Audience segmentation

Audience segmentation lets you define which users receive your mobile campaigns. You can create segments based on push contact data, user properties, behavioral events, and device attributes.

For the full ZMP segmentation reference — all filter types, operators, tracking, and segment membership — see Segments in the Zeta Knowledgebase.

How mobile audiences work

In ZMP, a segment is a group of users defined by shared criteria. When you launch a mobile campaign, you select one or more segments as the target audience. ZMP evaluates which users meet the segment criteria and delivers the campaign to them.

For push notification campaigns, ZMP automatically filters the segment to include only users who have a valid device token and notification permission. Users without push opt-in are excluded from push delivery, though they can still receive in-app messages and app inbox entries.

Creating a segment

In ZMP, navigate to Audiences > Segments & Lists.
Click Explore Audience.
Select your data source and apply filters using the filter panel on the left. See the sections below for mobile-specific filter options.
Review the audience size in the results panel.
Click Save to name your segment and save it.

Targeting by push contact data

Push contact data includes information associated with a user's device registration. Select Contacts as your filter type and apply any of the following:

Filter	Description
Has device token	Users who have a push device token registered in ZMP. This is the most basic filter for push-eligible users.
Platform	Filter by iOS, Android, or both.
Push opt-in status	Users who have granted notification permission. Useful for identifying users you can reach via push versus those you can only reach via in-app or inbox.
Last active date	Users who last opened the app within a given timeframe.

Combine these filters to build targeted push audiences. For example: "iOS users who have a device token and opened the app in the last 30 days."

Targeting by user properties

User properties are attributes your app sends to ZMP through the SDK. Select Properties as your filter type to filter on:

Property	Description
Email	The user's email address (if provided).
User ID (uid)	Your app's internal user identifier.
Name	First name, last name, or full name.
Location	Latitude and longitude (if your app tracks location).
Sign-up date	When the user first registered.

Your development team can also send custom properties (loyalty tier, subscription plan, preferred language, and so on). These appear as additional filter options in the segment builder once the SDK is sending them.

Note: User properties are only available for segmentation if your development team has configured the SDK to collect and send them. Work with your development team to ensure the properties you need for targeting are being passed to ZMP.

Combining with existing segments

You can combine mobile-specific criteria with segments already defined in ZMP. Select Segments as your filter type and use:

Person is a member of — target users currently in another segment. For example, "high-value customers" (existing segment) who also have a device token.
Person is not a member of — exclude users in a segment. For example, target all mobile users except those who purchased in the last 7 days.

This lets your mobile campaigns draw on the full depth of ZMP's segmentation engine, including data from email, web, offline channels, and first-party and third-party data sources.

Segment best practices

Start with push eligibility. If you are building an audience for a push campaign, begin with "has device token" as your base filter. This ensures you are only counting users you can actually reach.
Create a test segment. Before launching a campaign to a large audience, create a small segment containing only internal team members or test devices. Use this to verify message content and delivery.
Monitor segment size. If your segment is much smaller than expected, check whether device tokens are being collected correctly and whether users have granted push permission.
Refresh regularly. User properties and engagement data change over time. Review and update your segment criteria periodically to keep your targeting relevant.
Enable tracking for triggered campaigns. If you want a segment to trigger an Experience Builder journey or restrict messaging frequency, enable the Tracking toggle when saving the segment.