Getting more out of Braze: 8 tips and tricks

Here are 8 tips and tricks in the Braze system

Look up! 

That was a very good tip I heard more than once when I started playing football as a kid. That experience illustrates an important point - obviousness is usually only in retrospect. Because in almost anything you take on, there are lots of 'obvious' things that are anything but obvious at first (until someone teaches you otherwise). So here are 8 tips and tricks in Braze that I wish someone had shared with me when I first started working in the system. 

1. Test Braze's proprietary HTML templates for IAM.

Braze offers several IAM templates that you can use as a starting point for your own messages. These templates are not only easy to use, but they are also flexible enough to adapt to your specific needs. 

I have used these templates as a starting point to build something of my own. Saved me many hours.

2. Compare yourself to your industry with Benchmarks

Wondering if your push notification open rate is good or bad? With Braze Benchmarks you don't even have to ask, the answer is already there. These benchmarks give you a clear picture of how your campaigns are performing compared to your industry.

Very smooth and something that Braze themselves should promote more.

3. Never update Language & Country via CSV

If you need to update or import users via CSV, be careful not to include the 'Language' and 'Country' fields. 

Then it can get tricky because Braze automatically collects this data and updating them costs nothing. Until you update them via csv - then Braze stops automatically collecting this information and you will now have to 'manually' update (and pay data points) for these fields.

It is mentioned in passing in the documentation and is easy to miss. 

4. Testing campaigns and canvases triggered by custom events

When testing campaigns or canvases triggered on custom events, this must be done live. This may seem daunting, but it is actually a great opportunity to see how your campaigns are performing in real time. 

But live doesn't necessarily mean that your first test goes to your customers. No, "live" here only refers to the campaign or canvas itself. You should of course define test users as recipients. 

An additional tip is to use rate limit as a safety valve for larger campaigns and trips that are not time sensitive. For example, if you have a campaign that is done every day, you can use rate limit to ensure that only a small percentage of recipients receive the communication and thus quickly address and minimize the impact of potential errors that may have been difficult to identify in earlier steps.

5. Always explore the 'Liquid use case library' first.

Before spending tens of hours on a self-created solution, check that someone else hasn't already solved it first.

Braze's Liquid use case library is a great resource where you can find various 50+ ready-made use cases for Liquid. 

Not only can you find a ready-made solution with a little luck, but it also serves as a great resource - if you want to learn more about how to use Liquid for personalization and automation.

6. Difficulty with Liquid? Use the 'Liquid cheat sheet'

To quickly reference the Liquid syntax, you can use Shopify's Liquid cheat sheet.If, like me, you're also not a developer, it can be a welcome tool.

Remember that there may be some differences between how Liquid is used in Braze and Shopify. Therefore, always refer to the Braze documentation first and test.

7. Use Webm for video in your IAMs

IAMs (pop-ups) also support various video formats, including webm. This format is smaller than MP4 which unlocks more scenarios where you can include moving material in your communication.

Previously, Webm was not supported on Safari or iOS, which was a hindrance. But now there is no problem, as more platforms have started to support the format, including iOS (15). 

Motion is fun! So test how it can contribute to a more dynamic and engaging user experience.

8. How to turn on 'Intelligent Selection' for Canvas

Braze's Intelligent Selection analyzes the performance of a recurring campaign or canvas twice a day and automatically adjusts the percentage of users receiving each variant.

Turning it on for campaigns is straightforward. But for Canvas, it can be a bit hidden. 

You have to do two things.

1. Adding conversion events.
2. Tap on a variant, only there you can activate Intelligent Selection.

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As long as your conversion events measure what you want to evaluate your journey against, you can sit back and let the system do the optimization for you. Smoothly!

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I hope these tips and tricks will help you get the most out of Braze. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Take care!