App user engagement is a hot topic at the moment and very rightly so! According to statistics, proactive consumer engagement can lift a 30-day retention rate from 20% to 67% – an increase of more than three times the industry average! It’s clear why keeping your users active is crucial in securing sustainable growth for your mobile app.
It’s easier said than done, we get it, but there are some clever tactics and actions you can take to increase user engagement and shield your app from a horrifyingly high uninstall rate.
Curious to know what they are?
During the last Q&A #AskAppFollow session hosted by our friends at AppFollow, our very own CEO and co-founder Mick Rigby answered your questions and shared his expert advice on how to boost in-app engagement and retain more users.
Many thanks to everyone who submitted their questions and tuned in to follow the session live on Twitter. Don’t worry if you missed it. Here’s a recap of what we covered during the session with some useful tips and tricks that you can apply to your app engagement strategy today.
Let’s dive in!
Q1: What are the critical metrics for user engagement for mobile apps?
Typically, every business should track Daily Active Users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU). These are your core hygiene metrics. However, every business is different and may have other fundamental metrics that are essential to achieving app success or meeting business and investors’ objectives. Only you will know or can determine what these are, so focus on what success means for your business first.
Then, define your ‘North Star’ metric, which is the core measurement leading to the app’s long-term success, and review all the insight and data you need to be able to reach that goal. This way you’ll be able to ensure your app grows sustainably. So, on a very basic level, your ‘North Star’ metric could be anything, including; average session length, the number of video views in a session, completion of registration forms, Weekly Active Users (WAU), and so on.
Just be aware that your key metrics should not be a download – this is a false flag metric as the critical value is a user.
Q2: How can you retain mobile app users during seasonal holidays?
I’d always say that if you are on holiday, you should put your phone away and enjoy your break!
However, there are a few ways you can approach the holiday season without coming across as too intrusive. It’s important to understand that the person in a work suit is a different user in their swimming shorts and has different priorities. So, if you can, adapt your messaging for seasonality and location. It’ll have far more resonance and relevance to your users and help you build a stronger relationship with them.
And if ever in doubt, put yourself in the users’ shoes (or flip-flops)!
Q3: Do reviews matter for retention?
You bet the hell they do! Every app should want users that have made an informed decision to download it, as they are the ones that become true advocates of your app. Good reviews elicit desire, and desire encourages commitment. Committed users are retained users, and retained users bring value to your product and growth efforts.
Q4: What can you do to drive app usage?
You’ve got many levers here, but the two main ones are product desire/usability and marketing/growth strategy. If your app does what it says it does and is engaging, practical, enjoyable, and easy to use, you should be proud of yourself because you created a strong product desire.
It means that your users will want to spend more time interacting with the app’s content and features.
Marketing levers, on the other hand, include:
- In-app messaging, push notifications, email, and other communication channels to nudge your users towards desired actions
- Gamification to engage and encourage them to keep using the app
- Progressive onboarding to educate and provide direction on how to use the app
- Rewards such as opening up additional functionality if usage targets have been achieved
Increase app user engagement
App engagement focuses on creating and cultivating a valuable relationship with your users. Whether you’re scaling or launching your app, boosting app engagement should be a priority as it’s the main force driving user loyalty and lifetime value (LTV). If you’re struggling with app engagement, don’t know where to start, or simply have a question on increasing engagement for your mobile app, book a free app growth consultation with one of our experts.
With over 15 years of industry experience, our Growth Team will happily share their tips and tricks on how you can boost your engagement metrics and sustainably grow your app. No strings attached!
