Since my last post was on “Mobile First” I thought it might make sense to opine on mobile marketing…specifically mobile apps where Bluetext has waded deep into the water this summer.
While we are all waiting for mobile browsing to overtake desktop – mobile apps screamed past PC websites in terms of Internet usage. As this trend is bound to continue in 2016, marketing strategies should evolve to keep up.
Approximately two-thirds of the world’s population are mobile phone users, with the total number of mobile subscriptions globally approaching 8 billion. The mobile market is continuing to explode with no signs that it is going to slow down anytime soon.
These broad advances in technology and interaction create the need for new tactics and strategies that will keep brands strong and customers loyal. Users spent almost 25% more time in apps last year than they did the year before, and 2016 is more than likely to see an equal, if not more precipitous increase.
As new mobile apps continue to flood the market, the way that users engage with them is going to continue to change. And as app makers respond to these changes, app marketers will need to analyze and predict trends to keep their brands one step ahead of the game.
Mainstream marketers put more value on organic versus acquired users, however from an engagement standpoint, paid search and ad networks are by far the two of the most effective channels by which users are brought to apps. And while both are of equal value once they’re using the app, our analytics show that users who find an app through an ad network are more likely to return to download and use the app than organic users. This would certainly suggest a sea change is coming in how brands will approach mobile marketing.
As this change is taking place, user retention will remain a top priority for app developers. Users already inside the app will come back to it again and again and, in turn, become more inclined to make an increasing number of in-app purchases.
In this scenario, app loyalty is the ultimate goal. In order to better engage users, apps will have to start using more sophisticated methods to foster loyalty and that’s where the advertisers come in. The rapid increase in in-app purchases will result in a race to produce more ads, both externally and within apps, to engage the growing user base once they are committed to the app.
As apps are becoming an increasingly more important aspect of daily life, developers are becoming smarter and more creative, encouraging users to embrace technology in every aspect of their lives and attracting advertisers like yourselves to reward them for it.