Mick Rigby speaking here, I’m the CEO of Yodel Mobile! Bringing new users into your app is essential, but running paid campaigns does not automatically create sustainable growth. Reaching the right audience, tracking what happens after the install and continually improving campaign performance all play a part.
While this is common knowledge for most app growth specialists, navigating the acquisition labyrinth can come with many complexities that may be daunting, especially given the range of strategies, metrics and channels to consider.
With my years of hands-on experience, I’ve weathered the storms of the mobile app growth evolution over the last 17 years. Watch below as I share useful insights from my years of experience, condensed into 3 minutes.
Whether you’re new in the app marketing space or a seasoned app growth specialist, This guide walks through eight practical steps for building and improving a paid user acquisition strategy, from understanding your audience and setting up measurement to testing campaigns and optimising performance over time.
Step 1: Understand your target audience
Knowing and understanding your target audience can be the cornerstone of your success. For example, you could be unsure of whether to target your audience using either Snapchat or TikTok Ads or any other channel. Taking the time to research, know and understand your audience will give you a clearer understanding of which channels to use to reach your audience, and importantly, who your core audiences are for each channel.
When defining your target audience, consider your demographics. Think about their age, gender, location and income. It may seem old school but this approach still rings true. Also consider other influencing factors like your target audience’s interests, values and lifestyle. You can go one step further and use analytics tools like MixPanel to gather data on user behaviour, preferences and pain points.
If your app already has an audience, look at the users who activate, convert and stay. Where did they come from? Which message caught their attention? What did they do after installing the app? Comparing these users with those who leave early can help you identify the audiences, channels and messages most likely to bring in valuable users.
A data-driven approach will allow you to generate a more personalised experience for the users you are targeting, driving higher engagement rates. This is a sure way to supercharge your mobile app growth strategy.
Step 2: Set up your measurement correctly
In-app analytics complement the data provided by MMPs by offering deeper insights into user behaviour within your app. These analytics help you track key metrics such as user engagement, session length, retention rates, and in-app purchases. By analysing this data, you can identify trends, pinpoint areas for improvement, and optimise the user experience.
MMPs and in-app analytics provide an essential holistic view of your acquisition efforts and user behaviour. They enable you to:
- Make data-driven decisions,
- Refine your marketing strategies
- Maximize your return on investment (ROI)
Tracking the success of your user acquisition efforts is crucial and Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) like AppsFlyer or Adjust along with in-app analytics tools like Firebase are essential to this process.
MMPs are third-party platforms that provide comprehensive tracking solutions, designed for the app ecosystem, that allow you to measure the performance of your marketing campaigns across multiple channels and platforms.
In-app analytics is your key to in-app behaviour data. You should see how often and where they are dropping off, plus loads of other important data points.
It is important to remember that downloads are not users! There is no value in a download unless the user is engaged, using the app and ultimately providing value to you. This will then allow you to make data-driven decisions and optimise accordingly.
Step 3: Create messaging that speaks to your audience
Impactful messaging is vital. Spend time ideating on ways to create engaging messaging for your user.
The strategy that you apply to your messaging can be critical to your mobile user acquisition efforts. Your messaging should resonate with your target audience and clearly communicate the value proposition of your app. Start by understanding the pain points and desires of your users, using any analytics data that you have gathered so far. See if you can use the data to create messages that directly address any pain points your users may deal with.
A useful message should answer three questions:
- What does the user want to achieve or solve?
- How can the app help?
- Why should they choose it now?
For example, a language-learning app could promote itself with a broad message such as “Learn a new language.” But this does not say who the app is for or why they need it.
A more relevant message for busy professionals preparing for a trip might be:
Build the confidence to speak on your next trip with short lessons that fit into your day.
This connects the user’s goal with a clear benefit and removes a likely concern about not having enough time.
And think about the kinds of hooks you could add. Effective messaging should be:
- Concise
- Engaging
- Personalised
Whether through ad copy, social media posts, push notifications, or in-app prompts, your message should be consistent in tone and aligned with your brand’s voice. Highlight unique features, benefits, and any competitive advantages that set your app apart.
Step 4: Test your channels, creatives and ad formats
One crucial area of mobile app growth strategy is testing. By systematically testing your channels, messaging, creative and ad formats, you can gain invaluable insights into what works and what doesn’t; there is value in understanding both areas equally.
This approach will allow you to refine your strategy, ensuring that you are effectively reaching your target audience and engaging with them most compellingly. Ensure you observe the difference in your performance both on a weekly and then, every month.
Testing various channels helps to identify where potential app users are most active. Doing this while also experimenting with different messages and creatives allows us a more accurate view of the content that resonates best.
Additionally, testing ad formats helps us understand the most effective ways to deliver your content for mobile devices. Continually analysing and optimising your approach in this area will allow you to become more efficient mobile app growth strategy experts. This will maximise ROI and ultimately drive increased user acquisition rates for mobile apps.
Step 5: Keep up with changing channels and user behaviour
The digital landscape is constantly evolving, so it is crucial not to become complacent. Just because it worked last month, doesn’t mean it’ll work this month. For example, the App Store and Google’s search algorithm changes 500-600 times annually. Any mobile app growth strategy made today could be outdated two weeks later. Stay aware and stay vigilant; every week, there could be algorithm changes or rule changes to your preferred acquisition channel. These factors could impact your ad performance, user preferences and user behaviours.
Keep an eye on changes across your main acquisition channels, but do not react to every update immediately. Start by asking whether the change affects your audience, campaign delivery or ability to measure results. Then test its impact before making a larger shift in strategy or budget.
User behaviour can change just as quickly. People may respond to different messages, spend time on new platforms or expect a different experience after clicking an ad. Regularly reviewing audience insights, creative performance and channel results will help you spot these changes early and adjust your campaigns before performance begins to decline.
In this time your competitors could also be innovating in ways you’re not yet aware of. By maintaining agility and staying responsive, you can ensure your strategies remain effective and help you maintain your edge over your competitors.
Step 6: Use campaign data to guide your decisions
Always use your data to make an impact on your decision-making process. Ignoring your analytics will almost certainly cause you to fall behind. Your data provides you with insights on what’s working and what isn’t, highlighting trends and shifts in user behaviour.
Look beyond clicks and installs to understand what users do after they arrive. Do they complete onboarding, take an important first action, make a purchase or continue using the app?
This wider view can change how you judge campaign performance. One channel may generate cheaper installs but bring in users who leave almost immediately. Another may cost more at the point of acquisition but attract users who activate, convert and stay. Looking at post-install behaviour helps you understand which campaigns are creating real value.
Use these insights to make focused changes. You might shift budget towards a stronger audience, update a message that attracts the wrong users or improve the journey for people who install but fail to activate. Try to change one important element at a time, so you can understand what made the difference.
The goal is to create a regular cycle of learning and improvement. Review the data, identify the biggest opportunity, make a change and measure what happens next.
Step 7: Connect paid acquisition with organic growth
Paid media works best with organic discoverability and other awareness generators. For example, ASO will improve your conversions and PR and brand awareness will make your paid ads more compelling. Paid campaigns pose the benefit of offering quick and measurable outputs, but they can require ample investment, which in some cases can outweigh your returns.
A comprehensive mobile app growth strategy should include organic acquisition, such as App Store Optimisation. Monitor your ASO approach, potentially leverage social media platforms, e.g. LinkedIn, build a following and create an engaged community. Ensure the methods you use to generate users organically are cost-effective and sustainable. Combininf organic and paid mobile app growth strategy will ensure that your app growth is resilient, diversified and less susceptible to the volatility that can come with paid acquisition channels. Read more about the intersection of Paid UA and ASO from our blog.
Step 8: Keep optimising after launch
Just because you’ve launched your campaign doesn’t mean you’re done. You’re just getting started.
Constant optimisation is essential; the harder you work, the more successful your campaign efforts will be. Reiterating what we’ve mentioned earlier, the digital landscape is dynamic and ever-changing. User behaviours, market trends and platform algorithms are constantly evolving. The same techniques used for your mobile app growth strategy last month may not be so successful this month.
Regularly analysing the performance of your paid efforts and adjusting your strategies based on data-driven insights ensures that your efforts will remain effective and efficient. You may need to optimise ad creatives, refine your audience targeting, or even re-evaluate the channel mix you’re leveraging to target your users. Consistent optimisation is a key component of a solid mobile app growth strategy and the key to your success.
Build a paid user acquisition startegy that keeps improving
A successful paid user acquisition strategy is not simply about generating more installs. It is about reaching users who are likely to engage, convert and continue using the app.
Start with a clear understanding of your audience, put the right measurement in place and use post-install behaviour to judge campaign quality. Test your messaging, creative, channels and ad formats, then use what you learn to keep improving performance.
Paid campaigns should also work alongside ASO and organic discovery. When these activities support one another, you can improve conversion, reduce your reliance on any single channel and build a more sustainable approach to acquiring app users.
Not sure which part of your paid user acquisition strategy needs attention? Whether you want to improve targeting, strengthen creative performance or understand what users do after installing, our team can help you find the biggest opportunities.
Talk to Yodel Mobile team about your paid user acquisition goals.
