On 25 November, the Application Developers Alliance hosted their first App Strategy Workshop in Tel Aviv. With around 100 app developers and entrepreneurs present in the room, here are the key takeaways from the event.
Panel One: How to Rock Your App Promotion
Speaking on the topic of How to Rock Your App Promotion were Matan Talmi – Co-Founder and CEO, Drippler, Nadav Avidan – Head of Communications and PR, eToro, AC Ingersoll – Marketing Manager, Branch Metrics and Mick Weinstein – VP Marketing, BillGuard. Ayelet Noff, Founder of Blonde 2.0 moderated the panel.
Using Influencers
Nadav Avidan, a PR guru from eToro, quickly shared the first promotional tip “Make sure if an influencer mentions your app, it is already in the app stores ready to download.” AC Ingersoll added that it is not just enough to be endorsed, it is also important to choose the right and relevant influencer and platform for your users. She gave an example with fitness apps that often use Instagram influencers.
You have one launch to make a good impression
Nadav Avidan highlighted the importance of beta testing and encouraged startups to gather as much feedback as possible from industry friends and family in order to ensure the quality before the official launch. He also added that a lot of startups mistake the launch of a new product with the release in the different app stores. “Think about Temple Run – it came out first for iOS and one year later it was released for Android. By then everybody knew about it, so it was not new, just not everyone could play it.” He added that startups have to make sure to adapt their strategy, when they promote for the different stores.
Engaging more users
Focusing on ratings and aiming for an overall score of 4.5 to 5 can improve virality and it can help users to discover your app on the stores, according to Matan Talmi from Drippler. But the best way to engage users is a friend’s referral. That’s why it’s important to make the content easily shareable on the app itself.
How to get featured
Getting featured in the stores requires building a personal relationship with the relevant managers in the app stores. Mick Weinstein from BillGuard said that this is especially important with Apple. “You don’t know who decides in the Apple store, but if you get an introduction to an App store manager, that can only help. Google is more developer friendly – you can meet them, even with an early version of your app. They will help you.”
Go crazy with promotion
Attracting the right user base from the start is extremely important. So go crazy with your app promotion. AC Ingersoll gave an example with a dating app called Wyldfire. “As you may know, dating apps are nothing without girls. So Wyldfire kicked off their growth by launching in sorority houses, where they made a competition for the most epic pool party.” That proved to be so successful, that Wyldfire enlarged the campaign. So thinking outside of the box pays off.
Presentation: DeepLinking Like a Pro – A Marketers Guide to Continuous Customer Experience
Next up was Daniel Kahtan, Director of Sales & Business Development at AppsFlyer, who spoke about the advantages of deeplinking. After highlighting the existing problems caused by ‘dumb links’, leading to a dis-jointed User Experience, Daniel introduced Smart or Deep Links AKA Mobiles Connective Tissue. Despite the obvious benefits, he shared that only 28% of the top 200 apps currently have deeplinking set up. He went on to talk about Deeplinking 2.0: the Mobile Personalization Enabler, which “targets all user bases with one smart link that can determine the device and ensure the right customer journey.”
Panel Two: What Is Your User Worth?
The second panel is ready to go on stage
Speaking on this topic included: Alona Polak – Business Development, Casual Games, Playtech, Ran Avrahamy – Head of Marketing, AppsFlyer, Guy Hollender – CEO and Co-Founder TROPHiT and Nimrod Elias– Co-Founder, TapReason. Moderating the panel was Itamar Benedy, GM Israel, VP Strategy and Apps of Glispa.
The apps that stay
Ran Avrahamy from AppsFlyer started by asking the audience how many apps are in the stores? Then he quoted some shocking statistics, “There are close to 3 million apps in the 2 main stores. Only around 42 apps are installed on average per device.” The ratio is staggering, so what does it take to be part of this exclusive club of apps that stay installed? Nimrod Elias, TapReason confirmed the old truth that there is nothing like a first impression. He said, “Users tend to share your app between the 1st & 5th session. This is your chance to make a good impression.”
It’s all about data
“Hunch is a great thing, if you have experience. If you are a new starter, stick with your data.” said Alona Polak from Playtech. Ran Avrahamy added that performance marketing is a key to success “The shift from CPI to CPA is astonishing. You have to know your data.” Another way to reengage your users is to treat your app as a store. According to Guy Hollender, TROPHiT, “Once your app’s Virtual Items can be used as marketable units, you can deliver value through your ad campaigns.”
Fireside chat: Startup Insights – From Dragonplay to Scientific Games
Ofir Leitner – Founder of MobileMonday Tel Aviv, sat down with Rami Segal – GM Israel for Scientific Games, to discuss his journey from Dragonplay to Scientific Games. Rami shared that after a number of mergers and acquisitions, the social casino market is now split between the big players. All companies spend millions of dollars in user acquisition budgets. “iPhone users are the most expensive: CPI can reach 10 dollars, but they also spend more.” He added that growing organically in the app casino business is really hard. But if the game can offer a really good experience and users can easily share it with their friends then that can accelerate the organic growth.
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Find pictures from the event on our App Alliance Facebook
