A cell person acquisition technique isn’t tied to simply paid or natural channels — it piggybacks on the channels’ present viewers and potential alternatives to entice customers to obtain the app. Shoppers demand comfort, and that entails connecting with them on the platforms they’re most snug with.
On this weblog, we’ll discover a number of the most viral campaigns that drove hundreds of app installs and share greatest practices for implementing their cell person acquisition methods.
1. Optimize your social media channels to drive person engagement
The trendy shopper not solely turns to social media to search out new apps, they really obtain apps as a result of of social media content material. Nonetheless, along with walled gardens and damaged person experiences, buy journeys are more and more advanced. This implies participating customers to extend cell person acquisition, income, and ROI may be tough.
But some ways may help you crush your person acquisition targets on social media.
Correctly arrange your social profile
For starters, be sure you arrange your social profile correctly — add your brand, add related key phrases within the bio, and add a brief and compelling description about what your app does. Additionally, optimize your social profiles with the suitable key phrases to assist them rank increased on serps. This fashion, when a person searches for these key phrases on their search engine or an app retailer, your social profile has increased visibility and thus the next chance of changing customers.
Put money into influencer advertising and marketing
Belief-based promoting like influencer advertising and marketing helps manufacturers construct model affinity amongst their target market. This additional results in elevated engagement and conversion.
It’s necessary to notice that not all influencers have comparable levels of viewers attain or engagement. Additionally, the next subscriber or follower depend doesn’t essentially imply extra income or elevated app downloads.
For instance, business influencers could have a low engagement along with your model however a excessive total social affect. In contrast, your present followers could interact along with your model fairly a bit however nonetheless have a low total affect on social media.
Manufacturers which might be prepared and keen to spend money on influencer advertising and marketing to advertise their app also needs to issue within the high quality of that influencer’s viewers. This implies figuring out the true viewers of an influencer and separating out the spam or faux accounts that may exaggerate their viewers dimension and result in defective conversion charges. Instruments like SparkToro may help you do that in addition to dig additional into your viewers’s supply of affect.
Listed below are some inquiries to ask your self when selecting an influencer:
- Engagement degree: How usually does the influencer interact with their viewers? Have they got a superb engagement fee primarily based on their follower depend?
- Relevance and authenticity: Does this influencer publish content material associated to your area of interest and viewers? Do the influencer’s values align along with your model?
- Demographics: Will this influencer have an effect on localized app installs? What’s the upfront funding and anticipated ROI with an influencer vs. different paid promoting for localized app promotion?
- Value: What’s the price and anticipated ROI for partnering with the influencer?
- Sponsored posts: Has the influencer labored with manufacturers earlier than? What was their follower depend, engagement ranges, conversion fee, and ROI for earlier campaigns?
- Professionalism: What does the collaboration course of seem like? Are they keen to decide to a particular timeline for deliverables? What’s the course of and related prices for reshoots or adjustments?
To advertise their #LomoStyleChallenge, Lomotif partnered with Hailey Bieber — a mannequin, influencer, and skincare entrepreneur with 47+ million followers on Instagram alone. She match Lomotif’s marketing campaign as a result of her model appeals to a youthful, fashion-conscious viewers. Lomotif incentivized customers to share their go-to model footage with a branded hashtag in trade for an opportunity to win $5,000 and meet Hailey Bieber herself.
Leverage deep hyperlinks
Deep hyperlinks instantly impression the success of your social media campaigns. They guarantee your customers’ journeys from social-to-app are as frictionless as attainable. As a marketer, ask your self:
- How are customers being directed to the app?
- What occurs if the person has the app put in on their cell phone?
- What does the person journey seem like for somebody who hasn’t put in your cell app but?
Consider it like this: Each extra step within the person journey is one other friction level within the conversion course of — for instance, taking customers who have already got the app put in to a touchdown web page that prompts them to obtain the app once more.. This further step would possibly steer them away from making a purchase order, sharing a referral, or additional participating along with your model.
Social platforms act as walled gardens that maintain customers inside their very own ecosystem by robotically opening hyperlinks of their in-app browsers. This implies deep hyperlinks turn out to be much more important to your cell person acquisition technique.
Integrating Department deep hyperlinks in your natural and paid social posts supplies a seamless person expertise and helps you improve buyer lifetime worth (LTV). For instance, you possibly can route the customers straight to your cell app or app retailer, relying on whether or not they have the app put in.
Ace2Three, a number one on-line gaming platform, leverages Department deep hyperlinks that redirect customers from the model’s Fb profile account to their cell web site, after which routes customers to their Ace2Threetheir cell app.
Alternatively, you possibly can direct customers to your cell web site the place you possibly can present them a Department Journeys banner to immediate an app set up.
Australia’s main OTT platform, 9Now, built-in Department deep hyperlinks throughout its social media content material — together with Instagram posts, tales, and bio — to redirect customers straight into the 9Now app.
“9Now has undergone a giant effort to make sure as a lot of our inbound app site visitors as attainable is coming from Department hyperlinks, together with our natural social channels. Other than the seamless person expertise from a hyperlink click on to particular content material within the app, it permits us to extra precisely attribute efficiency to the suitable channel and perceive the true effectiveness of our paid initiatives.”
— Adrian Grasso, 9Now Efficiency Advertising and marketing Lead
2. Create a referral program for present clients
Making a referral program is a cheap technique to delight present customers and organically drive new customers. It thrives on the social proof idea, which is when people look towards the alternatives of others earlier than performing themselves. This mannequin helps manufacturers create house for themselves amongst their target market by leveraging their present viewers.
An efficient referral program can incentivize customers to obtain an app and instantly refer it to their community of family and friends.
India’s largest restaurant and desk reservation app EazyDiner applied a referral program utilizing Department’s cell linking platform (MLP) to reward present customers and doubtlessly drive new clients to obtain the app.
Watch it in motion:
However what makes two apps with the identical advertising and marketing price range find yourself with radically completely different outcomes? One app is perhaps struggling to amass 100 customers from its referral program whereas the opposite persistently garners 1,000 customers every day.
The “winner takes all” mentality is true relating to referral packages. All of it boils right down to an idea known as virality, and it’s probably the most essential parts of selling immediately. Virality sits on the intersection of three key components: incentives, ego, and emotion. Let’s see how one can combine these components into your referral program so it has the next likelihood of going viral.
Provide tangible incentives to extend person engagement
Tangible incentives make it easier to purchase and retain new customers. An incentive may be so simple as a reduction inside your app, unique swag, an add-on product, or a level-up reward system.
Up Banking, an Australian financial institution, offers new customers $5 to enroll and one other $5 in the event that they full 5 purchases on the app inside the first 30 days.
Automate referrals for fast sharing
Make referring to new customers as straightforward and handy as attainable. For instance, if you use Department referrals, there’s no have to manually enter promo codes. New customers robotically get incentives like redeemable coupons, cashback, and many others. after they obtain the app via a referral hyperlink.
ShopBack, Asia’s main cashback reward program, lays out a transparent worth proposition — “Give $5, Get $5.” By utilizing deferred deep linking, ShopBack ensures correct hyperlink matching and allows user-to-user sharing.
Allow sharing on a number of platforms to scale back drop-offs
Make it straightforward for customers to share referrals on a number of platforms through the use of native share sheets. Native share sheets allow customers to share with out ever leaving your app’s ecosystem. This enables customers to shortly share referrals whereas decreasing drop-offs.
Indonesia-based magnificence and skincare model, Sociolla, runs a referral program the place customers can determine how they wish to share their rewards hyperlink with contacts — by way of QR code or different native sharing strategies like WhatsApp or Instagram.
Embody deep hyperlinks to make sure a easy person expertise
Ensure your hyperlinks can share related content material inside the app, and guarantee they defer deep hyperlink via the set up. This implies taking new customers on to the related product web page in your app, fairly than leaving them to determine navigate the app by themselves and manually hunt for a product.
Bukalapak, one among Indonesia’s main e-commerce corporations, does this extraordinarily properly. Their deep linking directs customers straight to the app retailer relying on their cell system OS. Then they’re instantly taken to the identical in-app content material that they initially engaged with.
Run A/B checks to measure and construct virality
A/B checks determine how completely different copy and creatives impression the outcomes of your referral program. To construct your app’s virality, attempt to infuse completely different feelings in your copy to encourage customers to take motion — like referring your app to their community.
The best technique to measure virality is by particularly measuring what number of new customers are generated from one present person. It’s calculated by the next components:
On this components, ok = 5 x 0.2 = 1. Which means that each new person you get will usher in yet one more person on common. The upper the worth of ok, the upper your cell app person acquisition development. Ideally, to make sure exponential development, you desire a ok worth of larger than 1.
In actuality, virality goes past one person. That is known as a double viral loop, and it may be defined with the next diagram:
When a brand new person engages due to a referral from an present person, the unique person is notified, which makes them extra prone to re-engage along with your app and share it once more.
In case you acknowledge the concept of virality as a key a part of a referral program, your goal will shift from gaining particular person customers to gaining huge person engagement.
3. Leverage e mail advertising and marketing
About 43% of emails are opened on cell gadgets. This represents a terrific alternative — entrepreneurs can use deep hyperlinks inside emails to drive app adoption and assist develop your app engagement.
However as we’ve written earlier than, there’s a disconnect between e mail and cell apps that impacts the person expertise and the power to trace clicks, particularly on iOS. If you ship an e mail to your contacts, they learn it, click on on the CTA, and are directed to the app retailer or your app.
Right here’s the issue: Most e mail hyperlinks are damaged, and customers find yourself in a vacuum. Whereas it might seem like you’re buying customers from e mail advertising and marketing, you could very presumably be dropping out on a major variety of customers and driving increased abandonment charges.
To counter this, most profitable e mail campaigns with excessive conversion charges use deep hyperlinks all through their emails — within the copy, pictures, and CTAs.
Be purposeful about the place you’re sending your customers
You wish to redirect your present customers to your app shortly — with out dropping their curiosity, the curiosity of your supply, or the intent to buy. That is extremely necessary as a result of cell app customers drive 3x extra engagement.
GoMechanic sends app customers on to the promoted content material within the app, enhancing the person expertise and rising engagement.
To amass new customers who don’t but have your app put in, you would introduce an middleman touchdown web page that prompts potential customers with a wise banner like Journeys.
Leverage deferred deep linking when messaging potential clients
Individuals who subscribe to your emails aren’t essentially your app’s customers. They may have come out of your weblog, homepage, pop-ups on a third-party web site, or perhaps a paid commercial. By utilizing deferred deep linking in your e mail campaigns, you possibly can present a easy expertise for customers who could not have already got your app put in.
In case you’re working a promotional e mail marketing campaign, a deferred deep hyperlink will direct them to the app retailer, relying on the system they use, after which to the precise product web page inside your app as soon as it’s put in.
4. Use QR codes to fill in gaps between offline and on-line
When you have a retail retailer or do paid promoting utilizing offline channels, it ought to embrace QR codes. The pandemic pushed manufacturers to undertake QR codes as a necessary a part of each their offline and on-line advertising and marketing methods.
At Department, we noticed a 496% surge in QR codes because the final attributed contact earlier than a conversion occasion from January 2019 to January 2021. By 2025, eMarketer predicts 10.4% of all U.S. retail gross sales might be made by way of cell gadgets. This implies QR codes will proceed to be a important ingredient of person acquisition methods.
Clients anticipate revolutionary options for rapid wants — they search for a special dimension of the identical product inside the retail retailer, shortly scan merchandise and make funds, and use gives or reductions whereas they’re procuring. To fulfill these expectations, manufacturers have to ship real-time data and rapid options. To take action, entrepreneurs are more and more integrating QR codes to bridge the hole between offline and on-line channels.
Listed below are some other ways you need to use QR codes to amass cell app customers.
Join your app with in-store to ship extra private experiences
By utilizing QR codes in your retail retailer, you may be each omnipresent and private. Give customers entry to digital loyalty playing cards, digital coupons, product opinions, data, and personalised gives primarily based on their earlier interactions along with your model.
Tata Digital used Department to create and place distinctive QR codes all through bodily shops on the level of sale to drive app installs. They incentivize clients with a “NeuPass” which gives extra reductions within the type of cash each time a buyer makes a transaction utilizing the Tata Neu app.
This method helps manufacturers utilizing the Neu app to ship a constant expertise to clients throughout touchpoints. It creates a holistic customer-brand relationship that’s each related for patrons and ripe for model engagement.
Use print media to drive offline customers to your cell app
Including custom-made QR codes in print media campaigns supplies a concrete entry level to offline customers.
Pizza Hut, one among India’s main signature pizza chains, created QR codes powered by Department deep hyperlinks for its newspaper adverts to encourage customers to obtain their cell app.
One other instance is THE ICONIC, Australia and New Zealand’s main on-line trend and life-style retailer. They provide styling suggestions together with incentives (just like the $20 low cost under) to drive loyalty and enhance engagement from present clients by way of QR codes.
The most effective factor is Department gives granular visibility into marketing campaign efficiency, thus enabling manufacturers to measure each scan, set up, and channel conversion to precisely determine the ROI of every channel.
Increase model affinity via interactive and academic content material
Customers who’ve bought a product in-store have already got a pure affinity to your model. Including a QR code to your product packaging permits you to create a long-term, extra nurturing, and interactive relationship along with your clients. QR codes are particularly useful within the meals and beverage business. They function the benchmark for authenticity and struggle counterfeits so your clients know they’re shopping for items from the unique model.
For instance, Hershey rolled out QR codes on its Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolate. This supplies fast entry to model representatives and gives transparency for his or her elements.
Customers who scan the Hershey QR code are directed to a touchdown web page that consists of a glossary of elements with allergens and dietary details.
Cut back friction factors within the web-to-app person expertise
Together with QR codes in your model’s web site is the simplest technique to direct customers the place you need them to be. As a substitute of anticipating your web site customers to manually search for your cell app on their smartphone, make it straightforward for them to transition from web-to-app utilizing a QR code.
Hungry Jacks is an Australian quick meals franchise of the Burger King company that leverages QR codes to drive web site guests to their cell app.
Utilizing QR codes in your web site saves customers effort and time and makes the client journey extra seamless. As a substitute of typing and trying to find your app and hoping to obtain the suitable one, clients can shortly scan the QR code to open the obtain web page and set up your app.
Use QR codes for quicker checkout and re-engagement
Offering cell checkout stations with QR codes can considerably cut back billing time and take away cumbersome processes.
EatSure is an app that enables customers to bask in cuisines from all over the world from numerous trusted eating places in a single single order. It makes use of QR codes in offline environments (just like the facet of a meals truck) to assist clients place orders and pay on-line for quicker checkouts.
Place QR codes at key metropolis areas
QR codes in key areas encourage clients to obtain your app on the go. For instance, Cult.match, India’s largest well being and health model, shows QR codes on bus stands to encourage app downloads. As soon as the person scans the QR code, they’re taken to a Department hyperlink that opens instantly within the app or the app retailer.
What’s subsequent?
Entrepreneurs are desperately making an attempt to navigate a mature market the place shoppers rationalize their buying choices. The entrepreneurs that step up their person acquisition sport will turn out to be indispensable change brokers, even when meaning experimenting with methods like influencer advertising and marketing and channels like TikTok that had been much less widespread pre-pandemic.
Partnering with a cell measurement platform like Department will play a vital position. That is very true for efficiency entrepreneurs who will be capable of determine the true supply of conversions, measure ROI, and optimize campaigns.
To be taught extra about how you need to use Department to drive your cell person acquisition, get in contact with us immediately.
