With more than 1.5 million apps in the App Store, getting your app discovered has never been more difficult, it's always important to stay on the lookout for new opportunities to grow your app.
Having a diverse mix of user acquisition channels is one big step to ensuring this incremental growth and fight the competitive landscape. But sometimes adding channels is difficult to access or very expensive, so if you've decided to add a new user acquisition channel to your mix, it's important to do it correctly and economically.
There are many options available today and your goals should help you determine what is the best strategy for your product. In this post, we are going to talk about a few points to consider before integrating a new acquisition channel.
Target
When evaluating new user acquisition channels, it’s important to remember that every app is unique. Each app will have its unique target audience (i.e., the ideal person who would download, use, and recommend your app).
Determining whether a targeted audience is reachable through the new channel you are testing, it will help you decide whether it’s worth moving forward with it or not.
Make sure to also take the time to evaluate new channel results, then you can raise your investment, adapt your message, or simply stop the test if things are not going as expected.
Scale
When considering a new acquisition channel, consider whether the channel has global reach and in which countries it’s strongest.
You can determine this by reading case studies, talking to contacts, or even asking questions during the sales pitch. At the end of the day, evaluating a new user acquisition channel is about identifying a smart, effective way to spend your advertising budget.
Regardless of the channel you choose, you should always take into consideration the strength of the channel in other countries and adjust your marketing mix accordingly.
Cost of Commitment
Before you begin your search for a user acquisition channel, it's important to know what you're looking for and what to watch out for. At least, you should have a specific goal set in mind for this new channel in your business.
Once you have your goals set, it's time to evaluate the many available channels so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating each option: Is there a setup fee? Does the channel require a large upfront commitment? What kind of management fees will you owe?
How much money do you need to invest in this new channel before seeing results?
Managed or Self-Serve
The first thing you need to do is decide whether you want a self-serve or managed service. A self-serve channel means you have full control and transparency of your data, while a managed channel means you get personalized recommendations for optimization.
You should also be aware of how much time and resources you’ll have to put into optimizing your new UA channel. If the channel is self-serve - meaning it’s entirely your responsibility to optimize the channel and analyze data - you can then determine whether the channel is worth your time commitment based on the above criteria (users, cost, reach, etc.)
Many social and search channels are self-serve, while ad networks most of the time are managed.
Check the creatives needed
Each UA channel will have guidelines for the types of creative material you need and what you’ll be responsible for providing - such as design specifications and technical requirements for different ad units and placements. Many channels rely heavily on creatives while others, like on-device platforms and search solutions, don’t need visual ads.
In the end, no channel is perfect, and each one has its own merits.
Regardless of which UA channel you choose, you just need to be able to prioritize what works for your app, every app is different, but the goal should be always to find a good and reliable acquisition channel that can become your growth partner.
The key isn't to try every platform; it's to focus your efforts on the ones that seem like they'll provide the best results.
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