Mobile Marketing 101: What is App User Acquisition & How To Build an Effective Strategy

With the number of apps available increasing every day, it could feel like some publishers are drowning in the noise. On average, 3,739 apps are added to the Google Play Store every day — that's a lot of competition!Brands can stand out, create awareness, and increase app downloads by working on their app user acquisition – the process of attracting new users to a mobile app – in different channels such as paid advertising, social media, video, email, and more. This requires creative ideation and a continuous loop to test the current strategy against tangible returns.

5 Tips for How to Acquire Users for Your App

For publishers, everything from the user’s download/install process, in-app experience, and value-added services remain important. However, without a user acquisition strategy, people won’t even know your app exists.Here are five key tips for how to acquire users for your app.1. Set KPIs for Different User Acquisition ChannelsKeeping track of impressions, installs, reviews, and ad clicks will indicate where to invest more effort or abandon a channel. For example, if the average age of a Facebook user in the US is over 40 years old, using Facebook ads isn’t the best strategy for an app that is popular among millennials.The company should understand their audience’s habits and redirect resources to channels that are better suited to attracting the kind of users it wants.2. Play the Long GameIt’s common for new developers to want immediate gains once the app hits the marketplace. Keeping track of daily installs and active user statistics could cloud the team’s long-term strategy. It’s better to develop a low-scale campaign or user acquisition model that uses A/B testing over multiple channels. Then redouble efforts to those that performed the best.3. Never Stop ImprovingUser behavior changes every day. We cannot stress this enough. As soon as the app is out there, users will start giving feedback. Acquire new users by listening to your current users. Any new feedback is valuable input that helps build a better user acquisition model.4. Become the Default ChoiceApp preloads circumvent the issues surrounding discovery. Collaborating with a carrier or OEM to install the app before it reaches the user is the easiest route to acquiring app users quickly.5. Trust the DataWhen new trends and strategies start entering the discussion, always make sure the data supports any changes made to the model. If the app’s current user acquisition methods are working, don’t change strategies based on hype alone. Track metrics including user journey, conversion rates, user acquisition costs, and app churn rates to draw an accurate conclusion on any campaign’s efficacy.

Digital Turbine: Taking App User Acquisition to the Next Level

Generating interest in a new app requires a well-thought-out strategy and a multi-pronged approach. Partnering with a company like Digital Turbine provides frictionless advertising to publishers through solutions like Dynamic Installs and more.To revamp your app user acquisition model, get in touch with Digital Turbine today.