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Selecting your audience

You can send messages to your total audience or just a section of users.

When you create a message, you select your audience, which is both:

  1. The ChannelsA communication medium supported by the Airship service. Supported channels include app, web, email, SMS, and Open Channels. Within some channels there may be specific platforms with individual characteristics. Example platforms include Chrome for the web channel and Android for the mobile app channel. you want to send your message to.
  2. The users on those channels who you want to receive your message.

Your options for selecting channels and users varies based on the ComposerA tool for creating messages in the dashboard. Composers are defined by what you can include and control: message types, delivery, and automation. used to create the message.

ComposerAPI endpointChannel selectionUser selection
Message/pushRequiredRequired
A/B TestUsed to send variants of a message to cross-sections of your audience. Each variant in the test returns data to help you determine the most effective ways to engage your audience. A/B tests support up to 26 variants and a control group per test./experimentsRequiredRequired
AutomationA set of conditions that your audience must meet before they receive a message./pipelinesRequiredDetermined by its TriggerAn event that initiates an Automation, Sequence, or Scene. and conditions.
SequenceA series of messages that is initiated by a trigger. Airship sends messages in the series based on your timing settings, and you can also set conditions that determine its audience and continuation. Sequences can be connected to each other and to other messaging components to create continuous user experiences in a Journey.Not supportedRequiredDetermined by its TriggerAn event that initiates an Automation, Sequence, or Scene. and conditions.
In-App AutomationMessages cached on users’ devices and displayed when users meet certain conditions within your app, such as viewing a particular screen or opening the app a certain number of times., SceneA single or multi-screen in-app experience cached on users’ devices and displayed when users meet certain conditions in your app or website, such as viewing a particular screen or when a Custom Event occurs. They can be presented in fullscreen, modal, or embedded format using the default swipe/click mode or as a Story. Scenes can also contain survey questions.Not supportedApp channel only, so there is no channel selectorRequired. Determined by the selected users and its TriggerAn event that causes an In-App Automation or Scene to appear to your audience. and conditions.
Apple NewsA news aggregator for iOS and MacOS. An Apple News notification is a push notification that links to an Apple News story. Apple News notifications are available to select publishers. If you are interested in sending Apple News notifications, please contact your Airship Account Manager.Not supportedApple News channel only, so there is no channel selectorN/A. Apple News messages are delivered through the Apple News app. This audience is defined by Apple.

In the Message, A/B Test, Automation, In-App Automation, and Scene composers, you select channels and/or triggers in the Setup and Audience steps. For Sequences, you make these selections when configuring the trigger or when you create each message in the sequence.

Automation example:

Selecting your audience

User selection is represented as:

Selecting your audience

Selecting an audience in the API

In the API, you select the channels you want to send your message to with the device_types array, and the users you want to send your message to using the audience selector object.

Basic audience selection
{
    "device_types": [ "ios", "android", "sms" ],
    "audience": {
      "tag": "needs_a_greeting",
      "group": "new_customer"
    },
    "notification": {
        "alert": "Hello!"
    }
}