A news alert is a mobile push notification that announces important, current events. It’s ideal for driving traffic to your website or app because it is highly actionable and can be sent at a time when your audience will be most engaged. It is an effective tool to have when breaking news occurs, like natural disasters or political unrest, as well as when you have a new announcement to share, such as a community event or milestone for your business.
It is crucial to keep your breaking news alert brief, but also informative. Focus on answering the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why) and include relevant background information that explores the broader implications of your news. This can be in the form of quotes from people who were involved or opinions from experts.
Including compelling visual content is another way to make your breaking news alert more appealing and easier for journalists to digest. It’s also essential to thoroughly proofread and edit your alert before sending it out, so it is free of grammatical or spelling errors that can be distracting and erode the credibility of your brand.
Many news publications are increasing their use of breaking news alerts, which are notifications that update you on major headlines throughout the day. However, it’s important not to over-promote your breaking news alerts because they can lead to notification fatigue for your audience. Instead, be sure to provide other types of content over the course of the day to keep them coming back to your site or app for more.