Best Practices for Using Scheduled Alerts
Scheduled alerts are powerful, but too many can overwhelm attendees and reduce the impact of important messages. Attendees already receive a set of default alerts so you want to make sure you limit any additional notifications to only what's absolutely necessary.
Follow these guidelines to keep alerts useful and effective:
Respect the Home Screen
Schedule max 2 concurrent alerts and don't overwhelm the user. Only two alerts are visually displayed at a time on the Home Screen. Extra alerts wait in line - so flooding the system means some may never be seen. Ensure you do not schedule more than 2 alerts to display concurrently.
Keep it short
Long text will be cut off. Use concise, clear messages. Learn more about long or formatted alerts.
Stay relevant and timely
Too many alerts lead to “alert fatigue” and attendees may start ignoring them altogether.
Don’t delete last-minute
Removing scheduled alerts takes time to sync, and cached messages may still appear on devices.
Limit the volume
No more than 3 alerts per day. Remember, attendees already get automatic reminders before their sessions.
Set proper duration
Keep scheduled alerts live at least 30 minutes so most attendees see them.
Schedule ahead
Prepare scheduled alerts ahead of your event. Pre-scheduled alerts ensure delivery even when attendees are offline and help avoid last-minute issues.
Add value with Actions
Link scheduled alerts to relevant content, sessions, or web pages so users can immediately act.
Be cautious with ads
If using scheduled alerts for sponsorship, limit to no more than 1 per day - and only if it provides real value. Use in-app display ads for promotions instead.
Target wisely
Narrow your audience (by location, attendee type, or session enrollment) so alerts are meaningful and not disruptive.
You can target by
- Location (additional fees apply for GPS alerts)
- Attendee Types (additional fees apply for setting up targeted content)
- Just the session attendees have scheduled (included - when setting up your alert, click the drop down arrow next to Advanced to display the option to add a specific session ID)
By limiting scheduled alerts and making them purposeful, you’ll ensure attendees trust and pay attention to them - rather than tuning them out.