Change of App Marketing Insights
Previously, mobile apps weren’t marketed at all. Developers made their apps, placed them on Google Store, App Store, or their websites, and left them for users to download, but this has since changed. Developers now need to market their apps using focused industry mobile app marketing insights. This happens from the inception of the app idea to its development and subsequent app usage.For example, one crucial app marketing insight is the audience. Before developing an app, a developer has to know the audience the app will serve, and what they want. The audience needs to get value from the app, such as lifetime value and retention. Including marketing insights in the app, the development stage ensures that the value features are included as important features in the marketing stage of the app.
1 Change of App Marketing Insights 2 Installs and Marketing Measurement Capabilities3 App Marketing and User Acquisition Budgets4 Data Privacy to Control App Marketing 5 The Use of Owned Media as an Alternative6 Endnote
Installs and Marketing Measurement Capabilities
Mobile app downloads and installs are important data that developers must consider, and it can easily be measured. For example, there was a 19% rise in the entire mobile app install and usage baseline in 2021 compared to 2020. This didn’t stop, and marketers are expecting it to rise further in 2022. Experts say that the rise was attributed to enhanced digital consumption or usage of mobile devices in 2021 because of COVID-19. However, there has been a general increase in mobile use since 2010, and this increase comes with an increase in mobile app downloads. Developers use the data of app downloads and installation in the industry to measure their app’s possible download and install rates.
App Marketing and User Acquisition Budgets
According to appsflyer, mobile Apps spent up to $83 billion in 2021 on user acquisition. User acquisition budgets and marketing spend increases are important figures because industry trends will show you how much you’re likely to spend on your app to get it out there in terms of marketing. Mobile app marketing costs and spend places consist of many components that cover an app’s entire lifespan and can be categorized into three stages:
Pre-launch costs Launch costs Post-launch costs
The data points on app marketing are app market research, beta testing, ASO tool, marketing agency pricing (if you decide to use an agency), PR outreach, influencer marketing, and the average cost per install (CPI). Another data point that developers can use is the cost per action (CPA), including the registration fee for installation, in-app purchases, and subscription fees. As user privacy becomes even more important, user acquisition costs are expected to rise even more.
Data Privacy to Control App Marketing
App developers used to (or still) collect data from users to support the customer journey. But this had since changed when on April 26, 2021, Apple started enforcing its iOS14.5’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework. This security policy requires mobile apps to gain user consent (actively) for tracking them through an opt-in mechanism. A new privacy era was ushered in. While this was a welcomed move in regard to consumer privacy, ATT created a big challenge for mobile app marketers. Users won on their identity and data security. This only made data highly limited but turned user-level-driven optimization and measurement upside down. Many industry players are now affected, from app marketers, through ad networks and media sources, to mobile, the famous mobile attribution and measurement providers. Generally, ATT affects marketing-driven app downloads, and both app developers and marketers now need to put in more effort to increase their downloads. App marketers must figure out ways to increase opt-in rates and optimize their opt-in prompts better with value exchange offers.
The Use of Owned Media as an Alternative
Apple’s introduction of ATT predictably made targeting, re-marketing, and personalization a lot tougher for mobile apps. This led to a 35% plunge in conversions as marketers lost the core app marketing capabilities, deprived of their ability to track users. While Google’s GBRAID for optimizing re-engagement campaigns partially reversed the challenge, the post-ATT re-marketing challenges have stood. Now, app marketers resort to owned media to re-engage their existing users. The re-engagement is through email, push notifications, SMS, and in-app messages. Marketers may continue to invest in owned media to drive their app marketing strategies and other marketing channels.
Endnote
After the 2021 privacy changes, mobile app end-users gained, but marketers have had difficulty targeting their ads and tracking user experience. This has forced marketers to devise new ways to reach out to users, including the consent approach, new features, innovations, and ad network solutions. While ATT opt-in rates are stable and promising, apps and marketers must offer more value to users in exchange for their data.
