Engage Time Optimization (Send Time Optimization)

Engage Time Optimization, also known as Send Time Optimization, is a Blueshift advanced capability that enables you to optimize your campaigns by sending messages when your customers are more likely to engage with your brand.

Send Time Optimization is available for all campaigns.

The true measure of optimal send time is one where the customer is likely to give you their full attention. In today’s always-connected world, it is no longer sufficient to assume that historical open/click data is the best way to optimize send times. Always on connectivity and easy access to apps and sites, on mobile devices in particular, leads to many short lived sessions. Such sessions cannot be used as a full gauge of consumer interest. Marketers need to look deeper at the total amount of time spent by customers and prioritize times of the day where customers are more likely to click through, spend time and are more likely to browse or buy.

At Blueshift we look at the sum total of time spent by each customer and rank each hour in the day based on time spent and how deep in the purchase funnel they got to. You can use these computed scores to optimize the send time of your messaging.

Consider the following points about using Send Time Optimization in your campaigns:

• The Predictive Affinities for a customer are part of the Customer profile.
• Send time optimization is available for all campaigns.
• When Send Time Optimization is enabled, Blueshift uses the computed scores to send the message at the precise time at which the user is most likely to engage with your content.
• If your message is time-sensitive, specify an upper time limit by using the Send this message no later than _ hours after they are eligible option. Using this option ensures that the message is sent on the day that it is scheduled and is not queued for the next day. However, without Dayparting windows, a limit of 24 hours will guarantee that the user will be messaged at their optimum hour.
• If this trigger has defined Dayparting windows, the Dayparting windows will take precedence over Send time optimization. For example, if a user's optimum send time is at 11:00 AM and Dayparting windows only allow messages from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, the message will be sent between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
• The Dayparting window and Send time optimization limit are always guaranteed to be applied. If you specify that the user should be messaged between 3:00PM and 6:00PM, the user will be messaged within that time. If you specified that the Send time optimization limit is 1 hour, the user will be messaged within 1 hour of eligibility.
• Send time optimization is applied only if the previous two checks are true, so there are cases where it will not be applied.
• If  a customer does not have a Top Hour Predictive Affinity available, for example if the customer is new, the campaign message is sent when the campaign starts (Execution Schedule Start time).

To enable Blueshift's Send Time Optimization, select Predictive Optimization in the Send Time Optimization section of the Delay tab of the trigger.