What is Mobile app Marketing?
Mobile app marketing is about communicating with your customers throughout their entire life cycle - from when they first heard about your app, to when they became a loyal and regular user. To do this effectively, you need to figure out who is using your app, where to find those people, what to say to them and what they want from you.
The most common way to think about mobile app usage is the step order or "funnel". There are many funnel steps, but here is a simplified view.
Acquisition:
Acquisition is the first step in user interaction with your app. How do you get them to download and install your app in the first place?
Activation:
Activation is next. The exact meaning of “user activation” differs from app to app, but in general, activation refers to the first steps, such as adding a user's email address or making an initial purchase.
Retention:
Retention means turning your app into a common destination for your user.
Mobile app Acquisition:
The first part of building a successful app is getting people to use it. From a messaging perspective, you need to convince a potential user that your app can solve the problem they are having. Some common channels to send these messages are:
Social
If you don't already have a large audience, paid social advertising, in particular, is likely to be the most effective channel. A more effective channel, after your app is traction, is to recruit users of your app to their friends.
Real-world perks
A common strategy is to offer a product gift, sweepstakes entry, or some other tangible gift instead of app install. One risk in using real-world perks is that users who sign up this way can remove your app as soon as they receive their reward.
Search ads
Both Google Play and Apple's App Store provide in-store ads that app managers can purchase to run downloads. Advertisements appear when users search for specific app keywords - for example, mobile payment app ads may appear when a user searches for "Send Cash". Search ads can also be purchased through platforms such as Google AdWords so that anyone can search Google from their phone to "buy a home" to see an ad for your real estate app. The link goes directly to your App Store page.
App Promotion
If you have more than one app, the best way to gain customers is to use one app to promote another. For example, if your company produces a restaurant database, you can place ads that represent your travel app, because users interested in one may be interested in another.
App Store List
App stores need text and image descriptions of each app. Writing your list thoughtfully is key to convincing users to download it. The text in your list, among other things, will have an impact on whether users are looking for apps in your category.
In determining the acquisition strategy, it is important to track your cost or CPA per acquisition. Some channels - such as your app store list, or web page or organic social posts - cost nothing, but are time-consuming. Others - such as paid advertising - are expensive, but easy to optimize and scale. Determining the right balance of acquisition activities is essential to the long-term success of your app.
Comparing the CPA to the lifetime value of your customers, the acquisition strategy will tell you whether you are worth the money and time. And the lifetime value calculation depends on whether or not you can activate the users you earn.
Mobile app user Activation:
Once you've got a user to install your app, you need to use it. Most users leave apps shortly after downloading, so it's important to have an effective messaging strategy to remind users how and why they use your app.
An effective use of these strategies is, in fact, the message your user sees. There are three main application channels you can use; Choosing the right one can dramatically increase the chance of it happening.
Mobile App Channels:
Everyone got a push notification. If you get a user to install your app, you can send one at any time; Your user doesn't even need to be in the app to see it. Push notifications are easy to brand, and you can specify what actions a user should take with a single tap.
Messages in the app are similar to push notifications but are sent to your users when they are active in your app. You can put real-time updates in them, and unlike push notifications, they don't need the option to receive.
Message Center is a passive channel within your app; It provides a way for users to view past notifications if they are interested. This is a great way to deliver messages that don't require immediate action and can be very useful when the user is already in your app.
Each of these channels is appropriate for the different ways you can activate your customers.
User activation strategies:
A welcome message is a push notification that is sent immediately after initial installation, usually within 24 hours. A proven approach is to thank the user for installing your app, and then strengthen the app's value proposition or introduce them to a key feature. For example, if a user installs a home automation app, you can send them a push message, thanking them with a link to start the process of setting up their home on your app.
Successful app marketers have taken this a step further and put together a proper on boarding stream. A good on boarding flow is a tour of the product, showing where the key features are and when and how they are used. Diligent on boarding increases engagement and trust, making it easier for your user to ask for permission to send notifications and other messages.
This will greatly help further marketing efforts for app users to register using their phone number or email address. It helps with cross-channel marketing efforts and gives you another channel to engage or re-engage with your customer.
Depending on your application, it is advisable to provide a conversion incentive upfront. For example, if your app allows customers to shop for clothes, offer them a coupon that expires quickly to get them in the habit of shopping through your online channel.
Once you activate your user, you should think about keeping them as a user for longer.
Mobile app retention
Engaging your customers is a long-term proposition; Retention is especially important because it is a key factor in measuring the lifetime value of a customer, so whether your efforts are profitable.
Draw the difference between:
1,000 new customers, 10% of whom are on average, a month, and so on
500 new customers, of whom 30% are on average two months.
In the first example, your 1,000 new customers will be reduced to 100, and then one month later, half will be left. That’s 50 net users.
Second, your 500 new customers will be 150, and a month later, only a quarter is left. This is 110 net users, more than double the number in the first example, even if you earn half that.
How to communicate with your user:
Whatever channel you use, you need to make sure that your user's attention is a valuable resource, and that what you're sending is valuable to them. Every time you send a message, be sure to answer these questions:
What is the purpose of your message? Is it worth it for your user?
What action does the user want to take when they receive it? This will help you communicate your purpose more effectively and better measure its effectiveness.
In what context is your message important? Mobile Message Context: Time, Location, User Preferences.
Does your customer care? If you're Twitter, it's okay to send 20 push notifications per day. If you're a Candy Crush, you shouldn't even send one push notification per week because your user is a casual gamer who doesn't care about new features.
Related Articles:
Comments