Top Tips on How Influencers Can Fuel Mobile User Acquisition

According to International Business Times, there are approximately 1,000 new apps added to the Apple Store every day. This ever-growing competition in the mobile app space increases the importance of having an effective mobile user acquisition strategy: a marketing strategy specifically designed to generate app installs and new users.

An effective mobile user acquisition strategy enables app developers to grow their customer loyalty and sustain a continuous flow of new users. Incorporating influencers you’re your mobile growth strategy is a proven way to attract high-value users and increase app installs with a reasonable ROI. However, as the influencer marketing industry continues to grow (to an estimated $15 billion by 2022), it also continues to change. For brands to leverage the power of influencers, they need to adapt to the changes and learn how to find influencers who best suit their strategy.

The influence of social media influencers in the digital-first world

In the post-COVID-19 world, social media has a greater role in our lives than ever before. Since the outbreak of COVID, statistics have shown an increase in the overall use of social media platforms and a 61% increase in engagement rates, proving social media to be an effective and resilient marketing channel for brands.

Social media influencer marketing has long been used by businesses as a method of building brand awareness and consumer trust, with likes, comments and shares seen as key metrics in analyzing campaign success. As professional content creators with established and niche audiences, influencers can help to humanize brands and generate real conversation and buzz about products.

Studies have shown that in uncertain times like these, social media users are turning to influencers as sources of news, advice and reassurance. The growing trust being placed in influencers suggests people are building stronger connections with them. For brands choosing to use influencers as part of their marketing strategy, this is good news.

Why should mobile app developers practice influencer marketing?

Mobile app developers can greatly benefit from influencer collaborations. Influencer marketing can help mobile app companies achieve a long list of brand goals, including improved brand awareness of the target audience via product demonstrations and explainers, increased sales and improved SEO and ASO from backlinks.

Through implementing influencer marketing, brands can become better acquainted with their target audience. When a brand partners with a popular influencer, the brand’s team has direct access to the language of their target customer. These insights are invaluable to product managers who can incorporate learnings into the development of their mobile app.

One of the greatest arguments as to why influencer marketing is a smart move for mobile apps is its ability to increase direct sales. Whether it be within a sponsored Instagram post (via the link in the bio) or a YouTube video description, influencers can place a link to an app they’re promoting.

Effective influencers promote behavioral change. In fact, statistics show 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations. Influencers that have the ability to evoke emotion and influence audience behaviors showcase expert knowledge and have established themselves as a trusted source of information; these are the influencers your brand wants to work with.

Mobile app influencer marketing best practices

Leading mobile developers are successfully integrating influencer campaigns into their marketing strategies.

Hopper

Hopper, the #1 most installed travel booking app in the US, heavily relies on influencer collaborations to drive their user acquisition. According to Simon Lejeune, Head of User Acquisition at Hopper, the brand recruited influencers to create Instagram stories with swipe-up link placement to drive direct app installs. Simon points out that influencer content also brought a visible uplift in the app’s organic growth. Hopper’s approach to maximizing the campaign outcomes lied in diversifying the portfolio of influencers the brand worked with.

Visa Checkout

Visa Checkout (Visa’s online payment product) partnered with Taco Bell to drive app downloads and recruited YouTube influencer BigDawsTV to promote their campaign. The social media prankster worked with Visa to create an authentic content series that would appeal to his audience, while also achieving brand goals. The result: a 20% increase in app downloads in just four days.

Mobile games

Influencer marketing has proved to be an effective marketing channel for mobile game publishers. According to Yanzi Geng, a mobile game growth strategist, “Influencer marketing can be an effective way of gaining players or retention rate improvement at all stages from a new game launch to years after, when its operation still runs. You can leverage influencers for community events, esports, and as a part of the integrated marketing plan during holiday festivals.”

In a bid to access the US market, Chinese mobile game studio Lilith Games introduced its RPG card game AFK Arena via the help of YouTube influencers. Lilith Games saw its campaign achieve an overall reach of 18 million—and AFK Arena outrun Fortnite on App Store rankings.

How can app developers work with influencers?

How a mobile app chooses to use influencers to reinforce its user acquisition strategy depends on its brand objectives and target audience. The ever-evolving nature of social media means that mobile apps need to continually analyze the results of their influencer collaborations and continue to look for emerging influencer marketing trends.

Boost engagement

Influencers can offer their followers or subscribers personalized discount codes for buying mobile app subscriptions or for in-app purchases. Whether used as a way to promote an app launch, new product or new features, a discount code is a great way for brands to build their relationships with users and track them. A contest or giveaway can generate similar product buzz.

Showcase the product

If you’re launching your app and looking to grow brand awareness, honest reviews from influencers can help. Most influencers operate in a specific niche and spend years developing organic relationships with their followers who come to trust them. By establishing your app as one that’s been trialed by known influencers with engaged audiences, more people are likely to invest in it.

Influencer content repurposing

Another way to increase the efficiency of an influencer campaign is to reinforce a brand’s mobile user acquisition strategy by leveraging user-generated content (UGC). Marketers can repurpose the content created by influencers via paid media channels. For example, influencer content can be promoted as a Facebook ad after an influencer transmits the content usage rights to the brand. In fact, millennials believe that information received through UGC is 50% more trustworthy than from other media sources like TV, newspapers and magazines).

Takeaway

The last 12 months have fueled global social media use and engagement and seen many influencers adapt their content offering in a bid to remain relevant to the changing sentiments of their audience. For brands willing to invest time in understanding the evolving role of the social media influencer in 2021, influencer marketing will prove an effective mobile user acquisition strategy.