In this highly competitive world of mobile apps, success largely depends on having an engaged user base. As economic and privacy concerns linger, both consumers and marketers around the world are increasingly questioning their spending habits. Acquiring high-value customers has become an even greater challenge, especially for those working with restricted ad budgets and data limitations. As consumers tighten their purse strings, marketers must navigate complexities to maintain quality user acquisition at scale. But how can they overcome these hurdles? Let’s delve into just a few strategies to take your app to new heights.

Tapping into new channels

It’s essential to take advertising efforts beyond the oversaturated app stores and explore new sources to reach users. With the right approach and proper allocation of ad spend, there is a wide range of channels that can be valuable in acquiring new users.

Here are a few channels to explore:

  • Over-the-top TV (OTT) – Promoting digital content, including video and music, that is streamed on TV, mobile, tablet, and desktop devices via apps or websites. By leveraging the data available through these services, you can create highly targeted campaigns that reach specific demographics with personalized messages.
  • Connected TV (CTV) – The physical device a customer uses to watch and stream video content online, like the Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast. CTV offers a more personalized and interactive ad viewing experience for users than traditional broadcast television.
  • Contextual display – Targeting users based on the relevant keywords, topics, or themes on a webpage, rather than the user’s past browsing behavior, to find users who are more likely to be interested.
  • App Store Optimization (ASO) – Optimizing various elements of the app listing, such as the app title, description, keywords, screenshots, and reviews, to improve the app’s visibility to users who are searching in the app store.
  • Influencer – Leveraging an influencer’s audience and credibility to increase awareness and drive installs or engagement for the app. This can be especially effective for apps targeting a specific niche or demographic that aligns with the influencer’s audience.

Want to begin expanding your reach through emerging traffic channels? Check out Perform[cb]’s recent webinar with Business of Apps to learn expert strategies and tips.

Reduce acquisition costs

In today’s economic climate, acquiring users can be a costly endeavor, with apps globally spending $80 billion on user acquisition last year. Marketers are facing the challenge of operating with smaller teams, lower budgets, and higher user expectations. However, there are ways to scale user acquisition without breaking the bank.

To improve your app’s organic ranking and visibility to potential users, combining App Store Optimization (ASO) with standard acquisition channels, such as blog, email, or social media, can be highly effective. In addition, promoting your app using different ad formats such as video, native, and display ads can help introduce it to a larger audience. These ad formats can often be less expensive than traditional search or display ads while being more effective at driving conversions. By focusing on both ASO and standard acquisition channels, you have a far better chance of acquiring qualified consumers and optimizing around an efficient cost-per-install (CPI). Discover how Perform[cb] implemented an intensive keyword research strategy that resulted in a #1 keyword ranking for a popular social casino gaming app, boosting its overall app store ranking by an impressive 72%.

To further decrease your user acquisition costs, it’s crucial to analyze performance data from your campaigns. This may involve identifying high-performing keywords, optimizing ad targeting, and testing different ad formats and messaging. By continually refining and optimizing your approach, you can drive high-quality user acquisition. Access the recording of Perform[cb]’s new webinar with Business of Apps to learn how to navigate and uncover impactful optimization opportunities to scale user acquisition, all while staying within budget constraints.

User retention

The user journey is far from over after installation – in fact, acquiring users is just the tip of the iceberg for an app marketer. Retaining these users is the real prize – with so many apps available, users can quickly lose interest and uninstall, or perhaps even switch to a competing app. In fact, 77% of users who install an app do not use it again after the first month.

To keep users coming back for more, we recommend marketers try testing the following strategies:

  • Offer incentives: Providing incentives such as discounts, rewards, or exclusive content to users who engage with your app can encourage strong retention.
  • Personalize the experience: Use data analytics to personalize the user experience by offering customized content and recommendations.
  • Send push notifications: Push notifications keep users engaged with your app by providing updates, reminders, and notifications about new content or releases.
  • Regularly update the app: Consistently updating your app with new features, content, and bug fixes can ensure a seamless, interactive user experience.
  • Listen to user feedback: Make sure users know their opinions matter by responding to their feedback and optimizing around their suggestions.
  • Offer social integration: Allow users to connect their social media accounts to your app so they can share their experiences and content with friends.
  • Keep your app relevant: Stay up-to-date with trends, incorporate new technologies, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Jump the hurdles

With the right strategies in place, you can drive success in the highly competitive app market by overcoming the challenges of user acquisition. Don’t wait any longer to put these tactics into action and start acquiring the users your app deserves.

If you’re interested in these topics and more on how to effectively scale user acquisition in 2023, access Perform[cb]’s recent webinar with Business of Apps now!

Ready to jump in? Perform[cb]’s team of user acquisition experts are here to help. Let’s get started.