App Campaigns: the right app at the right time?

The pandemic and app campaigns usage

Pandemic means even more time with the smartphone. Statistics show: A total of 82 percent of the people surveyed say that the smartphone helped them get through the crisis better. But what exactly do we deal with when we are on the smartphone?

On average, people spend more than 229 minutes of their day with apps. No wonder if there is a separate app for every area of ​​life – whether learning languages, listening to audio books or making doctor’s appointments. Communication apps such as WhatsApp were at the forefront with 80 minutes of usage time in March 2020. In the following months of the pandemic, the use of communication apps had priority over social media, video or entertainment apps – logically, as face-to-face meetings were suspended.

But nowadays, other areas of life are also preferred in apps – every or every fourth German has already downloaded a gaming, news, video conferencing or social media app.

Too much supply for demand?

We like to use apps a lot, and this effect was reinforced by the pandemic. Many companies and start-ups have recognized this, so the range of apps is growing steadily and rapidly – sometimes faster than demand. The number of apps in the Google Play Store was almost 3.5 million in the first quarter of 2021, and it was more than 2.2 million in the Apple App Store. An average of 25,000 additional apps are added every month.

It is unlikely that each of these apps will find enough users to recoup the creation costs, right? Nevertheless, apps have a lot of sales potential if they fit the target group and meet their needs: In 2018, apps in Germany generated sales of more than 1.5 billion euros. In comparison, the forecast for 2021 is 2.9 billion euros in sales from apps. The only challenge is to present the apps to the right users and to bind them to the app so that they use it constantly.

The fight for the target group

According to a 2020 study, two-thirds of respondents have either uninstalled or deleted an app in the past three months. Most often, apps are deleted because they are not being used. The limited storage space on the smartphone can also be decisive for app deinstallation. In this case, deleted does not necessarily mean forgotten and does not have to be final: More than half of those surveyed have reinstalled an app that has already been deleted in the past three months.

The main reason for this was that the app was needed again or that there was enough storage space on the smartphone again. So once a person has an app “on screen”, the likelihood is higher that it will be reinstalled and used regularly. Let’s assume, you have developed a unique app that perfectly meets the needs of the target group. How can the right people become aware of the app given the oversupply of apps?

The right app in the right place at the right time

There are many measures that can help make an app visible. App campaigns are probably the simplest and cheapest method of generating a high reach within the target group. App Campaigns are an advertising format from Google that is completely specialized in the marketing of apps. Because presenting the app to the right target groups is undoubtedly the decisive sales lever. With the investment of a narrow media budget, it is possible to significantly increase the visibility and awareness of your own app.

App campaigns enable us to use machine learning to present every app to those users who are most likely to be enthusiastic about it. With the help of algorithms, millions of signal combinations can be analyzed – including, for example, purchasing behavior and previous search interests of users. Depending on these signals, people are classified and advertisements are only shown for those who are most likely to be interested in the app.

Thanks to machine learning, the campaigns also become more efficient over the duration – because with each display and each click, they learn which users are most likely to click on the ad and install the app. Placement on Google Play, YouTube or in Google search, as well as on websites and apps that are part of the Google display network (e.g. wetter.de), makes many contacts with relevant users. If you click on the ad, interested parties will be forwarded directly to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and can download the app. With Google App Campaigns, both Android and iOS users can be reached.

Effective and surprisingly easy

Our experience from numerous campaigns for our customers shows: App campaigns are not only efficient to use, but also surprisingly easy to prepare and create. All that is needed to create the campaigns is a published app and a few snippets of text and graphics. Measuring the success of a campaign is also very straightforward: especially for campaigns for Android users, it only takes a few clicks to set up, since Android is part of Google’s operating system.

Another argument in favor of using the advertising format is the low entry budget: There is no lower limit, but we recommend starting with at least 100 euros a day. The costs per installation depend on the quality of the graphics and texts as well as the competition, but usually only amount to two to six euros. Additional costs do not have to be taken into account, because the use of Google Ads is completely free of charge. In this way, a disproportionately high sales uplift can be achieved with little time and budgetary investment.

App installs or app interactions? Both!

Your app is known to the relevant target group and enjoys numerous installations? Then your focus will probably be on creating greater loyalty among users and encouraging them to use the app regularly. This goal can also be achieved with App Campaigns. With an optimization for app interactions, only those users are addressed who have already installed their app.

The display draws attention to the added value of the app and encourages you to reopen the app and interact with it. The desired interaction can be a purchase, registration or another action – the ad directs users to the right place within their app. This way they are reminded of the app again.

Entry into app campaigns with Outreachway

You have put a lot of effort into developing a great app that perfectly meets the needs of your target group? Then the target group should also be able to try out their app. We are happy to support you with our experience in the first steps towards app campaigns and share best practices on setup, creatives and bid strategies. Talk to us!