Keep your users informed with notifications. Whether you need to announce a schedule change, you would like to send a reminder, or you have included notifications in your sponsorship packages, the Notifications tool provides a quick and easy way to communicate with everyone who has downloaded your guide.
To ensure your users receive your notifications, encourage them to enable notifications for the app. Notifications also require network connectivity (Wi-Fi or cellular data).
Be sure to set the time zone before editing any content or setting up notifications in your guide.
The Two Types of Notifications
Default Notifications
All Notifications sent will be stored in the Notifications module. In the app, users will see an unread message indicator next to the Notifications menu item.
A default notification will not alert the user outside of the app. Users will only know they have a message waiting for them when they open the guide and check the Notifications module.
If a notification is linked to a session or custom list item, users can tap on the message to be brought to the session or item.
Push Notifications
Push Notifications are alerts that appear outside of the app on users' devices. These messages are also stored in the Notifications module for later viewing.
This feature is only available on an Engage (previously Premium) plan.
Users will have to enable push notifications for the app in their Settings in order to receive push notifications on their device home screen.
Each guide comes with 100 push notifications by default. We hope this is more than enough for you to make announcements and send personalized alerts to your audiences before, during, and after your event.
If you require more notifications, please email support@guidebook.com with the name of your guide and the number of notifications you would like so we can adjust the limit for your guide.
Sending a Notification
Go to the Notifications section of your guide. Make sure you have added the Notifications module first, or else you will not be able to send notifications.
Tap the Compose button.
Enter the message title and the message body. The message title cannot exceed 80 characters, including spaces. The message body cannot exceed 1024 characters, including spaces. You can include web address URLs in the message body.
You can choose to link to a custom list item or session within the guide. If this is selected, the user will be directed to the linked item/session when they tap on the notification.
If your guide is on an Engage plan, you can send the notification as a push notification. This means that the notification will be sent as a device alert to users' mobile devices, assuming they have allowed notifications for the Guidebook or Branded app.
Depending on their settings, the notification title will show on users' devices outside of the app, while the message will be available within the app.
Toggle the Send as a push notification button to see your push notification options, which are detailed below.
- Schedule Notification: Send a notification out at a specific date and time rather than sending one immediately. The time is determined by the guide’s time zone, which is set in the Guide Details section.
- Link Within Guide (Push Notification Only): Attach a schedule session or custom list item. When users tap/swipe on the notification, they will be taken to that item in the guide. This linked item is not visible in the notification message.
Targeted Notifications: Send Your Push Notifications to Specific Users
If you are on an Engage plan, you can use targeted push notifications to send relevant updates to specific users in your guide.
You can target specific users in Builder in two different ways: by schedule session or by user account.
Attendees of Specific Sessions
Select this option to send a push notification to users who have added a specific session to their My Schedule.
Users must be logged in and signed up for the specific session for this targeted notification to reach them.
Simply click on a session from the drop-down menu or search to add the session to the group notification list.
Users and/or Groups
Select this option to send a push notification to specific users or groups.
Users must be logged in to receive targeted notifications.
Editing or Deleting Notifications
Guide admins can edit or delete any scheduled notification by clicking the gear icon on the right-hand side of the message panel.
The behavior for notifications that have already been sent to users differs depending on the type of notification: Default or Push.
- Default Notifications: Default notifications can be removed from Builder by clicking on the trash can icon on the right-hand side of the message panel.
- Push Notifications: If you need to delete a push notification from your guide, please email support@guidebook.com with the guide's name and the title of the notification you want to remove.
When a notification is deleted from your guide in Builder, it will still be visible in a user's notification feature on their device if they have already downloaded the guide. For deleted notifications to disappear on mobile devices, users will have to delete and reinstall the guide. This is because this information, once sent, is stored locally on a device so it can be seen even if a user is offline.