Beamer is an easy to use newsfeed and changelog that notifies your users about important news, improvements and new features. We often are asked for tips on how to design posts for maximum user engagement and interaction. For starters, the more visual and clear, the better. There are tons of interesting ways companies are designing their Beamer posts to get better engagement.
Here are some helpful tips to create engaging and beautiful posts in Beamer:
Create strong visual content.
The reason emails and push notifications don’t get much attention is because they’re just words! You may have something really interesting to say but getting users to click through and read is too difficult. Make sure your Beamer posts are visually engaging and avoid too much text without visual explanation. For example you can use screenshots of the features you’re announcing or images of products you are announcing a special offer for.
Explain things effortlessly with CloudApp GIFs.
Record your new features and updates in action and save them as short GIFs using CloudApp to add to Beamer posts. They’re visually eye catching and are the best way to explain a change to your users in seconds.
Embed YouTube and Vimeo Videos.
If there’s something that requires a little more explanation, you can always embed a YouTube video that users can play directly in your Beamer post. It’s much better than trying to explain something complicated in text alone and expect users to know how to take advantage of your update.
Use Canva to create interesting graphics.
If you don’t necessarily have anything to screenshot or a video to include, create something visual to grab attention using Canva, a easy to use tool for creating graphics. A simple Canva graphic is perfect for when you have announcements that are more general. It’s still important to catch users’ attention. Avoiding just plain text is always best!
Always incorporate a strong call to action.
Don’t just throw information at your users, compel them to do something with it! At the end of your text, video, GIF etc, always give users a specific call to action. For example, if you’re announcing a new blog post put a link with a call to action to check out the new post. If you are letting users know about a new improvement you made to your product or service add a link for them to go try it out. Be direct, urgent and use actionable language in your call to action for best results.
Use segmented notifications.
Make use of the ability to create segmented notifications in Beamer and selectively target different groups of users based on their past behavior and interests. For example, you can send different notifications to paid and free users to help encourage free users to upgrade. Offer discounts on products to the user users have previously bought or viewed similar products. Show different posts in your Beamer feed on different pages on your site that are more related to what visitor is viewing in that exact moment. The more specific and personal, the better the results.
Use categories.
You can categorize notifications so users are more clear on what each post is talking about. This way, you don’t have just one long stream of notifications without a clear direction. This is especially great when you have new users joining who may not understand all the dynamics of your product or how you typically structure announcements. They can get an organized view of what’s new instead of just a ton of random notifications.
Speak to your users in their own language.
Though most tools are in English and many businesses are used to English, it’s nice to engage non-English speaking users by sending them a post in their native language. They are much more likely to click through and check it out and stay engaged with your updates if you are speaking their language (literally and figuratively). It also makes your brand more dynamic and international. In Beamer, you can set up different messages based on the user’s set language. It’s really easy to have low cost quality translations done on Fivrr (world’s largest freelance site), schedule them in Beamer, and wow your customers from around the globe!
Learn what works from user feedback and reactions.
When you post an update in Beamer, users can leave Facebook-style reactions and comments that help boost engagement and build a sense of community within your app. Users can let you know in seconds how their feeling about your new post with smiley reactions and leave a private comment for direct feedback. But the real benefit is you get a quick data on how your announcements and updates are being received by users and what you can change to do better. Keep track of how users are interacting with your updates so you can better learn how they want to engage.
Don’t rely on boring, ineffective emails or push notifications to engage your users. You have one shot to earn their loyalty. Interact with users in a way that is interesting, visual, and genuinely helpful for them. Take these tips and try them out in Beamer today to see over 10x more user engagement like other companies using Beamer.
