It’s no secret that social communities are at the heart of some of the most successful internet businesses in history. In April 2012, just 18 months after its initial launch on the App Store, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in stock and cash.It was an acquisition that generated a huge amount of conversation amongst tech communities, with many developers and entrepreneurs struggling to understand how a young company with $0 in revenue could justify such an enormous valuation.Instagram was just the start. In subsequent years, Facebook has gone on to acquire WhatsApp for $19 billion, and Snapchat has grown to a valuation of between $10 billion and $20 billion (depending on which article you read!).What is most admirable is the confidence which these business owners have in their communities. For example, prior to its acquisition by Facebook, it had been reported that Whatsapp rejected a bid of $10 billion from Google, whilst Snapchat rejected an acquisition offer from Facebook worth $3 billion.It’s clear that the valuation of these companies is not determined by their revenue. What’s far more important is the scale and engagement levels of the user base with in the product itself. Facebook understand this better than anybody else, and this is proven by the fact that Instagram is now probably worth 10 times what they bought it for.However, you don’t need to build the next Snapchat in order to generate significant value from a social community. Of course, everybody dreams of creating a billion dollar viral network, but I don’t think enough developers realise the value that a community could add to their existing product(s).
The IAC-developed Tinder app set the world of online dating on fire – resulting in an astonishing 50 million matches in 2014. Almost overnight, Tinder became one of the most engaging apps in the market – with the average user logging in 11 times and spending up to 90 minutes in the app each day. For a little bit of perspective, two of the app categories leading the way in engagement and retention – weather and news – see only 5% of Tinder’s weekly opens.App publishers everywhere had a lot to learn from Tinder’s success, but now it seems like there may be a few other lessons to be learned.
It’s never been easier to build and launch a mobile application, but it’s never been harder to make that application a success. With well over 1 million applications in both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, discoverability has become a major challenge for developers. Ultimately, you now have to work harder than ever to make a living in the mobile ecosystem.
Sure, there are many challenges associated with app discoverability, and these are openly discussed across blogs, forums and events around the world. However, one issue which I don’t believe gets enough attention is how developers can manage the rapidly evolving expectations of consumers.
In this blog post, I am going to look at what users currently expect from mobile applications, the impact of pricing models on user reviews, and how developers can better manage their user feedback.
It’s a common misconception that publishing your app on the app store will give you all the visibility you need to drive downloads and virality. Although you can do a lot with app store optimization (ASO) – from selecting great keywords, to producing app screenshots and previews that grab user attention – your user acquisition strategy should also incorporate paid and viral tactics.We’re familiar with how paid acquisition works, but viral success on the other hand is a bit more elusive, mainly because there is no “one size fits all” formula. While some tactics for “going viral” may work for one app and not another, there are certain steps everyone can take to include virality into their acquisition strategy.
Competitive analysis is vital to any business – from “mom and pop” corner stores to mega conglomerates. The act of benchmarking and gathering data about competitors can help you adjust to the changes in your surroundings, position yourself to bank in on opportunities and prepare for eventual market threats. The app ecosystem is no different, and being a growing market it is particularly important to keep a close eye on competitors.
What exactly can you learn from conducting a thorough competitive analysis? Let’s go through a few topics that are key to your app success and see what type of insights you can gather.
Since the apparition of mobile applications, two app stores clearly shape the mobile app ecosystem. Of course, other stores are trying to grab a small bite of this delicious and promising market. However, the giant Apple iOS App Store and its sparring partner, the Google Play Store, are already far ahead and will certainly remain the leaders in the coming years.
Today, we count over 1.4 million apps in both of these two stores. And it won’t stop there. The number of apps will continue to grow, as the public demand will keep on increasing. Needless to point out that being an app developer is quite challenging facing the fierce competition. Getting an app found on the store is extremely tricky, especially if there is only a small budget behind it.
So what can be done to get more downloads? The answer is: a lot of things. From app advertising to social media promotion through public relations, app marketing includes multiple effective ways that can all be combined together into a powerful marketing mix.
Regardless of experience, we all make mistakes. When it comes to marketing your application, mistakes often lead to over expenditure and disappointing results. In this post we have identified the 9 biggest mistakes that developers often make when promoting their applications, and have put together some actionable takeaways on how you can avoid them.
There’s no denying the importance of app ratings and reviews – they are the social proof that determines your app’s success. Visitors to the app stores flock to highly rated apps and read reviews to see if an app is worth downloading.
But what is the real effect of ratings and review? Are they only there to affect the downloader’s decision? In fact, ratings and reviews are taken highly into consideration when a new user is browsing the stores for that new helpful app or addictive game. However, app ratings and reviews also affect your ASO and search rankings.