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​AppSamurai is an AI-powered, secure mobile user acquisition platform that provides app owners, advertisers, and publishers a comprehensive approach to mobile app growth.

By covering all the stages of an application’s journey – from acquiring new users (without the risk of ad fraud) to achieving retention and loyalty – clients can target the right audience at the right time and achieve their user acquisition and engagement goals.

Our platform also comes complete with a 24/7 dedicated account management service, a fully-fledged and customizable strategy, and a vast pool of sources for various different campaign types.

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Reward-Based Advertising: Unlocking the Power of Customer Engagement and Retention

I’m sure you’ve heard of reward-based advertising, an effective way to engage with users and incentivize them to install your app via various rewards. Let’s explore the importance of reward-based advertising in customer engagement and retention, what they are, how they benefit businesses, and the best practices for implementing them. Go, go, go!

What is reward-based advertising?

Reward-based advertising is a type of mobile advertising that offers users an incentive in exchange for their time or engagement. These incentives can come in the form of virtual currency, discounts, exclusive content, or other rewards. According to a survey conducted by Unity Technologies, 71% of mobile gamers prefer watching reward-based advertising to receiving in-app rewards.

Rewarded Ads

Rewarded ads refer to a type of advertisement where users are given the option to watch a video or interact with a playable ad in return for a reward within the app. For instance, when players reach a crucial point in mobile games, they may die and have to restart from the beginning. This can be frustrating, and users often wish to continue playing without starting over.

  • First, the user is prompted with an option to view an ad in exchange for a reward.
  • If they opt-in to watch the ad, they will receive a reward upon completion of viewing the ad, such as an extra life or power-up. 
  • Once they use the reward, they can continue playing the game from where they left off. Users are eager to keep playing, so they frequently complete the entire process. 

Rewarded ads are helpful in terms of balancing monetization and user experience. They are popular among users as they can obtain in-app benefits, such as faster progression or paid items, by investing their time rather than money. Moreover, the opt-in approach of rewarded ads empowers users to control their ad experience, making it a safe integration option that does not interfere with the user experience. 

Rewarded Engagement (Offerwalls)

Offerwalls are ads that offer users rewards for completing a specific action, such as downloading another app or filling out a survey. These ads can be effective because they give users a tangible reward for their time and effort. Similar to rewarded ads, offerwalls are also fully user-initiated. Players can choose different offers from various apps, such as signing up or reaching a certain level to get rewards. AppSamurai’s rewarded engagement campaigns are conversion-based, meaning that app owners pay only for completed tasks but still earn revenue from the time players spend in the app. 

Offerwalls should be implemented carefully to ensure users don’t feel that the rewards are not worth the effort or that the ads are misleading. 

Success Stories

Several businesses have successfully used reward-based advertising to engage and retain customers. For instance, Lyft, a ride-hailing app, offers users ride discounts in exchange for watching ads. 

Similarly, Hulu, a streaming service, allows users to watch ads to access premium content.

Spotify also benefits from reward-based advertising by allowing users to download and stream music for free with ads. 

Lastly, the famous language lessons app Duolingo puts rewarded ads into practice by enabling users to gain ‘’hearts’’ that unlock new learning material.

How Reward-based Advertising Benefits Your Business?

Reward-based advertising offers several benefits to businesses, including increased customer engagement and retention. By offering users incentives, apps can encourage them to spend more time on their apps, thereby increasing engagement and the app’s stickiness by offering users a reason to return to the app.

Reward-based advertising can also help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors. By providing unique and valuable rewards, apps can set themselves apart from others. 

Another benefit of reward-based advertising is that they offer a cost-effective way to acquire new customers. Businesses can attract new users to their apps or service by offering rewards. This can be particularly effective for startups and small businesses that may not have a large marketing budget.

Best Practices for Implementing reward-based advertising

To implement reward-based advertising effectively, businesses should follow these steps:

  1. Identify the most suitable reward for your audience and app: The reward should be valuable enough to motivate users to engage with the ad, but not so valuable that it becomes too expensive for the business to provide.
  2. Design a user-friendly and engaging ad experience: The ad should be visually appealing and engaging, and the reward should be communicated to the user.
  3. Set realistic goals and measure success using relevant metrics: App owners should set clear goals for their reward-based advertising campaign and track progress using metrics such as engagement rate, retention rate, and return on investment (ROI).
  4. Test and optimize the ad experience regularly: App owners should continually test and optimize their reward-based advertising campaign to ensure that it is effective and provides a positive user experience.

However, businesses may face challenges while implementing reward-based advertising. For instance, users may find the ads intrusive, leading to negative feedback. Additionally, app owners may need help balancing the rewards offered with the cost of the rewards. By carefully planning and testing their reward-based advertising campaign, businesses can overcome these challenges and reap the benefits of this powerful tool.

Final Thoughts

Reward-based advertising is a must-try strategy if you want to keep your customers happy and coming back for more. By offering incentives, you can keep your customers engaged, stand out from your competitors, and make them feel like VIPs. But hold your horses, don’t just dive in blindly! Planning and testing are crucial to ensure a positive user experience.

So, what’s the bottom line? Incorporating reward-based advertising can unlock the power of customer engagement and retention. Follow best practices and continuously optimize your reward-based advertising campaign, and you’ll be on your way to reaping the benefits and staying ahead of the game!

How to Monetize an App Without Ads? [2023 Definitive Guide]

Mobile app developers and business owners constantly seek new and innovative ways to monetize their apps. Although ads have been the go-to monetization strategy for many apps, they can be disruptive and negatively impact user experience. This blog post will explore various app monetization strategies that do not rely on ads and provide insights on how to implement them effectively.

What is app monetization?

App monetization refers to generating revenue from an app, and it’s essential for app developers and business owners who want to create sustainable revenue streams. The most common way to monetize an app is by displaying ads, but users may find them annoying and intrusive, which can decrease user retention and engagement. Let’s discuss app monetization without ads and see if it’s a good fit for you!

The importance of App Monetization for App Owners

App monetization is crucial for app developers and business owners who want to create sustainable revenue streams. Here are some reasons why:

  1. Generate revenue: App monetization allows app developers and business owners to generate revenue, which is essential for covering development costs, paying employees, and creating profits.
  2. Improve user experience: App monetization without ads allows app developers and business owners to improve user experience by removing intrusive and annoying ads that can decrease user retention and engagement.
  3. Increase user engagement: App monetization strategies such as in-app purchases and subscription-based models can increase user engagement by providing exclusive content and features that users are willing to pay for.
  4. Build brand loyalty: App monetization strategies such as sponsorships and brand partnerships can help app developers and business owners build brand recognition and loyalty by aligning with relevant companies and promoting their products or services.

While app monetization is necessary for most app owners, there are also other cases where not showing ads performs better for app owners in terms of steady revenue and user experience.

Monetizing apps without ads offers various benefits:

  1. Steady revenue stream: App monetization strategies such as in-app purchases and subscription-based models can provide a steady revenue stream as users are willing to pay for exclusive content and features.
  2. Improved user experience: App monetization without ads can improve user experience by removing intrusive and annoying ads that can decrease user retention and engagement.
  3. Increased user engagement: App monetization strategies such as in-app purchases and subscription-based models can increase user engagement by providing exclusive content and features that users are willing to pay for.
  4. Brand recognition and loyalty: App monetization strategies such as sponsorships and brand partnerships can help app developers and business owners build brand recognition and loyalty by aligning with relevant companies and promoting their products or services.
  5. User data insights: App monetization strategies such as data monetization can provide valuable insights into user behavior and preferences, which can help app developers and business owners improve app features and functionality.

It’s important to note that this is no comparison between the two methods! Both monetization techniques have their benefits and disadvantages that depend on several factors related to the app.

Monetization Strategies Without Ads

1.In-app purchases

In-app purchases are one of the popular ways to monetize an app without showing ads. It’s the process of selling digital content within an app to users and, for instance, selling extra features, content, or virtual items to enhance the user’s experience. Popular apps like Candy Crush, Spotify, and Tinder have used in-app purchases to generate revenue. To make your in-app purchases successful, you must have a clear strategy, provide value to users, and ensure that the purchasing process is smooth and easy.

In-app purchases can offer a range of benefits to app developers. For example, they can provide a steady revenue stream as users are willing to pay for exclusive content or additional features. Additionally, in-app purchases can help you retain users and improve their overall experience with your app. However, offering value to users and keeping the in-app purchase process management is essential, as this could lead to losing users.

2. Subscription-based models

This model requires users to pay to access your app’s content or features for a certain period. This model is widely used in apps that offer premium features or exclusive content, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. To make your subscription model work, you need to provide high-quality content that users can’t find elsewhere, offer different subscription plans, and make the subscription process easy to navigate.

Subscriptions can also provide a steady revenue stream, as users are willing to pay to access exclusive content or features. Additionally, subscription-based models can foster a sense of community among your users and build brand loyalty. However, it is vital to ensure that the subscription process is easy to navigate and offers value to users; otherwise, they may opt-out of your app altogether.

3.Sponsorship or brand partnerships

This method is called sponsorships, where a company pays you to promote their product or service within your app. It’s a mutually beneficial collaboration where you get paid while the sponsor gets exposure and potential customers. For example, Nike could partner with a running app to promote their running shoes. To make your sponsorship or partnership work, you need to choose the right partner, ensure that the collaboration aligns with your app’s vision and goals, and be transparent with your users about the sponsorship.

Sponsorships can offer a range of benefits to app developers. For example, they can provide a significant revenue stream and help build brand recognition. Additionally, sponsorships can provide your users with exclusive deals and offers, improving their overall experience with your app. However, ensuring that the collaboration aligns with your app’s vision and goals is vital, as users may feel that your app is no longer authentic if the sponsorships are irrelevant.

4.Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a process of raising funds from a large group of people, usually through a crowdfunding platform such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo. To make your crowdfunding campaign successful, you need to have a clear message, provide value to your backers, and offer different pledge levels. Crowdfunding can provide a way to raise capital for your app without sacrificing equity or ownership.

Crowdfunding can offer a range of benefits to app developers. For example, it can provide a way to validate your app idea and generate buzz and interest. Additionally, crowdfunding can help you build a community around your app and get feedback from potential users. However, setting realistic goals and timelines for your crowdfunding campaign is essential, as failing to meet them can damage your app’s reputation.

5.Data monetization

Data monetization means selling or licensing your app’s user data to third-party companies. To make your data monetization strategy successful, you must be transparent with your users about the data you collect and how it will be used. Additionally, you must ensure that the data you collect is accurate and valuable to the companies you sell it to.

Data monetization can generate revenue without sacrificing user experience or app functionality. Additionally, data monetization can give insight into user behavior and preferences, which can help you improve your app’s features and functionality. However, it is vital to ensure that you are transparent with your users about the data you collect and how it will be used, as you need to do so to maintain your app’s reputation.

6.Hybrid models

Finally, a hybrid model combines different monetization strategies without ads. For example, you could offer a free version of your app with limited features and in-app purchases to unlock additional content or features. Alternatively, you could offer a subscription-based model with exclusive content and sponsorships from relevant companies. To make your hybrid model work, you must ensure that you provide users value and that the different monetization strategies are integrated seamlessly.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Monetization Strategy

Before selecting a monetization strategy, you must understand your app’s users and needs. Here are some factors to consider when choosing a monetization strategy:

  1. Target audience: Who is your app’s target audience, and what are their needs and preferences? Understanding your target audience can help you choose a monetization strategy that suits their needs.
  2. App category: What category does your app fall into? Different categories have different monetization strategies that work best. For example, gaming apps often use in-app purchases, while news apps use subscription-based models.
  3. App features: What features does your app offer, and how can you monetize them? For instance, a subscription-based model might be the best option if your app offers exclusive content.
  4. User behavior: How do your users interact with your app, and how can you monetize their behavior? For instance, if your users spend a lot of time on your app, you could monetize their engagement through in-app purchases or a subscription-based model.


How to Identify the Best Monetization Strategy for Your App?

Identifying the best monetization strategy for your app can be challenging. Here are some steps to help you identify the best strategy:

  1. Research: Research different monetization strategies and identify the ones that align with your app’s vision and goals.
  2. Analyze competition: Analyze your competition’s monetization strategies and see what works for them.
  3. Test and iterate: Test different monetization strategies and iterate based on user feedback and engagement.
  4. Track metrics: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue, retention rate, and user engagement to measure the success of your monetization strategy.


Testing and Iterating Your Monetization Strategy

Testing and iterating your monetization strategy is crucial to its success. Here are some tips for testing and iterating your monetization strategy:

  1. A/B testing: Use A/B testing to compare different monetization strategies and identify the one that works best.
  2. User feedback: Gather user feedback and iterate based on their suggestions and complaints.
  3. Analyze metrics: Analyze metrics such as user engagement, retention rate, and revenue to measure the success of your strategy.
  4. Experiment: Experiment with different pricing models, subscription plans, and content to optimize your monetization strategy.


Best Practices for Implementing a Non-Ad-Based Monetization Strategy

Implementing a non-ad-based monetization strategy requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices for implementing an effective non-ad-based monetization strategy:

  1. Provide value: Ensure that your monetization strategy provides value to your users and enhances their experience.
  2. Offer different options: Offer different pricing plans and subscription options to cater to different user needs and budgets.
  3. Make it easy: Make the purchasing and subscription process easy and seamless to encourage users to convert.
  4. Be transparent: Be transparent with your users about your monetization strategy and how it works.


Challenges and Potential Roadblocks to Implementing a Non-Ad-Based Monetization Strategy

Implementing a non-ad-based monetization strategy can come with challenges and roadblocks. Here are some potential challenges to be aware of:

  1. User resistance: Some users may resist paying for content or features, which can affect your revenue stream.
  2. Competition: Competing apps may offer similar content or features for free, making it challenging to monetize your app.
  3. Technical limitations: In implementing your monetization strategy, technical limitations can affect the user experience and revenue stream.
  4. Market saturation: The market may be saturated with similar apps, making it challenging to stand out and monetize effectively.

 

Conclusion

App monetization is an essential component of app development and business success. App developers can maximize revenue by exploring non-ad-based monetization strategies such as in-app purchases, subscriptions, brand partnerships, crowdfunding, data monetization, hybrid models, affiliate marketing, white-labeling, donations, and user-generated content while maintaining a positive user experience.

Time-Based Rewards: The Ultimate Engagement Strategy for Mobile Games

Time-Based Rewards ultimate guide is ready!

Competition continues in the mobile gaming industry, and customer engagement has become essential for long-term success! Many apps have turned to loyalty programs to encourage repeat business and build a strong customer base. One effective loyalty strategy that has gained popularity in recent years is time-based rewards. Time flies when you’re having fun, but it really flies when you’re getting rewarded!

Now, let’s explore what time-based rewards are, why they are important for customer engagement and retention, and how to implement them successfully.

What are time-based rewards?

As the name implies, time-based rewards are rewards that customers receive if they spend a certain amount of time in an app. A variety of rewards can be given to users, such as in-app currency, points, discounts, free products, or exclusive offers that they can access. It is possible to use time-based rewards in a wide variety of apps, from gaming to e-commerce.

Keeping users in your app is not always an easy task to achieve. App developers must implement different incentives to give users a reason to spend more time in the app. This is where time-based rewards come in! Time-based rewards are an effective way to keep customers engaged and loyal to your business. They offer a tangible benefit that customers can work towards and achieve, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. By offering rewards tied to time, apps can encourage customers to visit more frequently, spend more money, and stay loyal to the app. Lastly, time-based rewards are user-initiated, meaning they don’t disrupt the user experience.

How do time-based rewards work?

Time-based rewards include different types of campaign types:

  • Playtime ad units
  • Rewarded playtime
  • Rewarded engagement

They may sound similar, but wait till we get down to the details!

Rewarded Playtime

Rewarded playtime (aka play-to-earn) campaigns allow players to receive points for the time they spend playing the game. What’s catchy about this model is that players redeem the points they earn for real-world money, gift cards, and so on. 

Rewarded playtime campaigns are run on different platforms that serve players various offers. Players can choose from these different offers, and start earning by installing and spending a certain amount on your game. The offers come in horizontal video or static ads placed throughout the platform. Regular reminders are also sent to players, motivating them to return to the game. Another handy feature of Rewarded Playtime is that app owners don’t need to share creatives or create new visuals, as they can be taken from the play stores. 

Benefits

  • Retain high-quality players
  • Increase in-app purchases
  • Boost retention and LTV

Rewarded Engagement

Rewarded engagement campaigns work on offerwalls (on websites or in apps) and include various engagement offers from different apps. Let’s say that a player wants to earn in-app currency or points for their game, and your mobile game has offers on that app’s offerwall. The player checks out the offerwall and sees an offer of ‘’Get to level 25 for 500 points’’ from your mobile game. They then install your game and start playing. 

What’s excellent about Rewarded Engagement is that the campaigns are conversion-based. App owners pay only for conversions, meaning that if a player doesn’t complete the task, you don’t pay for that user. This leads to inevitable ROAS+ results as the player watches ads or even makes purchases even though they don’t complete the tasks. Compensating for your ad spend has never been easier! 

Additionally, you can run A/B tests for offers and target locations to optimize your campaigns. Learn how AppSamurai’s excellent account managers craft the best strategies for your mobile game here. 

Benefits

  • Guaranteed ROAS+ results
  • Increased engagement
  • Improved ARPU

Playtime ad units

You can think of playtime ad units as a combination of Rewarded Engagement and Rewarded Playtime campaigns. They are time-based units that reward users with in-app currency for the time they spend in your mobile game. When a player is out of currency, an in-app teaser pops out and asks the user to opt-in for customized offers and time-based rewards. This is where your game is presented to the most relevant and qualified users to incentivize them to spend time in exchange for rewards. The more they spend time and earn rewards, the more they watch ads, make in-app purchases, and more. 

Benefits of playtime ad units

  • Target your ideal users
  • Receive high-quality traffic
  • Increase engagement 
  • Go ROAS+ and hit your LTV goals

Click here for AppSamurai’s REWARDED PLAYTIME CASE STUDIES

Overall benefits of time-based rewards

  • Time-based rewards can increase customer engagement and retention by creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. Customers are motivated to visit or purchase more frequently to earn rewards. Time-based rewards can also create a sense of exclusivity and reward loyal customers, further increasing their loyalty to the brand.
  • Time-based rewards can increase customer loyalty by offering tangible benefits that customers can work towards and achieve. 
  • Time-based rewards can differentiate your app from competitors by offering unique and exclusive rewards that others don’t offer. Time-based rewards can help your business stand out in a crowded market by incentivizing players to choose your game over others.

 Steps to follow to implement time-based rewards 

Implementing time-based rewards requires careful planning and execution. Here are some steps:

  1. Define your objectives: What do you hope to achieve with your time-based rewards program? Do you want to increase customer retention, encourage repeat visits, or drive sales? Defining your objectives will help you create a program tailored to your business goals.
  2. Choose the right rewards: Choose valuable and appealing rewards for your target users. Consider what the users want and what motivates them to make repeat purchases or visits. Make sure your rewards are achievable so that customers don’t become discouraged or frustrated.
  3. Run campaigns with a trusted partner: Since time-based rewards are relatively new compared to traditional app marketing campaigns, you’ll need an experienced partner to create the best, tailor-made strategies. 
  4. Monitor and analyze your data: Use data analytics to monitor the performance of your program and make adjustments as needed. Look for patterns in user behavior and use this information to improve your program.

 

It takes an innovative mindset to make your app stand out from the competition, and reach new mobile users!

Time-based rewards are an effective way to keep players engaged with your mobile game. The reward system encourages customers to visit the game more frequently, watch more ads and make purchases. You must carefully plan and execute time-based rewards by defining goals and choosing the right campaign type. 

Check out how we grow mobile games around the world here!

Supercharge Your App Marketing, and User Acquisition Strategy with ChatGPT

Are you feeling lost in a sea of data and channels when it comes to mobile marketing and user acquisition? Fear not, my friend – there’s a language-processing AI that everyone’s talking about: ChatGPT!

In this post, we’ll show you how ChatGPT can boost your mobile marketing and user acquisition strategy, share some best practices for implementation, and warn you of potential roadblocks. So buckle up and get ready to ride the ChatGPT wave to marketing success!

 

What exactly is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a powerful language model developed by OpenAI that uses machine learning to generate human-like responses to text input. It is designed to understand and respond to natural language in a way that mimics human conversation. I’m sure you’ve used it at least once or seen people exploring it. Although there are controversies around AI replacing humans, we believe in utilizing this technology to better our work! But how? 

Well, ChatGPT can help businesses personalize their mobile marketing and user acquisition efforts by providing relevant and engaging content that resonates with their target audience. With its powerful language processing capabilities, ChatGPT can analyze large amounts of data, generate personalized responses tailored to each user, and help businesses engage more meaningfully with potential customers.

Let’s start with app marketing: 

App Store Optimization

  • ChatGPT can help you find out what users really think about your app by analyzing their reviews and ratings, so you can make it even better and get more love.
  • ChatGPT can give you the lowdown on the most popular keywords people are searching for in app stores, so you can make sure your app gets found by the right people.
  • ChatGPT can help you write a totally awesome app description that shows off all the cool things your app can do, so people are like “wow, I need to download that right now!”
  • ChatGPT can help you create screenshots and videos that grab people’s attention and make them want to try your app, so you can get more downloads.
  • ChatGPT can keep you in the know about what your competition is up to and what’s hot in the app store world, so you can stay ahead of the game and keep winning.

Social Media Marketing

  • ChatGPT can help you write social media posts that really speak to your audience, using fancy AI magic to come up with awesome captions and headlines.
  • ChatGPT can help you plan out your social media content in advance, based on what’s hot and what your followers are into, so you don’t have to stress about coming up with ideas on the fly.
  • ChatGPT can help you figure out the best times to post on social media, so you can get more eyes on your content and grow your audience.
  • ChatGPT can help you stay on top of the latest social media trends and best practices, so you can be a social media rockstar and build your app’s brand like a boss.

SEO and Localization

  • ChatGPT can help you make your app description, keywords, and title more attractive to users and search engines, so it’ll pop up higher in search results.
  • It can help you tweak your app’s content and metadata for different languages and cultures, so it’ll appeal to users all over the world.
  • Not sure which markets to focus on for localization? ChatGPT can help you analyze app usage and popularity in different regions, so you can decide where to expand your reach.
  • Keep tabs on your app’s performance in different markets, and monitor how your app is doing and suggest changes to your localization strategy as needed.

Overall, ChatGPT can help you create a marketing strategy outline from scratch, and boost your efforts to market your app by supporting your content, personalized messages, analyzing customer data and reviews, do competitor analysis, fuel customer service and craft strategies based on all these factors. 

Now, let’s move on to how ChatGPT can help you acquire and maintain user engagement:

AI and Paid User Acquisition (UA) Management

Improve at Targeting Users: 

Knowing your target audience is essential when starting user acquisition activities. Using ChatGPT, you can analyze campaign performance and determine how to improve targeting. It ensures campaigns reach the right audience, enhancing conversion rates and reducing acquisition costs. You can also use ChatGPT to create custom product pages and content for them 

Create Trendy Ads

Creating attention-grabbing creatives to use in your ad campaigns is a key part of user acquisition. Using ChatGPT, you can discover which ad creatives perform best based on the data. The goal is to ensure that campaigns are effective and cost-effective, resulting in a higher return on investment.

Maintaining Engagement & Retention

When the user starts using the app and receives value from it, they engage with it more. As a result, the user becomes a loyal user of the app. Developers and marketers can use ChatGPT at this point to analyze competitors’ apps, brainstorm new features, create user onboarding plans, write personalized messages based on the target audiences, or develop a strategy for retaining users.

Growing Revenue

By brainstorming monetization ideas and analyzing the most profitable apps on the market, ChatGPT can help app developers and marketers create monetization strategies for specific app categories and target audiences, provide a step-by-step guide on how to monetize an app or game, or generate suggestions on how to increase revenue from an app.

A little reminder before you go:

While ChatGPT can be a powerful tool for mobile marketing and user acquisition, there are potential challenges and roadblocks to using it effectively. These include:

  • Ensuring that the data used to train ChatGPT is accurate and representative of your target audience.
  • Ensuring that ChatGPT’s responses are relevant and engaging for each user.
  • Ensuring that ChatGPT is integrated seamlessly into your mobile marketing and user acquisition channels.
  • Monitoring and adjusting your strategy to ensure that ChatGPT delivers results.

Final Thoughts

ChatGPT can help businesses personalize their mobile marketing and user acquisition efforts by providing relevant, engaging content that resonates with their target audience. KeeRememberat ChatGPT might not always give what you have in mind, so learn to create solid prompts, and be aware that it may not be the right tool for everything. 

SKAN 4.0: What You Need to Know

The release of SKAdNetwork 4.0 has brought significant updates to the mobile advertising industry that may take some time and effort to adopt. Let’s first look at SKAN and then observe SKAN 4.0’s essential updates and their benefits!

What’s SKAN (SKAdnetwork)?

SKAdNetwork (SKAN) is a privacy-preserving framework for mobile app install attribution that Apple introduced in 2018. SKAdNetwork is designed to protect user privacy by providing aggregated data to advertisers and publishers while preventing the sharing of individual user data.

SKAdNetwork uses an API to allow ad networks and publishers to register with the SKAdNetwork and generate unique identifiers to track app installs. When a user clicks on an ad and installs the app, the SKAdNetwork sends a postback to the ad network or publisher with the attribution data.

This attribution data includes the campaign ID, the creative ID, the app ID, and the conversion value, which can be used to measure the ad campaign’s success.

The SKAdNetwork framework was introduced in response to growing concerns about user privacy and data collection. It provides a more secure and privacy-friendly alternative to traditional mobile app install attribution methods, such as device IDs or cookies, which can potentially be used to track individual users across multiple apps and services.

SKAdNetwork has become increasingly important for mobile app advertisers and publishers, as Apple’s iOS 14 update requires apps to use the SKAdNetwork for attribution and limits other tracking methods. This means advertisers and publishers must use SKAdNetwork to accurately track their campaigns and measure their performance on iOS devices.

Image Credit: https://www.bandt.com.au/skan-4-0-is-set-to-impact-your-mobile-marketing-heres-how-inmobi-plans-to-help/

The 4 Key Updates in SKAN 4.0 & Their Benefits

SKAN 4.0, an update to the network, was released on October 24th, 2022, and has brought many vital updates that present new options for ad networks and app developers. It’s true that with the updates came to some confusion around how to use them effectively, but ad networks and advertisers are working on creating a plan to utilize the new features. 

→Multiple postbacks: Unlike SKAN 3, which only had one postback, SKAN 4.0 offers three postbacks spread over time (up to 35 days). This structure provides more extensive insights to app developers about user activity and drops null rates.

Postback 1: 0-2 days

Postback 2: 3-7 days

Postback 3: 8-35 days

Overall, the multiple postback system gives advertisers a broader perspective on their users’ engagement, enabling them to craft better optimization and reporting plans. 

→Locking conversion values: With SKAN 4.0 comes a new concept called ‘lockWindow.’ This allows app developers to lock conversion values (stopping the measurement of user activity) and receive the postback as soon as possible. With this, you can:

  • Adjust the postback windows mentioned above
  • Receive postbacks sooner
  • Optimize your campaigns accordingly.

→Privacy thresholds out, crowd anonymity and source identifier are in: SKAN 4.0 removes the privacy thresholds of SKAN 3, giving marketers more data in their postbacks. Before SKAN 4.0, you would receive a null postback from users who didn’t meet the privacy threshold. With SKAN 4.0, the privacy threshold is now divided into four tiers of crowd anonymity (0, 1, 2, and 3), which Apple assigns to each install. Crowd anonymity helps determine how much data is returned from SKAdNetwork. It replaces the campaign ID with a source identifier, and a full postback may drop one or more of the following fields based on the tier the install is assigned: Fine-grain conversion value, source ID, and source app ID.

In SKAN 3, campaign IDs were limited to 2 digits; now, source identifiers can contain up to four digits. According to insights from AppsFlyer, this update can be used for internal optimization and other reporting breakdown based on what the advertiser needs. 

→Support for Web Conversion Value: With SKAdNetwork 4.0, web-to-app measurement is now enabled for advertisers. Though only available for Safari, it’s known that almost 90% of iPhone users choose Safari as their default web browser, so the coverage is essential. With the update, it’s now possible to attribute web advertising that directs users to the product’s App Store page, allowing advertisers to practice cross-channel attribution. 

How to adjust to the transition?

For app owners, it’s crucial to understand what SKAN 4.0 means for your product’s growth. Knowing what factors are vital for you and when to measure them is also significant. Though it may take a while to align with the new updates fully and craft a mobile marketing strategy accordingly,, you can start planning how to make the most out of SKAN 4.0 in terms of measuring performance.  So, ask yourself these questions:

  • What data do I need from the three postbacks?
  • How fresh do I want my data to be for optimization purposes? (using lockWindow)
  • How can I optimize the measurement for each postback?

As for now, ad networks and publishers are the ones who need to make the change to allow you to leverage the SKAN 4.0 updates. Another point is that more users need to update their mobile devices to iOS 16.1 and above so that ad networks can feel comfortable moving their traffic to SKAN 4.0. This will be a gradual process in which you must stay updated with the latest developments. 

Adjusting iOS strategies based on SKAN updates can be challenging occasionally, but it’s important to note that the mobile industry is dynamic. Challenges bear new opportunities too! 

In-App Events: Understanding How to Track User Behavior in Your Mobile App

With millions of apps in app stores, creating an app that stands out and attracts users is increasingly challenging. Understanding user behavior in your mobile app is crucial to improving its performance and user experience. In-app events are a valuable tool for tracking user behavior in your app. This blog post will explore what in-app events are, how to implement them, and their importance in mobile app development.

Understanding user behavior is essential to improve app performance, engagement, and retention. In-app events are user actions and behaviors that can be tracked and analyzed within a mobile app. In-app events can range from basic activities such as app opens, clicks, and time spent in-app, to more complex actions, such as in-app purchases, social media sharing, and completing levels in a game. In-app events provide developers with data on how users interact with their apps, enabling them to optimize features and personalize user experiences.

Understanding In-App Events

In-app events are categorized into two types: predefined and custom. Predefined events are standardized events set by app development platforms, such as:

  • App opens
  • Clicks
  • Purchases
  • Registration

Custom events, on the other hand, are specific to an app and are designed to track specific user behavior, such as:

  •  Completing a tutorial
  •  Subscribing to a newsletter
  • Reaching a certain level

In-app events are tracked using an SDK (Software Development Kit) integrated into the app. The SDK collects data on user behavior and sends it to an analytics platform for analysis. The analytics platform then gives developers insights into how users interact with their app.

Benefits of Tracking In-App Events

In-app events offer several benefits to mobile app developers, including:

  1. Measuring user engagement and retention: In-app events provide valuable data on user behavior, enabling developers to measure user engagement and retention. This data can be used to optimize popular features with users and identify areas of the app that need improvement.
  2. Optimization of app features and user experience: In-app events can help developers identify which app components are used the most and which features are not. This data can be used to optimize features and improve the user experience.
  3. Ability to target specific user segments and personalize user experience: In-app events can help developers identify specific user segments and personalize the user experience. For example, if users frequently purchase in-app products, the developer can provide them with customized offers and promotions. 


Common In-App Events to Track

Developers can track several common in-app events to improve app performance and user experience. These events include:

  1. Time spent in-app
    • It helps developers see if the users have a positive experience. For example, if session time drops after a change in the UI, this might indicate that the users negatively perceive the change.
  2. In-app purchases
    • Purchase events show the patterns of paying users and help developers determine monetizing users and calculate ROAS. 
  3. App opens
    • App developers can track retention by creating the app oven event, which means comparing the total number of app opens to the total number of users acquired during that period.
  4. Completing levels in games
    • In mobile games, level completion events are a great source of insights to see whether a level is performing well. 

Developers can use these in-app events to improve app performance by optimizing popular features with users and identifying areas that need improvement.

Implementing In-App Events

Implementing in-app events requires several steps, including:

  1. Identifying the in-app events you want to track
  2. Integrating an SDK into your app
  3. Defining the data you want to collect
  4. Setting up an analytics platform
  5. Analyzing and interpreting the data

When implementing in-app events, it is essential to follow best practices for tracking and analyzing data. These practices include:

Determining the insights you want to extract from the data

It’s important to know what insights you need to improve your app before analyzing the data. For example, for a gaming app, insights about which level is the hardest to pass or how long it takes for users to make a purchase are crucial insights to know about. 

Choosing the right metrics to track

After deciding what insights you need, start specifying the events that will provide you with those insights. For example, to answer the questions above, you must look at in-app events such as ‘’Level Completed’’ and ‘’Session Length’’.

Analyzing data regularly to identify trends and patterns & test your event data

Now that you’ve decided on your insights and event properties, start analyzing your data regularly and identify the patterns of your users. Let’s say your users’ playtime and engagement begin to decrease after a certain level- meaning that the level is too hard or causes a loss of interest. Then, you can adjust the level and test it to see if it made any improvements. 

Find the right analytics tool

There are several tools and platforms for tracking in-app events, and it’s a process to find the one that works best for you. Here’re some tools to check out: 

 Conclusion

In-app events are valuable for understanding how users engage with your app. They enable developers to optimize features, improve user experience, and increase user engagement and retention. 

Implementing in-app events requires several steps, including identifying the events to track, integrating an SDK, defining the data to collect, setting up an analytics platform, and analyzing and interpreting the data. 

By following best practices and tracking common in-app events, developers can use this data to create better mobile apps and improve user experiences.