First run message

A first run message is another type of mobile notification. It is displayed during the first visit in an app or right after an update.

This is a great solution to inform customers about:

  • Changes in an app after an update,
  • Important information that users should know during their first visit in the app. It can be, for example, a guide or tips connected with using the app.

Create first run message

In order to activate a First Run message, go to Communication > Mobile.

Screenshot from the Synerise Communication module presenting first run message

  1. Click the Create new button on the upper right side of the screen,
  2. Click First Run message,
  3. Add a name and description to your message.

You can create your first run message in 6 steps:

  • Choose Mobile message type,
  • Choose the device type,
  • Choose the Audience,
  • Create the Content,
  • Set up the Schedule.

Mobile message type

Screenshot from the Synerise Communication module presenting mobile message type

The first section enables you to choose the type of your message. You can change it at any time by clicking the Change button.


Device type

Screenshot from the Synerise Communication module presenting device type for first run message

Decide in which operating systems your message should be displayed. You can choose from:

  1. All types of devices,
  2. iOS only,
  3. Android only.

Audience

Screenshot from the Synerise presenting Audience for first run message

In the Audience section, decide who will be the main target of your message. You can do this with the help of three options:

  1. Everyone - Everyone who gave marketing consent will receive your message. The estimated reach takes into account the number of customers who have given marketing consent to this type of communication (this means that in the case of communication such as mobile push, the estimated reach may be higher than the number of customers who have your mobile application).
  2. Segment - You can send the message to one or more existing segments in the system.
  3. New Audience - Create new segments and specify the conditions which the target must meet.
  4. Advanced options - You can use these additional options for your message.
    Advanced options - explanation

    • Batch delivery - You can use this option to prevent sending the message to all recipients at once. When to use it? When there is a risk that sending all of messages at once will result in excessive traffic in your application/website or the target audience is so large that the messaging provider might not be able to process all messages at once.
    • Enable control group - You can use this option to create a subgroup of the recipients who won’t receive any communication variant. When to use it? When you send one or several variants of a communication (A/B/x testing). When a customer is assigned to a control group, the information is available in their Profiles card as an event.
    • Include audience changes - You can use this option only for scheduled communication. It recalculates the number of recipients right before sending the communication. By default, the size of the customer segment chosen for the communication is the same as in the moment of sending, even if the number of customers in the chosen segment changed between scheduling the communication and sending it. When to use it? When the size of the segments of customers selected as the audience of the communication can change dynamically.
    • Ignore limits - You can use this option to send this message to a customer, even if it exceeds the global limit of this type of messages for a single customer per day (more information is available here), enable the Ignore limits toggle. You may apply it to system messages such as a transaction confirmation, notifications about order delays, and so on.

  5. To save your changes, click the Apply button below.
WARNING: You can send the message only to app users who gave you their consent to receive this kind of communication. This is the reason why the estimated reach is lower than the total audience.

Content

Screenshot from the Synerise presenting content for first run message

In the Content section you can create your message.

  1. Use the plus button to add another version of your message which can be used in AB test,
  2. Click the Create message button to add your template. You can create your First Run message using the visual builder, code editor or use an existing template in the system.
Tip: The Code editor enables you to add more advanced features to your template. Just paste your coded content and create a more personalized message.

Screenshot from the Synerise presenting creating first run message

You can also use an existing template from the list if you have prepared one before.

  1. To do this, choose the From templates option and choose one from the list,
  2. Create a new folder using the plus button. The folder can be edited or deleted at any time.
  3. Select a view. Choose between icons and list.
  4. A search engine is available on the right side of this section. You can always sort your results by name or other parameters.
WARNING: If you have not created a folder before, you will only see the default folder.
Tip: If you want to save a modified template as new (instead of overwriting the existing one), rename the template and click “Save as new template”.

Screenshot from the Synerise presenting creating first run message in visual editor

To create a First Run message in Synerise, you can use the visual builder. First, set up a few additional features:

  1. Name your project,
  2. Save the project as a new template in a selected folder,
  3. Go to the next step when your message is ready for use,
  4. You can leave the edition panel using the exit button,
  5. Inserts lets you add a personalized box into your message to include, for example, custom recommendations, coupons or a link.

Screenshot from the Synerise presenting creating first run message in visual editor

After saving your project, you can start creating your personalized message with the menu located in the right menu bar. You can add and edit six features:

  1. Layout. You can choose one layout from among four types: Full screen image, Full screen image + text, Full screen color + text or Mixed content,

  2. Content. The type of content depends on the layout chosen in the previous step. If you have chosen full screen image, you will find a box for the image URL and one in which you can choose the background color. For text, you will find boxes where you can add a header and description. You can monitor how your message will display thanks to a live interactive preview on the left side,

  3. CTA button. Add a CTA button and edit its text, corner radius and color,

  4. Close button. Remember to include a close button to make your message more user friendly and allow customers close the message at any time,

  5. Automatically disappear. This option lets you decide if your message should  disappear and, if so, after what amount of time (described in seconds),

  6. Action type. Decide what kind of action should follow your message. You can choose from:

    • Deep linking - Dedicated to notifications in app. Using the link you can transfer users to a specific place in your app,
    • Open URL - Link to a specific URL,
    • Do nothing.

Screenshot from the Synerise module presenting how to add and edit content for first run message

At this stage you can additionally prepare A/B tests and compare the effectiveness of different versions of your message.

  1. Add another version of your message choosing the plus button on the upper part of the content box.
  2. Add another template in the same way as before. Remember to add some changes to make this version a little bit different than the others.
  3. Use customer allocation and choose what percent of your customers will get version A and to how many of them will get version B,
  4. After adding the content, if the message is displayed correctly, save the changes with the Apply button.
WARNING:
  • By choosing more than one version within the A/B tests, you will be able to set the size of the groups to which a given message version of the message will be sent. The control group (if you checked “enable a control group” in the previous step) is already excluded from the recipient database.
  • The maximum number of versions sent within one message is three with the control group.

Schedule

Screenshot from the Synerise module presenting how to set up the schedule for first run message

  1. Set the start date for your message by choosing between two options:
    • To send your message after clicking the Send button on the upper right corner, use the Display immediately option.
    • To plan a message to be sent at a future date, use the Scheduled option. Set the start time and the time zone.

      Synerise is a system that performs the best while operating on the real time data that is why the users can plan a message 10 days forward from the current date.

      To select the best time of sending the message, take a look at the suggestion from the AI engine that calculates the best time (for all recipients). If time optimization is disabled, click here to learn more how to enable it and use it.

  2. To save the changes, click Apply.

Set up time restrictions for sending notifications


To disable sending out notifications at a specific time during the day, in the Silence Hours in the Schedule section, select one of the following options:

  • Without silence hours - Notification can be processed and sent out to the recipients at any time during the day.
  • Include silence hours - In the selected time, the notifications won’t be sent out to the recipients. The duration of silence hours can’t exceed 12 hours. If the sending process overlaps with silence hours, the unsent part of the notifications will be rejected. In such case, the push.skipped event will be generated.
    WARNING: If a notification is scheduled for sending just before silence hours (for example, silence hours start at 22:00 and sending is scheduled at 21:59:59), the notification may be processed, sent, and logged in the events a short time after the silence hours start.

Adding custom parameters


You can add up to 10 parameters which will be added to every event generated by this communication. Their values are the same for every event in the communication. You can use this, for example, to create a common parameter for events from different types of communication that belong to one marketing campaign.

The list below contains the events to which additional parameters are added:

  • push.send,
  • push.notSent,
  • push.click,
  • push.capping
  1. To define the custom event parameters, in the Additional parameters section, click Define.

  2. Click Add parameter.

  3. In the Parameter field, enter the name of the parameter.
    The following parameters cannot be sent:

    • modifiedBy,
    • apiKey,
    • eventUUID,
    • ip,
    • time,
    • businessProfileId,
    • correlationId,
    • clientId,
    • uuid
  4. In the Value field, enter the parameter value.
    The value is always sent as a string when the event’s JSON payload is generated. The maximum length of the string is 230 characters.

    WARNING: Dynamic values are not supported in the Parameter and Value fields.

  5. If you want to add more parameters, click Add parameter, and repeat steps 3-4.
    Result: the parameters will be added to all events listed above with the values you entered. This is an example event saved in the database. The custom parameter season is located in the params object:

    {
      "action": ...
      ...
      "params": {
        "clientId": 1111111111,
        "season": "autumn",
        "campaignName": "Back to school",
        "time": 1662392318050,
        "title": "Have you prepared for coming back to school?",
        "businessProfileId": "xxx"
      }
    }
      

  6. Confirm the settings by clicking Apply.

Save and send


Screenshot from the Synerise module presenting how to save first run message

After completing these steps, your message is ready to go. Decide if you want to finish it later or just send it right now. Just choose from the two options visible in the upper right corner of the screen.

  1. You can finish your message later and save it as a draft,
  2. If your message is ready, click the Activate button.
WARNING: The Activate button will not be active until the moment you fill in all the sections described above.

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