With the 2016 holiday season around the corner, the prime time of app marketing is already in motion. To help marketers best prepare for the Q4 rush, we’ve created a data study titled App Marketing Best Practices for the 2016 Holiday Season, which analyzes data from Q4 2015 to inform smart decision making for both shopping and gaming apps in Q4 2016.
So what can app marketers of shopping apps do to make the most of the holiday season? Plenty, starting with reading this list:
- Lead-up to end of November peak is a critical time for UA. High install activity in October and November pays off come Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Cyber Monday. This is the time to run UA campaigns to make the most of the peak period.
- Christmas is not the peak of app shopping. Delivery considerations, holiday preparations and mainly a shopping-packed weekend at the end of November mean most consumers – other than last minute shoppers – are much less likely to shop during the lead up to Christmas.
- More lead time → more data → better engagement. Preparation for the end of November peak period is of the utmost importance. The more lead time you have to properly onboard new app users the more you can potentially know about them. This can help you be much more effective in your engagement efforts when they matter most.
- Push engagement across channels during peak period. The peak in purchases at the end of November means that you need to be aggressive across your engagement channels, whether via paid retargeting, push messaging and / or email. Consumers will be more open to such aggressive outreach during a shopping rush.
- Constantly monitor ROI when it matters most. With the cost of UA and retargeting likely to mirror high demand during peak periods, it is important to remember that high cost is not a concern if the return is higher, especially with returns that are far more immediate. Monitor media cost constantly throughout the peak weekend and measure the return to ensure you are as effective as possible.
- Android and iOS are very different animals so plan accordingly. Non-organic Android installs peak on Cyber Monday and the heightened activity period extends beyond that to the following week. For iOS, however, the peak occurs on Black Friday and is limited to 2 weeks.
- Diversify media sources to maximize return. The more media placement options you have, the more room exists for ongoing, data-driven optimization so you pay the lowest possible cost and gain the highest possible return. By maximizing your reach to a larger user base, you also maximize the chances of addressing new, relevant users, which can help in keeping your conversion rates up (make sure your media partners can offer sharp targeting otherwise your conversation rate will suffer).
- Take advantage of the new phone install rush on iOS. Start the new year with a volume of new users who installed apps on their new iPhones.
- On iOS, organic installs trail non-organic installs. App marketers on iOS can benefit from strong organic install numbers in Q4 even as they reduce their ad spend. While organic and non-organic installs on Android develop mostly in parallel, a higher initial investment on iOS can potentially pay off later in the quarter.
To get the complete picture, including purchase, install and conversion rate data for the shopping and gaming verticals across iOS and Android, download the full report.
