
Many students are prepared to opt-in for push notifications for something as important as school communications. Airship's benchmark report for 2021 shows that mobile push notification opt-in rates for Android users are 89.4% and for iOS users are 72.9%. (Android automatically opts users in to receive notifications, whereas iOS requires users to opt in.) Send students your notifications: they're eager to get them!
The mobile push notification also trumps the text (SMS) message. The student will receive the notifications as long as they download the app and opt-in to receive them. Students are not required to know how to opt back into text messages if they opt out or change their phone number.
Today's students were raised in a digital world, and tomorrow's students are only going to be a more significant part of the digital era. They will have an affinity for personalized content. The media and apps competing for their attention will not go away. The only way to truly capture their attention is to put it in front of their eyes with minimal effort. Please do not make them check emails and do not make them use website functions to search or ask questions on social media. Push personalized and essential information to them directly in the most engaging way possible. The power of using push notifications and providing information to users without them needing them to hunt is the most significant transformation of being mobile-first.
High Open Rates: Open rates for SMS marketing campaigns are much higher than emails. Text messages have a 97 percent read rate within 15 minutes of receipt.
Smartphone Usage: On college campuses, smartphone usage is almost universal. In a survey conducted on undergraduates and Information Technology, 95 percent of undergraduates were found to own a smartphone.
Personal Preference: College students are highly receptive to text updates. One study revealed that two thirds of freshmen and their parents found texts to be helpful and informative for communicating important dates. Another study found that people are more likely to open a text message before any other form of communication they receive.
Audience Variety: SMS, unlike mobile and web push, is not limited to individuals who have downloaded an app, or are active on their browser. Because SMS subscribers opt-in from different sources, they represent a new audience with different expectations than push and email subscribers.
Texting is comfortable, preferred, and natural for this demographic.
SMS works to connect important parties across campuses, streamlining communications among students, and staff while improving the quality and interconnectedness of the student experience.
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