In-app messaging is a powerful tool to proactively engage with your mobile app users, guide them through important features, and ultimately drive in-app actions.
But let's be honest, implementing in-app messaging from scratch can be time-consuming for your development team, who are likely already juggling multiple tasks.
This is where in-app messaging platforms come to the rescue! They offer pre-built tools and functionalities that take the heavy lifting off your developers' shoulders. But with so many options on the market, choosing the right platform can be overwhelming.
In this post, we'll delve into the top in-app messaging platforms, analyzing their features, pricing, and ease of use. By the end, you'll be equipped to make an informed decision and select the platform that perfectly aligns with your app's needs and development resources.
Different types of in app messaging tools
In-app messaging tools can be categorized into two main types based on their functionality.
1. All-in-one communication platforms
These are comprehensive solutions that offer in-app messaging as one of their many features. They often include functionalities like email marketing, push notifications, and SMS marketing, allowing for a multi-channel communication approach.
Example: One signal, Braze, Clevertap, Moengage, Airship, Pushwoosh
2. Specialized in-app messaging tools
These platforms focus solely on in-app messaging and provide a wider range of features specifically designed for this purpose.
Example: Plotline, Storyly, Adapty
Adopting a conversational in-app messaging strategy
While traditional in-app messaging relies on one-directional methods like banners or video pop-ups, marketers and developers are increasingly turning to conversational methods powered by in-app chat (using both chatbot and user to user messaging) to deliver a more engaging user experience.
Some reasons why chat interfaces and conversational methods provide an engaging experience:
01.
Conversations are inherently more engaging than passive messages. Users can interact, ask questions, and receive personalized responses, fostering a sense of connection with the brand.
02.
Conversational interfaces can guide users through the purchase funnel, providing targeted information and addressing concerns in real-time, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.
A real-world example of how a business is leveraging conversational in-app messaging to achieve its goals can be seen in Healthifyme.
HealthifyMe, a digital health and fitness app, empowers users to track their calories, diet, and exercise routines. They also offer premium features like consultations with nutritionists, fitness experts, and yoga instructors, alongside targeted programs for weight loss, muscle gain, and diabetes prevention – all requiring a paid subscription.
In their strategy to convert free users to paying customers, HealthifyMe ditched the boring static banners and implemented in-app messages delivered via chat interfaces. These messages appear to come from a personal assistant assigned to the user (powered by an AI persona).
With the help of chatbots they engage users in conversation, recommending personalized premium plans and highlighting the benefits of hiring qualified professionals to help in their fitness journey. This conversational approach makes the upsell more engaging and effective compared to traditional one-way messaging.
Chatbots to user messaging using CometChat
This method of seamlessly opening a chat and engaging users in conversation – all within the app – can be readily achieved by leveraging in-app chat solutions like CometChat.
CometChat empowers you with the essential backend features to chat functionality seamlessly within your application. With CometChat you can create sophisticated rule-based chatbots that can tailor interactions based on user behavior within the app.
Here are some ways you can leverage this feature:
Configure chatbots to automatically open and greet users upon completing specific actions, such as registering for an account or making a purchase.
Leverage user data to segment your audience and trigger chatbots with targeted messages. For instance, a fitness app might prompt a user who hasn't logged in for a week with a friendly nudge and encouragement to resume their workout routine
Track user behavior within the app and use that data to personalize chatbot conversations. Imagine a shopping app where a chatbot greets a user who frequently browses a particular category and offers relevant product suggestions or promotions.
User to user messaging with CometChat
CometChat's capabilities extend beyond chatbots. We also allow you to create a robust, user to user messaging facilitating direct communication between users within your app. This functionality is ideal for applications like HealthifyMe, where users can connect with personal coaches.
HealthifyMe can leverage CometChat's interactive messaging options to create a more engaging user experience. Coaches can go beyond text messages and send product or diet recommendations directly within the chat, fostering a more immersive and personalized experience. This increases the probability of user conversion, as recommendations are delivered in a convenient and timely manner during the ongoing conversation.
Key features to look for in an in-app messaging platform
1. Audience building and segmentation
A must-have feature for any in-app messaging platform is the ability to personalize messages based on user data. Make sure the platform you select integrates with your existing CRM and product analytics tools. This integration allows the platform to connect with the data you already collect, such as:
Demographics (age, location, etc.)
Behavior patterns (actions taken within the app)
User segments (groups based on shared characteristics)
In-app activity (features used, purchases made)
2. Ability to use different message formats
Your chosen platform must support a variety of message formats like popups, banners, slide-ins, videos, stories animations, etc. Each of these formats has its unique utility and can be instrumental in enhancing user engagement. For instance, a product announcement might warrant a video format, while a subtle reminder could be delivered through a banner.
3. Campaign builder
A central hub for creating, scheduling, and managing all your in-app messaging campaigns. You can define your campaign goals, target audience, and message content - all within the platform for a smooth and efficient workflow. It also provides a dedicated place for managing your campaigns and monitoring key performance metrics.
4. Message editor/designer
Crafting compelling in-app messages often involves significant time investment and reliance on external resources like designers and copywriters. This always lead to delays and hinder your ability to execute messaging strategies promptly. To address this challenge, look for platforms that offer support in creating content and visuals for your in-app messages rather than a basic editor.
Support for creation can take various forms, it can be a simple library of pre-built in-app message templates. Users can use these templates to quickly create messages and go live immediately. Some tools also offer AI assistance in creating copy and images, significantly reducing content creation time and empowering marketers to experiment with different variations more efficiently.
5. Powerful analytics and reporting
Success of your in-app messaging campaign hinges on understanding how your messages perform. Look for a platform that offers extensive metrics, like, message delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates, etc. These, along with other key engagement indicators, provide valuable insights into user behavior and help you refine your strategy based on data-driven insights.
6. A/B testing
Check if the platform provides a dedicated A/B testing module that allows you to create different variants of your message and test them to see which version yields the highest conversion rate.
By gaining a clear understanding of the messaging that resonates best with your audience, you can write better copies and come up with offers that leads to conversions
7. Support for other channels
While there is no harm in using a specialized in-app messaging tool, you should consider platforms that extend their reach beyond the app itself after hitting a certain scale.
By managing all your communication channels through a single platform, you can streamline your workflow, save time, and reduce the hassle of juggling between different providers. This isn't necessarily a must-have feature, yet offers significant benefits.
8. Workflow builder:
A workflow builder is a powerful tool that allows you to automate the delivery of in-app messages based on specific user actions or triggers. Think of it as a visual flowchart where you define the steps and conditions for sending messages.
It is typically presented as a drag-and-drop interface where you can connect different elements to create a sequence of actions. These elements include:
Triggers: These are events that initiate the workflow. Examples of triggers could be a user logging in for the first time, completing a purchase, or clicking on a specific button within the app.
Conditions: These are optional filters that can further refine when an action is triggered. For instance, you might only want to send a message to users who have made a purchase in the last week.
Actions: These are the specific actions that take place within the workflow. In the context of in-app messaging, this would typically involve displaying a message to the user.
Delays and Timers: You can set delays or timers within the workflow to control the timing of actions. This allows you to send messages at specific intervals or based on how long a user has been inactive.
9. Scalability
Your app's user base may be small now, but as your business expands, so too will your audience. The platform you opt for needs to be able to accommodate this growth, handling an increase in user traffic and message volume without compromising performance or speed.
10. Security
Does the platform have robust security features in place? This could include end-to-end encryption to protect the privacy of messages, strict data access controls, and compliance with global data protection regulations like GDPR, CCPA, etc.
Also, does the platform undergo regular security audits, and are there mechanisms in place to detect and respond to potential security breaches? The ability to secure user data, protect privacy, and comply with international regulations is a non-negotiable attribute of any platform dealing with user data.
Top in-app messaging platforms for your application
1. One signal
Pros:
OneSignal shines with its straightforward setup process and exceptional customer support. Compared to competitors like Firebase, it's a breeze to get started, even for non-technical users. Their documentation is top-notch and their support team is known to be proactive and helpful.
Their in-app messaging is easy to use and features an intuitive interface so marketers are empowered to design and send in-app messages without additional developer time.
One signal also extends support for sending browser notifications. This lets you reach subscribed users directly whenever new content is published, driving repeat traffic and engagement.
Cons
While email is offered, it feels like an afterthought compared to the platform's core strengths.
The free plan offers a good starting point, but some users find the paid plans a bit expensive for the features provided.
The user interface has mixed reviews. Some users find it less intuitive than desired, potentially leading to a longer setup and testing phase for campaigns.
2. Braze
Braze has established itself as a major player in the cross channel marketing space, catering to businesses of all sizes – from startups to established brands like Burger King and the NBA. Recognized as a leader by Gartner.
Pros
Braze lets you send the right message to the right customer at the right time based n the data you have. This intelligent timing combined with personalization features is a huge win for business to engage and retian customers.
Braze is surprisingly intuitive, even for new users. The platform is easy to navigate, and there's a wealth of online learning materials to get you started.
Braze is always evolving, adding new features and functionalities. They're ahead of the curve on trends, like launching AI features before the recent hype.
Cons
Braze works best when your customer data is clean and organized. This means using a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to unify your data before feeding it into Braze. This can add complexity to your tech stack and require additional expertise.
While Braze offers powerful reporting features, it can be a little tricky to use. Some reporting options have limitations, like comparing only a handful of campaigns at once. This can be frustrating if you need to analyze a broader data set.
3. CleverTap
Pros
CleverTap's behavioral analytics features enable you to target the right audience at the right time. For instance, using funnels, you can analyze drop-off points and target users who abandon specific steps in your desired journey.
Features like segmentation, events, funnels, cohorts, trends, and "find people" allows you to effectively track user behavior and tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
CleverTap University offers a wealth of educational resources, including tutorials, guides, and best practices. This readily available knowledge base empowers users to get the most out of the platform and address any questions that may arise.
Cons
While CleverTap offers a rich set of features, their product documentation can be challenging to understand in the context of your specific use case. This leads to the frequent need of assistance from their customer support team.
Some of CleverTap's features take a bit too much time to be deployed in Production, but at the same time, it is best to deploy something bug-free and late rather than with bugs and early.
4. Plotline
Pros
Plotline offers the most diverse range of in-app messaging formats compared to other tools. Their users can create engaging content like stories, spotlights, animations tooltips, floaters and even in-app videos.
Plotline customers see a significant reduction in turnaround time (TAT) from days to minutes when using Plotline compared to traditional development methods for launching in-app messaging campaigns.
Plotline allows for quick and effective changes to your app's interface and content. This means you don't need to wait till app release to make changes to your campaigns.
Cons
Since Plotline focuses solely on in-app messaging, it lacks features offered by broader platforms, such as email or SMS communication.
While G2 reviews praise Plotline's overall functionality, some users report encountering bugs and inconsistencies within the platform's dashboard. A few reviews also highlight the dashboard's responsiveness and speed as areas for improvement.
5. Airship
Pros:
Airship boasts a lightweight design with a clear and straightforward message creation screen. Everything you need is readily accessible, making it user-friendly and fast to learn.
Airship provides an easy way to build push and in-app notifications with a robust design and a variety of features. Notifications are simple to set up and test, offering extensive customization options for most aspects.
Cons
Very limited in out of the box capabilities. Automation set ups don't feel logical or consistent with other message sending platforms.
While Airship offers a good degree of notification customization, there are limitations regarding button sizing, text placement, line spacing, and device screen previews. This can make it challenging to accurately test how notifications will appear on different devices.
Reporting on Airship can be complex. The pre-built reports might not be sufficient for all customer needs, often requiring custom reports. However, creating these custom reports can be difficult due to a lack of clear documentation on the process.
6. Storyly
Storyly is a user engagement platform designed specifically to help businesses integrate full-screen, interactive, and shoppable "stories" directly into their mobile apps and websites. Unlike static content, stories can be made to be interactive. Storyly allows you to incorporate elements like polls, quizzes, and CTAs (calls to action) within your stories, making them more engaging for users. Their shoppable stories can be used by ecommerce businesses to enable direct purchases within stories.
Pros
Storyly injects fresh, visual, and interactive elements into your app, creating a more delightful user experience.
Their diverse selection of customizable templates and design tools simplifies the process of creating Instagram like stories.
Cons
Storyly's current targeting and expiry logic could be more flexible. Ideally, you'd have more granular control over which users see specific content and for how long. Currently, the options may be limited to global deadlines for all users or creating numerous segments, which can be cumbersome.
Some integrations with Storyly can be complex and time-consuming to set up. This could potentially slow down your workflow.
7. Firebase In-App Messaging
Pros
Integrates seamlessly with other Google products like Google Analytics, making data analysis easier.
Firebase provides robust backend development tools, offering a one-stop shop for all your app development needs.
Cons
Compared to dedicated in-app messaging platforms, Firebase offers a more basic feature set.
Firebase can be a nightmare, whilst simple to initially implement it lacks documentation to get the most.
8. Moengage
Pros
MoEngage's robust segmentation capabilities allow you to easily categorize customers based on various factors like demographics, in-app behavior, and purchase history.
MoEngage's exclusive DPM feature takes personalization a step further. It allows you to create personalized push notifications and WhatsApp campaigns that dynamically adapt to each user's profile and behavior.
Cons
Due to its extensive functionality and customization options, MoEngage can have a steeper learning curve compared to simpler platforms. This requires an initial investment in training or onboarding for your team.
While MoEngage promotes AI-driven insights for campaign optimization, some users report that the AI features fall short of expectations. Greater accuracy and customization options would be beneficial for the AI to live up to its full potential.
Aarathy Sundaresan
Content Marketer , CometChat