News alert is a mobile push notification that can quickly notify audiences of breaking news stories. Often used by national or international organizations to communicate urgent news, a well-crafted news alert is vital to keep audience members informed and engaged with the latest developments. News alerts can be sent to all subscribers with a real-time delivery capability, or they can be sent to a targeted subset of users (e.g. journalists).
Getting a story in the news is critical to keeping your audience informed, but it’s also important to understand how people consume news. A recent study from Reuters Institute shows that many smartphone users are experiencing “news alert fatigue,” with over half of them turning off notifications. This can be due to an overwhelming number of notifications or because they aren’t relevant to their interests.
It’s important to only use media alerts and media releases for initiatives that are truly news worthy. Journalists receive scores to hundreds of media alerts and media releases every day, so it’s crucial that your alert is clear, concise and communicates the news worthiness of your initiative.
If you’re interested in experimenting with breaking news alerts, we recommend trying Google Alerts to monitor how your content is performing. This free tool allows you to set up an email for any search term, and when that term appears online, you’ll get a notification in your inbox. You can even customize your news alerts to only include content from sources like Associated Press, Reuters or BBC News to avoid information overload.
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