Mobile user acquisition has become integral to any app’s business strategy. The growing number of mobile users makes it imperative for businesses to have a solid strategy for acquiring and retaining them. Let’s talk about the A-B-C of user acquisition, why it’s critical to have a mobile user acquisition strategy, and the challenges you might want to look out for.
What is Mobile User Acquisition?
Mobile user acquisition strategy is the process of acquiring users for your mobile app. This process is multifaceted and requires a range of marketing techniques that we’ll read about in a bit.
Mobile user acquisition is essential for businesses because it helps them increase their user base. In turn, this leads to higher revenue and greater brand recognition. Businesses can become more successful and grow more quickly by acquiring more users and tapping into new markets.
Mobile user acquisition involves not only attracting and retaining users, but also fostering long-term relationships. You can encourage users to stay active and engaged with your app by using personalized messaging and user engagement campaigns.
How is Mobile User Acquisition Measured?
Key metrics for acquiring users to your mobile app
Key metrics are the backbone of any mobile user acquisition strategy. App owners must constantly monitor data, see how their strategy performs, and optimize accordingly. It is important to track several key metrics in order to determine whether a strategy is successful or not. Among them are:
- Cost per Acquisition (CPA):
CPA is the cost of acquiring each mobile app user. It’s calculated by dividing the total cost by the number of newusers acquired over a certain period. By understanding your CPA, you can make informed decisions about how much to spend on marketing and advertising to acquire new users. This can help you maximize your ROI and better understand your marketing campaigns’ efficacy. - Retention Rate:
User retention is a key metric for gauging app success. It can tell you how many users return to your app over time and whether they engage with your content and features. This metric also helps you identify user pain points and areas for improvement. - Lifetime Value (LTV):
This metric measures the total value a user brings to your business over their lifetime. It considers factors such as user acquisition cost, retention rate, and revenue generated by the user. By considering all of these factors, you get a more accurate picture of the user’s total value. This is rather than just looking at one or two metrics in isolation. Ithelps you better understand the full value of your user base and make more informed decisions about how to target them best. - Conversion Rate:
Conversion rate is the percentage of users who perform a desired action, such as downloading your app or making a purchase. It helps you track the success of your marketing efforts by showing you how successful they are indriving users to take the desired action. It’s also a useful way to measure user engagement and user retention, as it shows you how many users are actually taking action on your product or service. - Return on Investment (ROI):
Being pretty self-explanatory, ROI tells you whether you are getting the most bang for your buck or not. It’s calculated by dividing the revenue generated by your app by the cost of acquiring users. This helps you determine how successful your user acquisition strategies are by providing you with a clear metric that indicates the profitability of each user. It’s useful for optimizing user acquisition tactics and changing strategies if necessary.
Top 6 Mobile User Acquisition Channels
In addition to measuring key metrics, it’s necessary to utilize various mobile user acquisition channels to attract new users and effectively market your app. These channels include, but are not limited to:
- Social media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are App owners should establish a presence on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok or utilize community tools such as Discord. This way, they can interact with their audience and promote their offerings. Remember that as of 2023, social media users numbers reached over 4.49 billion worldwide, and the average user accesses 6 to 7 social media platforms monthly.
- Google: Google Ads offers various advertising options, such as search and display ads. These can be targeted to specific audiences based on keywords and demographics- helping advertisers to reach their target audience quickly and efficiently while limiting their advertising costs. Google also offers detailed analytics, allowing advertisers to track their campaigns’ success and optimize as needed.
- Mobile ad networks: These networks offer enhanced targeting options compared to traditional advertising methods. This allows apps to target their ads to specific demographics, locations, and interests. They are usually more cost-effective than traditional methods, enabling advertisers to run more specified campaigns to reach the most qualified users. See our blog post, ‘Decoding Mobile Ad Networks’ to learn more about how ad networks work.
- Offline advertising: This includes billboards, print ads, and direct mail can effectively target local audiences or promote special events. This type of advertising is often memorable and provides more of an emotional connection with potential customers.
- PR and press coverage: PR can build credibility and generate buzz. This includes media interviews, influencer and celebrity partnerships. For mobile apps, PR and press coverage are options to consider further along the way. The first steps should be building a solid user base with minimum cost and then gaining prestige.
- Organic UA: Organic user acquisition involves word-of-mouth and app store optimization. App store optimization (ASO) involves optimizing the app’s page in the app store to make it visible to potential users. It involves optimizing the app’s description, icon, screenshots, and other elements to make it stand out from the competition.
Additional Marketing Channels
- Web-to-App: In Web-to-App marketing, you offer users a seamless transition between your website and your mobile application. Utilizing Web to App can enhance the user experience, increase engagement, and provide push notifications, personalized content, and user data analytics. Businesses that rely on frequent interactions, such as e-commerce, travel, or media platforms, are particularly able to benefit from this marketing channel.
- Video Ads: It’s no secret that video has become a dominant force in the digital landscape, capturing audiences’ attention like no other form of media. Video ads can evoke emotions, convey messages concisely, and leave an impression on viewers. They can boost brand awareness, engagement, and conversions by incorporating compelling visuals, storytelling, and a clear call to action. Tailoring video content to the platform and audience is critical to maximize its effectiveness.
- Email: Even though it may seem like an old-school marketing channel, email remains extremely effective. You can nurture leads, retain customers, and drive conversions with an effective email marketing strategy. Sending personalized, segmented emails can foster a sense of connection and loyalty by delivering tailored content, exclusive offers, and relevant information to recipients. Through automation tools, you can streamline your email campaigns, send targeted messages based on user behavior or demographics, and measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. Successful email marketing relies on opt-in subscriber lists and best practices, such as crafting compelling subject lines and optimizing for mobile devices.
How to Choose the Right UA Channels For Your App?
Several key factors should be considered when choosing mobile user acquisition channels for your app. To effectively target your audience, you must first understand them well. This includes demographics, interests, and usage patterns, among others. You can choose the channels that will reach and engage your target audience by clearly understanding them.
Another important factor is the budget. As each channel has a different cost, selecting the ones that will provide the greatest return on investment (ROI) for your budget is important. To ensure your marketing budget is used effectively, you must plan carefully and analyze your data.
The goals of the mobile user acquisition campaign are also important factors to consider. What do you hope to accomplish for your mobile app? Do you want to increase funnel-down events, boost retention, or increase IAPs? The answers to these questions will help you determine which channels best suit your goals.
Last but not least, you should be aware of your competitors. What channels are they using to acquire and retain users? Can you take advantage of any gaps or opportunities? By keeping tabs on your competition, you can make more informed decisions about which channels to focus on.
Test different channels and take these factors into consideration to find the right mix of mobile user acquisition channels to acquire and retain users for their mobile app, leading to long-term success and growth.
The Role of ASO in Your User Acquisition Strategy
App store optimization (ASO) is critical to any mobile user acquisition strategy. You can improve your app’s visibility in the app store by optimizing its title, description, and keywords. Enhancing your app’s visibility increases its chances of being installed and improves user acquisition.
There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to ASO. Choosing keywords that accurately describe what your app does and what sets it apart from other apps in your category is one example. In addition, you should pay attention to the length of your app’s title and description, as well as the order in which you include keywords. When it comes to visuals, you should include the most eye-catching scenes from your app that’ll help users understand what your app is about and spark curiosity in them.
As with most things in UA, analyzing your competition is important for ASO. Understanding what your competitors are doing can help you differentiate your app from them. You can do this by highlighting unique features or benefits, or by simply improving the visuals and user interface of your app.
UA Channels Matrix
| User Acquisition Channel | Description |
| Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter | Establish a presence on these platforms to interact with the audience and promote offerings |
| Offers various advertising options such as search ads and display ads. These can be targeted to specific audiences based on keywords and demographics | |
| Mobile ad networks | Allows apps to do specified targeting for quality users |
| Offline advertising such as billboards, print ads, and direct mail | Helps build credibility and generate buzz |
| Organic user acquisition and app store optimization (ASO) | Word-of-mouth and ASO |
| Web to App | Developing a web presence to promote the mobile application. This includes optimizing the website for search engines, building backlinks, and creating engaging content to attract potential users |
| Video Ads | Investing in video advertising to reach a wider audience. This includes creating short, attention-grabbing video ads to be displayed on social media platforms, video streaming services, and other online advertising channels |
| Email Campaigns | Launching email campaigns to keep users engaged and informed about the latest updates. This includes building an email list, crafting compelling email content, and optimizing email campaigns for maximum engagement |
Wrapping Up: Boost Usership of Your App
In a nutshell, creating an awesome mobile user acquisition strategy isn’t just a stroll in the park. It’s like building a sandcastle one grain at a time, except in this case, you’re building your user base with each interaction. It’s not just about attracting users; it’s about keeping them too. User retention is crucial to long-term success and you must strive to satisfy your users, going above and beyond to provide a top-notch experience. Make your app a joy to use that keeps users returning for more engagement.
