Meet the mobile experts - the Mobile Prodigies

bizreport.com

New research from Verve redefines Millennials and Generation Z into one expert mobile demographic and reveals just how much value they put on their mobile devices.

When you combine Millennials with Generation Z you get 'Mobile Prodigies', according to Verve.

"You already know them," says Nada Stirratt, CEO of Verve. "These are the mobile users that just a few years ago - some of them barely old enough to read at the time - already knew how to take Mom's phone and swipe, pinch, scroll, and download an app or a song. Many of them have never lived in a world without mobile, and their devices are part of their personae - mobile is their link to social currency, new discoveries, and the pursuit of new ways to interact."

When looking at this new group it is plain to see the role of, and value attributed to, mobile in their lives. Among Mobile Prodigies, a whopping 96% make in-store purchases based on ads they've seen on their mobile device and nearly two-thirds (61%) buy in-store based on a mobile ad at least monthly.

And, Mobile Prodigies have their own ideas about what constitutes a good mobile ad. Nearly half (46%) cited mobile ads that can be saved for later followed closely by ads from a trusted source with a safety 'seal of approval' (45%) and ads that add a coupon or offer to their mobile wallet (40%).

Mobile Prodigies are also driving the app ecosystem with 80% spending more time in apps today than they did a year ago. For them, app browsing and discovery is nearly compulsive and 60% of those involved in Verve's study download one or more apps weekly.

"They are incorporating apps that feature innovative content and creative into nearly all the ways they work, play, and shop - while carefully granting mobile marketers measured access to device data so long as the apps and creative they experience meet their expectations around context and quality," said Stirratt.

3 Gamification Tips That’ll Increase App Engagement

.business2community.com

Gamification is a term making headway in the mobile world. The power of play through mobile apps is no stranger in our daily lives from our commutes to work to passing time in the doctor’s office. Users don’t even realize there’s a bigger reason behind the hype of the game. Gamification extends beyond the mindless addictions from AngryBirds to Farmville. If done right, it impacts buyer behavior, engagement and that intrinsic app loyalty that no paid advertising attains. There are countless examples of large corporations where their app bombed due to engageless or uninteresting content. For every 9 apps that fail, there is 1 amazing app that takes off epically. Users will never revisit your app unless they’re motivated or having fun. Gamification is no marketing jargon or fad, so get acclimated with these tactics.

1. LET YOUR MOBILE CUSTOMERS TAKE OWNERSHIP & POSSESSION

Many loyalty programs flop due to complicated, long-winded customer journeys that lead to a mediocre reward. Naturally, users want to choose what kind of possession they’d like to receive. Personalization has always been a key component of Starbucks so let’s divulge on the classic example of their Rewards Program card which was used back in 2012. Users begin by registering My Reward through the application. Based on a points system, users would be reinforced with a coffee cup becoming filled after making a purchase. Depending on how loyal the user is, the Starbucks Reward card had three personalized levels. For example, they could choose whether to receive a birthday gift card vs a coffee mug if the points afforded such rewards. In short, allowing the user to take ownership on the possessions they want brings instant loyalty to their brand.

2. GIVE MOBILE CUSTOMERS A WAY TO TRACK THEIR GOALS

As cliche as it sounds, everyone has a goal. Some want to lose weight, some want to save more money while others want to become more productive. When Nike took on an unorthodox product in their portfolio back in 2012, they knew the FuelApp band wouldn’t take off without motivating users through a tracked commitment. The more the user moved, the more points they accumulated. And the more active they were, the closer they came to reaching their fitness goals. By enabling a tracking system, users could see how many calories they burned, graphs displaying time per sessions, intensity levels, and above all, their total NikeFuel points which enforces brand recognition. Likewise, the app hosts local communities that encouraged members to engage by sharing, commenting or reaching a goal together.

3. DON’T JUST REWARD THE BEST EMPLOYEES OR MOBILE CUSTOMERS

Tackling employee engagement and productivity is a challenge no company avoids. Deloitte created an interesting program called Deloitte Leadership Academy that boosted their community engagement and employee training. Instead of solely focusing on rewards to those far-fetched, high-performing achievers, Deloitte made sure to get everyone on board and actively incentivized to participate. By fostering small communal leaderboards, participants could see their 10 closest competitors. In addition, the board would reset every seven days to show new interests among users.

Therefore, higher ups, like executive members could stay in the loop if they miss out due to business travel. Also, Deloitte kept the rewards relevant to their employees. Instead of being awarded an irrelevant badge for completing a simple task, DLA gradually acclimated users with the system. Rather than watching an uninteresting introductory video which explained the purpose of the academy, users were given the personalized learning path that they wanted to pursue. This level of customization provided a unique sense of ownership in the users learning process which in turn increased engagement with the system.

In short, if done right, gamification can boost loyalty and engagement and entice users to buy, stick with a goal, or learn. Once users are hooked, they invest the most invaluable resource of all…Time. And the more a users spends time on your app, the more likely they’ll be engaged, motivated, or likely to buy.

The New Era of Music Marketing

vergecampus.com

In 2013, when Beyonce surprised the world by dropping her self-titled album completely unannounced, many music critics quickly acknowledged the significance of the release and noted that it would be a turning point in how an artist promotes their music. They were right– to an extent.

An album drop with no previous announcement is one thing, but 2016 has proved that an art form has been created out of album promotion. The year has seen musicians and artists alike create marketing and promotional campaigns that are so out of this world it is almost hard to believe it is all for an album. Beyonce stuck true to her form and came back this year with Lemonade, which was the first visual album of its type. It aired in full on HBO but received almost no promotion besides a teaser trailer which was released three days prior to the showing. Still, the album broke records and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling almost half a million copies in the first week.

The lack of marketing and surprise factor allowed both Beyonce and Lemonade to go viral and the fact that both albums also debuted at number one also shows the power that social media has in translating those impressions to sales.

Beyonce created a trend with this “surprise” album release formula, but it has been reconstructed by quite a few notable artists this year, leaving what honestly looks to be a scary sight for the future of music marketing.

This year saw Kanye West travel to Madison Square Garden to have a fashion show that was being live streamed in movie theaters across the country. He promoted the show solely through social media and created hype by getting into Twitter fights with Wiz Khalifa and changing the title of the album three times. He said the Madison Square Garden show would be an album premiere. People though he might perform or show a video but instead, Kanye just walked out and plugged in his aux cord and played a rough, seemingly unmastered, album through the speakers. He did not release the album after the show. He didn’t release it the next day either. He waited almost a week before then actually releasing the album– and even then, after it was posted, he continued making changes to the music.

You would expect fans to be mad about that. For the album release to receive heavy criticism. For people to get tired of waiting. But you’re wrong, the album debuted at number one, and, since it was a Tidal exclusive, Tidal became the most popular app on the App Store. The only promotion for that album was Kanye’s Twitter. There was no major marketing campaign for the album. No late night appearances or interviews.

Kanye pushed his fans to the limits but still, his album release was just one of many which somewhat followed the surprise-album formula. Radiohead slowly removed themselves from the Internet, deleting Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even turning their website into a blank white page. The artists said nothing to the fullest extent possible. They erased themselves from the Internet and then suddenly– they dropped an album. It debuted that week at number three on the charts. Chance The Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, James Blake, Rihanna, and Drake, all followed suit with surprise releases of their own. Frank Ocean decided to redefine the entire game and release two albums in the span of two days after previously taking a four year hiatus.

The marketing industry has seen a complete overhaul with the mass popularity of social media over the last few years. Artists are now making it seem like album promotion, or at least the type that an advertising firm can provide, is becoming less and less important. Creating a connection with your fans is what sells albums now and social media is the gateway to creating those connections. Redefining album promotion as a whole with every new album release seems to be the new trend and no one really knows what the future could hold. However extreme or nonsensical it gets, advertisers will need to keep up with the pace.

The Top 9 Smart Mobility and Mobile App Marketing Trends for 2017

tgdaily.com

Mobile is now more than a disruptive technology. It has already made a generation of people rethink how they work and interact. But the new marketing trends are impacted by smart mobility too.

Enterprise mobility trends conversely form every organization’s IT strategy. Every mobile app development process constitutes strategy, software, and development methodology that should be aligned to the current landscape of different sectors.

Here are the top enterprise mobility trends that will impact mobile app marketing for 2017:

1. Employee mobile application adoption forcing diverse marketing strategy

Nearly 61 percent of smart mobility measures surveyed by Forrester are ushering in new mobile services for 2016. Close to 60 percent are now adjusting their budget for securing mobile app resources.

The focus has shifted from B2C applications to the B2B environment. This will cause a significant change in marketing approach as mobile app marketing will drive publicity through various venues and devices too.

2. Pairing mobile app adoption with analytics

The industry can now bank on its marketing strategy by integrating their mobile apps with enterprise platform analytics, to assess their sales and response. One can bank on the IoT market to usher in more data based on the offerings. This will pose a challenge on mobile app marketing since each strategy would need to be prompt and active based on the data being entered.

3. Mobile Applications Ruling initiatives

A plethora of mobile endpoints will bring a degree of stability to diverse infrastructures. This will bring mobile app marketing of a different kind owing to the varied platforms on the play along with the nature of mobile apps in question.

4. Security and risk awareness bring top concerns

It is important for every mobile app marketing strategy and system to be a closed system or else there would be some element of danger to the information of an enterprise. Enterprise IT contends with mobile enterprise devices that use corporate resources and data. Security cannot be compromised in any way, which would mean that marketing platforms need to bank on strong, effective and secured applications.

5. Use of mobile UX design of higher pedigree

Both customer and the employee demand a one-of-a-kind experience. With limited time and budget, developing great employee mobile apps is not always possible. The rest of the load falls on effective mobile app marketing to deliver on effective strategies to address this difficulty, work on creative capabilities and differentiated offerings.

6. Massive proliferation of mobile-connected smart objects

As the number of smart objects continues to grow, mobile apps will be integrated with several objects to enhance its features. The marketing opportunities are enormous since gadgets include a remote control, diagnostic tools and even sensor-driven actions. With each USP, the marketing approach needs to be more innovative and smart.

With the connective mobile-centric analytics and cloud-powered databases, the enterprise focus will be related to infrastructure efficiency, and strong ROI-driven application systems. The volume of data needs to be managed efficiently, and the connected marketing campaigns need to highlight the USPs better.

7. More mobile investment means better marketing ideas and campaigns

As the mobile investment is reaching sky-high, the competition is bound to get tougher as the days go by. Enterprise mobility is reflecting on IT investment priority that seeks to enhance outreach programs, bolster productivity and even thwart competition. With a slew of new communication opportunities because of smart mobility in the workplace, companies are trying to outdo their counterparts with more energetic marketing campaigns for their products and services. Improving employee flexibility is just about the first step with BYOD doing the rounds. But a well-rounded organization will get optimal mobile applications that bring in a unique mobile experience for its customers and users.

8. The bigger the data, the better it is for marketing opportunities

Big Data’s relationship with mobile apps is under close scrutiny and the future trends are expected to bring enterprises with a harmonious relationship with Big Data, mobile apps and BI approaches. Mobile applications backed up by data can deliver clear information to end users and even prompt new people in the crowd to opt for mobile-backed solutions. Accuracy in data processing and business intelligence derived from mobile apps will serve to be a major differentiator for enterprises to bring in innovative results in terms of their offerings. The best of the best organizations are sure to have one foot dipped in Big Data trends while opting for smart mobility within the organization. And mobile app marketing strategies would not lag behind in leveraging the technologies for assessing consumer behavior patterns and future growth potential.

9. Wearable devices and their Differentiating Power with Mobility

Smartphones are now passé as the smartest devices on offer. With the advent of wearable devices that are even banking on the growing IoT juggernaut, one can expect the world tomorrow to be a connected jigsaw of technology. Healthcare is already using wearable technology better with millions of devices being offered in the market offering better health assessment of its users. But the future is yet to come and the marketing opportunity to interact with prospects, leads and clients will surely change for the better. Even the costs would match the benefits on offer, since the applications are too good to miss for most utilities.

It is certain that wearables are here to stay, but one cannot overreach its success. Smart watches and fitness trackers have bolstered the trend this year, but soon one would find people wearing them in workplaces as part of BYOD policies. Business marketing tools are sure to change their nature. Who knows, tomorrow smart glasses will feature in enterprise rotation for niche verticals efficiently!

Conclusion

We have now seen enterprise IT being pushed to the wall. But if we embrace the trends affecting enterprise mobility adoption, one can expect cool things in store. Also the mobile app marketing strategies are sure to renew their approach, to match ideas, budgets, technologies, and even the interest of the audience. One would have to match mobile innovation with cyber-security for better results in the near future.

A New Approach for In-App Messaging: Individualization

business2community.com

When it comes to mobile messaging, in-app messages, or messages presented to users while they are in an app, can often be overlooked in favor of their powerful counterpart, push messages. Push messages are sent to users when they are not using the app with the hopes of convincing them to return. In-app messages, on the other hand, have proven to be a great way to enhance a user’s experience while they are actively using the app.

Taking it even further, we’ve found that “individualized” messages, which are messages that take into account a user’s actions within the app as well as if the user fits into a particular audience based on their profile attributes, are very effective at creating a more user-specific experience. Individualization takes messages into new territory beyond personalization, which was more focused on using basic user information like first name or language preference.

We decided to take a closer look at how in-app messages, and more specifically how individualized messages, are performing to understand the impact on engagement and conversion. The results are clear — more apps need to make in-app messages part of their engagement strategy.

In-App Messages Drive Higher Engagement and Retention

Our research shows that apps utilizing in-app messaging benefit in two very important ways: higher engagement and higher retention.

Apps using in-app messaging average 21% more monthly app launches, with almost 17 app launches per month compared to the 14 app launches per month seen by apps that are not using in-app message

Users who receive in-app messages are also more likely to return to the app again. Apps using in-app messages see 23% of their users return to the app 3 months after they download it, while apps that do not use in-app messages only see 16% of their users return within the same time period.

Apps who have taken the initiative to improve the user experience with in-app messaging see it pay off with these two very important metrics.

Trigger Your In-App Messaging off of Events

Using in-app messaging is a great start, but apps need to take an even more granular approach.

With Localytics, in-app messages can be triggered in two ways: off the start of the session (app launch) or off of an event (an action a user takes within the app). Messages triggered as soon as the users opens the app do not require any information about what the user is doing in the app, they simply have to open the app and a message could appear.

While these types of in-app messages can be effective, presenting an in-app message off of an event is a more sophisticated and effective approach. This allows an app to engage with users based on the actions they take and send more relevant messages to them. For example, if a user adds an item to their cart, an app can trigger a message with a coupon for that item enticing them to check out.

The results of triggering in-app messages off of a specific event speak for themselves. The average click through rate for messages triggered off of an event is 18%, while click through for messages triggered when a user opens the app is just 10%.

Take it One Step Further – Segment Messages With an Audience

While it’s important to trigger in-app messages from an event, it’s also important to take the segmentation one step further and show messages to applicable audiences based on specific profile information. This is where a fully-rounded individualized method comes in. This means first selecting an action for the in-app message to be triggered off of, but also showing it only to an audience that fits a certain criteria (i.e. a user in a certain location or a user who hasn’t used the app recently).

Of all of the in-app messages that we analyzed, we found that 29% were triggering messages from events and utilizing some kind of profile data segmentation, which is very encouraging. This is where the segmentation of in-app messaging is moving to. Apps are seeing even stronger results — 21% click through rates on average — when they incorporate specific information about their users.

he results go beyond just stronger click through rates. In-app messages that include profile attributes yield 3x more click through conversions in the first 24 hours after a message is shown compared to messages shown at the start of a session.

These messages also average 11% more sessions within the first week after the message is shown compared to in-app messages presented at the start of a session.

Success Varies By Vertical

Apps across different vertical industries experience different lifts in engagement when they trigger their in-app messages off of an event and include profile attributes.

Retail apps more than double their click rates when using in-app messages triggered by an event and have an audience compared to a message shown at the start of a session. Every time a user adds a certain product to their “favorites” list or checks into a store at a certain location, they are strengthening their profile, which the apps then benefit from. The next time a user is in the app, if they go to click on a promotion they could be met with a message detailing the promotion for their favorite products at the store they previously visited. This ability to give such a specific message based on the information relevant to that exact user is why these apps have seen so much success.

The success also translates to almost twice as many click-through conversions within the first 24 hours of these messages being shown as compared to messages seen at the start of a session.

Retail app users who are shown event triggered and profile in-app messages are also more likely to keep visting the app, as these messages average 1.5x more sessions within the first week than in-app messages triggered by an app launch.

Now is the Time to Take Action

In-app is emerging as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to engaging app users. And given the current hyper competitive app economy, marketers need every tool possible to separate themselves from the clutter. Moreover, marketers need to use all of the data available at their fingertips about their users to deliver truly individualized messages.

Google reveals: How to attract high-value app users

tune.com

he days of driving downloads for installs-sake are over; what’s more important is that you are attracting and engaging valuable app users who will make your app more successful. In the webinar “Finding and Engaging High-Value App Users” Google and TUNE’s foremost app experts answered a few burning questions from app marketers about how to not only make apps more discoverable among ideal users — but more reputable overall. Below is advice from Kelly Cox, Strategic Partner Development Manager at Google Play; Nadja Bissinger, Global Product Expert for Google Mobile App Ads; and John Koetsier, Mobile Economist at TUNE.

Q&A Featuring Google App Experts

What is the value of app store optimization?

“If you’re looking for success today digitally, you’re looking at mobile. If you’re looking at mobile, you definitely want to be in apps because that’s where we’re spending 80 to 90% of our time. Now if you’re looking for success in apps, at least 70 to 80% of apps are found via search… It’s significant, and you have to rank well, and that’s all about app store optimization.”
– John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE

“I think it’s also important to remember that app store optimization is not about keyword stuffing. I know in the past many people thought that you had to get as much metadata in there as possible… Just testing all the different elements within the app store, you can see a massive increase in conversion, but also it helps with [Google’s] algorithm and discovery, and allowing us to know which apps we should show to the right users at the right time.”
– Kelly Cox, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Play

Get the report: How to win Apple App Store and Google Play Search: http://bit.ly/2dPQKg8

“I think the best topic to talk about that is talking about relevancy. We’re always saying make sure that your targeting is relevant — that you’re finding the right users for you. Make sure your ads are relevant and they’re really displaying the [unique selling proposition] of your product as well. And then last but not least, the landing page should be very relevant for the user as well. So if a user clicks on an app that doesn’t really mirror what the landing page is saying in this case… then it can impact your conversion rates for your marketing campaigns negatively as well. It’s very tied to relevancy, so make that sure your ads, your landing page, and your targeting are correlating and relevant.”
– Nadja Bissinger, Global Product Expert, Google Mobile App Ads

Have you seen that adding a video significantly increases install conversion rates?

“In our research, we’ve seen that having a video is strongly correlated with your app ranking higher. And I’m not just talking about the top apps versus the bottom-of-the-barrel apps that have gotten like three downloads. I’m talking about in the top 250 apps per category, the likelihood that a top-10 or top-50 app has a video is much greater than the likelihood that a 100 to 200, or 200 to 300 ranked app has a video. So correlation-wise, we’re seeing it correlate with better ranking in Google Play.”
– John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE

The latest research: Why app videos are critical for getting more installs: http://bit.ly/2eozuBB

“We generally recommend you add videos to universal app campaigns for a few reasons. First of all, by adding a video you are able to leverage the power of the YouTube network as well… Videos are rich and engaging ad formats, so it can happen that some users feel a bit more torn to react on videos. So you give the system the chance to detect these users and really show the ads that are relevant to these users as well. There’s no real risk by adding a video because with smart machine learning algorithms… the system will always make sure to balance out your ad creative rotation to show ads that are relevant; ads that are performing for you. So if a video shouldn’t perform for a specific reason — it could be creative quality or it’s the wrong medium to address these users — then the system will set them automatically and you’re not spending without a reason for these ad creatives as well. Long answer short, I definitely would recommend you add videos to campaigns to really leverage that creative optimization and that additional reach.”
– Nadja Bissinger, Global Product Expert, Google Mobile App Ads

Kelly mentioned it’s a best practice to use experimentation on your Google Play store listing when expanding to new markets. But can you share any additional tips to consider when localizing an app?

“We actually looked at the growth rates of apps that are available globally versus apps that are only available in local markets. The data on our side shows that global apps grew 2.4x faster than non-global apps. This seems intuitive, right — you’re available in more markets, meaning you have a larger adjustable audience, but it was interesting to see data behind that.
– John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE

“There are a few things I think you should think about when localizing to a new market. The first the developer console report… understanding where your new user bases are coming from and growing for your app. You can prioritize localizing in these markets first. And then second is don’t just translate but actually localize. We’ve all heard about the unfortunate marketing blunders that have happened when a marketer simply translates messaging into another language. Meaning ensure that you’re culturally aware of local market expectations and are ready to support your new users. One tip that I’d like to highlight is make sure that you’re not just localizing text, but that you’re localizing your images as well. That’s very relevant for users in different markets when they can see that it’s not just the text that’s relevant to them. Last, be prepared to test and iterate. New users from different regions means new feedback. Keep responding to user needs and improving not only your app message, but your value proposition too.”
– Kelly Cox, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Play

Are there best practices you suggest to encourage users to leave reviews — specifically methods that resonate with users and engage those who’ve had a positive experience but aren’t motivated to leave a rating?

“Interestingly, about 80% of all star ratings on the play store and the app store are five star. This is not an accident, and this did not happen by chance. What you typically find is that the best apps are using a version of in-app marketing — or mobile marketing automation or some touch tool — to pop up an in-app message after somebody’s used the app for a while, or maybe had a success in a game, or maybe did something good that you wanted your users to do in your app. They pop up a message: ‘Do you like this app, would you like to rate us?’ If the user says no, the message goes away. If the user says yes, then boom — they’re sent over to the Play Store and you can rate and review. This is a way of ensuring that your happiest users are leaving good ratings and reviews for you in the time when they’re most likely to be good. There’s definitely an element gaming going on there — there’s no doubt about it. But if you want to be competitive, you have to play along as well.”
– John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE

What the data says: How app ratings and reviews impact rank on Google Play and the Apple App Store:…

“I would recommend engaging with all of the reviews that are given to you because the users have taken the time to voice their opinions, and as mentioned earlier, we see that if you go back and respond to a low rating and fix the problem, and you let them know that you’ve fixed the program or are actively working on it, oftentimes a user will go back and re-rate the app, which will have a significant impact on your overall rating.”
– Kelly Cox, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Play

Go get em! Your high-value app users are out there.

While the stats may be stacked against you — with 13% of consumers deleting an app without ever opening it, and another 22% using an app once before deleting it — by strategically targeting the right users to download and engage with your app, you can increase the chances value of each and every app user, and your app overall.

Instagram leaks Snapchat-like live video streaming feature

theamericangenius.com

Although unlikely to be on your phone, Instagram is said to be testing out a live video streaming feature. Interested?

INSTAGRAM DOESN’T FALL FAR FROM THE FACEBOOK TREE

Instagram is moving away from its roots as a simple photo sharing app to something that is more of a conglomerate, all-incorporated social media app akin to Snapchat and its new parent, Facebook.

We have seen Instagram adopt strategies from other apps, including its recent (and much hated) switch to a Facebook-like timeline algorithm where posts are ordered based on what Instagram thinks users want to see rather than showing posts in real time. Now it looks like Instagram will take on another Facebook personality trait, incorporating live video feed into its Instagram Stories feature.

COPY CAT BUT A COOL CAT NEVERTHELESS

In August Instagram released Instagram Stories, a nearly carbon copy of Snapchat’s exact same feature, where users can post snippets of their day outside of their regular timeline available for 24 hours. Though the company has not officially announced an update, Russian news site TJournal reported Android users seeing a “live” tag appears over a story icons this week, as well as a currently non-functional “Go Insta!” button which presumably allows users to cast live video.

Although this mostly holds promise for embarrassing 2am baby-talking to your dog posts, live video could be a new outlet for advertisers. “Live video is also a way to attract spending from the lucrative television advertising market, which Facebook is working very hard to crack,” notes The Verge.

GOTTA CATCH ’EM ALL

We’re used to Facebook being riddled with sidebar ads, featured ads, sponsored posts, and curated trending now sections. While Facebook still has a stronghold on the 18-29 market, many younger users are emigrating from Facebook to Twitter, Snapchat, and most notably, Instagram, abandoning the social media behemoth entirely.

With a younger user-base embracing Instagram over Facebook, advertisers can look to this as a source of new marketing. But how do you market to a group that opts out of traditional advertising with services like Netflix and Hulu that all but cut-out TV advertising?

ADS ADS EVERYWHERE

Instagram goes back and forth featuring ads in the midst of regular posts. It seems every couple of months regular feeds are interrupted with sponsored ads featuring “shop now” options in the corner. Unlike Twitter, users can’t “delete” the ads or provide feedback that the content is not relevant or interesting. IG doesn’t seem to care if you like it or not, it’s there to stay.

Incorporating live video would allow the company to be more in your face with their ads if they choose to go that route. You don’t have a choice other than to stop using the app if you don’t want to see featured advertisements. IG’s live video option may be the answer for marketers seeking to reach a not so niche audience, but at the risk of annoying users who are already tired of feeds oversaturated with advertisements.

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

Marketing potential aside, Snapchat and Vine have proven people love sharing unedited, live streams of themselves. A live video option could be a welcome addition for those who primarily use Instagram for social networking. Users can reach out to their existing fan base without the hassle of amassing new followers on other apps with similar services. Instagram has yet to comment, but I’d say it’s a safe bet that live video beta will released soon now that the secret is out.

App Economy: Mobile Users Prefer Apps to Browsers

formtek.com

The App Economy is the economic market enabled by native mobile applications.

A recent study by IT Pro Portal found that:

• The App economy is estimated to be worth $101 billion by 2020.
• App games are the biggest sector with 85 percent of app revenues coming from games. But other sectors like banking, retail, airlines, and ridesharing are growing rapidly.
• 90 percent of time on mobile devices is spent in non-browser apps.

Jason Juma-Ross, Head of Tech, Entertainment and Comms at Facebook, said that “80 to 85 per cent of the total time that’s spent on mobile is spent in apps. Ten years ago, there was diffusion of attention across hundreds of thousands of different websites. Today there’s a lot of concentration of attention, certainly in mobile, within a much more limited number of apps.”

Douglas Nicol, partner of On Message, said that “In the longer term, we may well see consolidation of apps.  Overtime, I don’t believe you will have apps in the way we have them today. You will have them for transient use when you are going on a trip, but I think your day-to-day functional stuff, that’s much more likely to be integrated into a single natural interface which would be a couple of apps. It becomes part of one stream of conversation with your friends and brands and is much more convenient rather than jumping between apps.”

Why Snapchat Can Thank Women for Its Stunning Success

fortune.com

Social media companies, take note.

“The world’s gone social. And women are more social than men.” When Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg first said these words in 2010, Snapchat was just a kernel of an idea of a messaging app floating around the Stanford University campus. Fast forward to 2016: Snapchat is now Snap, Inc. and is gearing up for an initial public offering that would value the company at as much as $25 billion.

With a user base that’s only half of Twitter’s, the valuation must be based on “phenomenal growth,” says Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. And while much of the narrative surrounding the app has centered around the youthful insouciance of its Millennial users, there’s a more important distinction that’s not getting as much attention: Most of those buzz-generating early adopters were women.

For more on Snapchat, watch this Fortune video:

While the app’s 150 million-strong user base is more or less evenly split today, in 2013, it was 70% female, CEO Evan Spiegel said at the time. The picture looks similar if you look at other major social networks (except for LinkedIn), according to marketing research firm eMarketer.

Women are typically the first to join; men follow suit. Consider also Nielsen’s findings that women spend more time on social media than men do, as well as more time (and money) on mobile. In the app economy, where users mean revenue, it becomes clear that anyone trying to grow their company from a school project to an IPO in five years’ time needs to pay attention to Sandberg’s words. For tech’s biggest firms, courting women has never been more important.

Internet giants turning one-stop platforms to beat app economy

thehindubusinessline.com

One-stop shop For service providers, being listed on Google or Facebook could lead to more business

Internet giants Facebook and Google are moving beyond their existing offerings and platforms to venture into aggregating online services. Instead of using multiple applications for various needs, Facebook and Google are looking to layer these services to a single platform.

From ordering food, to hailing a cab and booking car-cleaning services, you won’t have to download a bunch of applications. Soon, you will be able to do all of this on Facebook or Google.

To start with, Google has launched a facility to book Ola and Uber cabs on its Map and via its search page. Other services are probably on the anvil.

Facebook, on the other hand, has partnered with a number of online players in the US to offer a one-stop shop for services. It’s only a matter of time before Facebook starts rolling this out in other countries, too, including India.

Staying relevant

According to analysts, the move is an attempt by the internet giants to stay relevant at a time when online usage is shifting to niche applications.

“Consumers now search for food, hotels and movie tickets in specific applications instead of on Google. By being an aggregator of services, Google is trying to evolve with the changing times,” said an analyst tracking the sector.

Jayanth Kolla, founder of IT and digital research firm Convergence Catalyst, said: “They want users to make its mobile browser more engaging so that people use at least one of their properties at a given time.”

For the service providers, being listed on Google or Facebook could lead to more business. According to an industry report, about 65 per cent of app downloads or installs are a result of internet search.

Sanchit Gogia, founder of research firm Greyhound Group, said the aggregator model will work in a market like India, where a large number of users can’t download multiple applications due to poor data coverage and/or lack of smartphone penetration.

Abinash Tripathy, founder of CRM (Customer Relationship Management)-software start-up Helpshift, said these initiatives by Google are “reactive strategies as they fear that the app economy will kill the web franchise one day; hence, they are trying to make people stay in the browser through all means.”

How To Leverage The Power Of Mobile App Marketing

inc42.com

There are all kinds of apps in the app store. Startups are coming up with apps compatible with smart devices across all major platforms to reach a larger audience and their quest for traction and user engagement is evidently visible.

Businesses are aggressively marketing their mobile apps to increase user engagement.

Web marketing is the mother of the new-age mobile marketing. It channelises strategies towards marketing to the audience on smart devices. Mobile marketing turns out to be effective when marketers advance from a conventional approach and act on the mobile moment of a user.

To cash on the mobile moment of a user, one must know the exact position of the user with respect of his product lifecycle journey. The latest technology that helps act on the mobile moment of a user is mobile marketing automation. Mobile marketing automation uses software to execute, manage and automate mobile marketing tasks and processes.

There are four stages that a user undergoes though a product life cycle:

• Installing App
• Finding/ Viewing Product
• Add to Cart/ Wish list / Share
• Product Purchased

Marketing efforts can be targeted according to the user’s position in the product life cycle:

• Advertising app to drive downloads.
• Push notification about relevant or searched products.
• Notifications about availability of products or services searched.
• Discounts/ freebies / offers available on products in cart/wish list.

Cohort Analysis

Knowing which phase a user is in his product life cycle is instrumental is targeting relevant and result-oriented marketing efforts to enhance user engagement. Data driven analytics will help target marketing efforts where they are needed the most.

Authentic analytical data helps track behavioural trends of a group of users within a given period of time is known as ‘Cohorts’. Cohort analysis is a subset of behavioural analytics that derives relevant data from any given e-commerce platform, application or online game. It sorts users and divides them into relevant groups to aid analysis.

These related groups, or cohorts, have one or more common characteristics or experiences within a given time-span. Cohort analysis helps direct marketing efforts towards a relevant segment of users.

Different cohorts study user behaviour, similarity, and difference in activity of users. It is a functional method to compare users by time and way they were acquired or lost.

For example, if a notification is sent to a group of 100 users, marketers can sort and identify users who purchase that product on Day1, Day2 and Day3 and similarly those users who view the product and add it to cart or wish list, and those who do not view the product at all.

With the help of these cohorts, relevant marketing efforts can be channelised towards these specific groups i.e. sending discount codes, freebies or offering loyalty points to those who have added the product to cart of wish list to lure them into purchasing the product.

How Cohort Analysis Helps

Cohort analysis enables apps with information about the users that view/buy products and those customers that leave or uninstall the app. Intelligent insights backed by cohorts can help address such problems, giving your business an edge over competitors, more downloads, better engagement and sales.

Funnel-Based Marketing

Reliable data can be secured to target marketing using funnels too. Funnels are built with a conversion action (an end result) in focus and a series of actions leading to the conversion action over a period of time.

A funnel depicts the purchase journey of a user from beginning to the end.

For e.g. Step 1 – Installing an app. Step 2 – Navigating between different sections of the app. Step 3 – Looking for a product. Step 4 – Adding product to cart or wish list. Step 5 – Buying.

Funnels are a reliable tool to analyse trends but they can miss out on fine variations that indicate drop-offs or time bound trends. Most marketers prefer studying funnels as collective data comparing them by standard properties like platforms, gender and city to spot trends that they can otherwise overlook.

With the help of funnels marketers can engage in email campaigns or push-notifications that are relevant to a larger group like marketing an event in a particular city or a beauty product to the female users.

In Conclusion

Marketing a new mobile app efficiently, driving downloads, and user engagement is a challenging task for most marketers, startups and developers.

Effective marketing backed by data-driven metrics can be instrumental in the growth and success of an app leading to better sales and ROI.