AWS: Using Push Notifications

Exciting Opportunities for Sending Push Notifications to Your Marketing List

You may be wondering how you can notify users that there’s an amazing clothing sale at your sale going on or how you can remind your clients about an event occurring the next day. Previously, to send out user notifications companies would use AWS PinPoint but they are discontinuing that service to replace it with AWS End User Messaging. Let’s talk about the possibilities this service can provide and how much it costs.

Reduce time wastage

Health care services depend on patients showing up on time for their appointments. Sometimes patients aren’t as reliable as they should be and end up missing appointments due to forgetfulness. With AWS End User Messaging it allows health care facilities to reduce time wastage using push notification services provided by Pinpoint (now End User Messaging) companies such as Birdi, a digital prescription pharmacy deliver notifications from multiple sources such as email, SMS and more.

Cost

AWS offers different costs. There are costs based on whether you decide to use a long code, short code (which is best for large campaigns) or toll free.

Long Code

A long code would be the option to use a 10-digit phone number. This option is great for two way communication and appointment reminders. If you are a small local business this is the best option for you because it feels more personal than toll-free numbers

The price per message is $0.01286 CAD per SMS. For example, if you sent around 4000 notifications in a marketing campaign it could cost you around $51.44 CAD.

Short Codes

If you intend on doing high-volume marketing using a short code (a 5- or 6-digit number) is an excellent option.

Some common use cases would be for sending thousands or millions of messages quickly, flash sales and even one time passcodes or verification codes. It is slightly costlier and is usually around $500 to $1000 per month.

Toll Free

A toll free number protects customers from incurring charges when sending a message to it. It costs a total of $0.01286 CAD per outbound message (AWS fee + carrier fee), based on AWS’s published pricing. Toll free numbers typically have 3 or 4 numbers at the beginning. For example, in Belgium toll free numbers begin with 0800 followed by 5 digits.

Summary

If you have customers across a large region it is best to choose a toll free number whilst a long code number is great for small businesses with a more local and personalized feel to it. Short codes on the other hand are a great strategy for when you want one time passcodes from logins to be sent or you have an amazing spring sale on your large e-commerce clothing store. Knowledge of push notifications is fundamental to the growth of your business. It reduces time wastage in the public health sector, helps customers know when their favourite clothing brand is on sale or organizations can help remind individuals about upcoming events. The possibilities are endless!