Content Marketing for Apps

Did you know that roughly 1 in 2 apps are deleted within 30 days of installing? And of this number, around 45% are deleted within the first 24 hours.*

This behaviour is indicative of a couple of things:

1) People download apps “just to see”, which is great news for brands as there’s obviously not too much or a barrier in this respect.

2) People quickly decide whether an app is of use to them and will immediately disregard it if not. This is not so great news for brands as re-acquiring these users (say in the event of an app update) is far more difficult than gaining them in the first place.

Content Marketing is all about producing meaningful and measurable content that has business purpose and audience relevance. Traditional content marketing has typically focused on websites for obvious reasons but given the huge appetite for apps (and ease in which they are downloaded) how can content marketing help app-based businesses?

According to Google, “69% of app users prefer using apps over other channels like websites, physical stores, or email to engage brands” so creating a meaningful and memorable experience is key.^

Onboarding is everything 

Signup must be seamless and simple: Keep registration/sign up fields to a minimum. Car sales does this well by linking signup to the assets the user is already likely to have.

Benefits of the app must be clear: Don’t force your customer to search for options or figure out what to do. State straight away why you’re great and give clear options. CBA does this well by making all the apps key features very obvious and clear. There’s no confusion as to what to do next.

Get your user to use the app as soon as you can: Make it clear and easy. MindPal does this well with one very clear button that takes the user to the next step quickly.

Build Loyalty through content marketing in-app to drive engagement

Here’s where great content can play a role when weaved into your app.

1) Gamification content

Gamified content is content that has a game-like element to it. This could be as simple as creating challenges or checklists so that your audience is motivated to engage through the idea of seeing how they are progressing through. Gamified LMS (Learning Management Systems) are quite popular in the business world. LMS taps into the idea of competition by using elements like points, badges, and leaderboards.

2) Entertainment content 

Entertainment content focuses on showing how your business is attuned to what’s happening in the world. By being aware of what’s happening in entertainment, news, politics, media etc you can show that you are a business that has an ear to the ground and provide useful commentary on the things aligned to your brand and audience. So, start watching TikToks – knowing what’s trending comes in very useful. 

3) Augmented reality content 

A greater investment but a high-value offering to your audience is giving them the ability to engage with your product of brand in an augmented way. This means using computer-generated input that enhances the experience with the physical world through mobile, tablet, or smart glasses. A great option if you want yout audience to be able to trial your product in a virtual way.

According to Google research: “93% of APAC users who use a brand’s app frequently are likely to have a greater affinity for the brand as a whole and not just its app”^ so considering the experience as you would your web experience or in-store experience is vital.

Links to research:

* https://www.appsflyer.com/infograms/2019-app-uninstall-benchmarks/

^ https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/marketing-strategies/app-and-mobile/mobile-app-marketing-strategy-best-practices