There are several different types of user acquisition models that can be used to build your mobile app’s community and generate revenue. For best results, you need to find ways to get ahead in a competitive market with new acquisition channels and tools that help you scale. This article explores the different types of user acquisition models every marketer should know and how Avow can help you achieve your user acquisition goals.
What are some different types of user acquisition models?
A user acquisition model is any strategy that is designed to acquire users by generating installs. When learning about user acquisition it is important to learn the difference between paid media marketing and owned media marketing.
Paid media marketing is the use of paid media channels to connect with users through direct response ads. This includes ad formats such as banner ads and splash ads. With paid media marketing, users are served an impression at opportune moments during their user experience and have the option to click your creative and download your app from the app store.
Owned media marketing is the user of marketing assets that are available to you without payment to a publisher. For example, email marketing is an owned media marketing strategy because you build the mailing list yourself and can connect directly with your audience. Other examples include SMS marketing and push notifications to users who have your app installed.
For best results, it is important to develop a mixed strategy that utilizes paid media marketing and owned media marketing. You should also know about the different ways a user can be acquired. Here are five models you may want to consider when developing your user acquisition strategy.
- Paid ads: You can acquire users by displaying your ads with a publisher’s inventory. For example, you can display banner ads on a website or mobile app. Users can click on your ad and be sent directly to the app store.
- App Store Optimization (ASO): This practice is similar to SEO – when marketers make changes to their online content to achieve a higher ranking on search engines – but exclusively applies to your entry in the app store. You can make changes to your app store entry to engage users, reach your target audience and generate organic installs. For example, you can upload engaging screenshots and videos to show highlights of your app and make changes to your app description to help new users find you when browsing through the store.
- Email marketing: You can use email marketing to keep users updated with relative information about your mobile app (such as updates, new tools and seasonal sales) to drive engagement and prolong Lifetime Value (LTV). You can also use email marketing to build a mailing list prior to launch, enabling you to alert users when your app is available in their region. Mailing lists can be a powerful marketing asset because these users have opted-in to receive updates, showing an intent to develop a relationship with your brand.
- Reward programs: You can also prolong LTV and push towards your targets by acquiring and retaining users with loyalty programs and rewards. This can be used in conjunction with other types of user acquisition strategies.
An efficient rewards program should be mutually beneficial for you and your users. For example, offering discounted products may encourage a user to convert while loyalty programs will incentivize them to keep your app installed for longer. Offering users a reward for joining your mailing list is a smart way to show users you care while also acquiring another way to engage them further down the line.
- Influencer marketing: 17% of companies will devote more than half of their annual marketing budget to influencer marketing campaigns and 80% of consumers have purchased something via an influencer recommendation. The influence of social media personalities is a smart way to target users and build your brand awareness and reputation.
The way you choose to work with influencers will depend on your goals and your brand image. This can be anything from offering discount codes to their audience to paying an influencer to feature your brand an agreed number of posts on social media.
How Avow can help with different types of user acquisition models
Avow helps you acquire users through our partnerships with OEMs all over the world, covering 42% of the global Android market. Avow aggregates inventory across alternative app stores, granting you access to major global OEMs like Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo. We are experts in OEM mobile inventory and offer a consultative approach to acquiring users with alternative app stores. This extends through the entire campaign cycle to ensure you get optimal results.
How can marketers benefit from OEM marketing?
There are several ways you can leverage alternative app stores to acquire new users, expand your reach and unlock new revenue streams. These audiences can’t be reached via social, search or SDK networks. This presents opportunities for advertisers to explore on-device advertising and reach an untapped global audience. With this in mind, here are three ways we can help you achieve your acquisition goals.
- Expanding your reach with OEM partnerships: You can leverage alternative app stores to access untapped markets made up of over 1.5 billion DAUs. This helps you stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive market.
Avow Co-Founder Caio Balbino explains how marketers benefit by acquiring users through OEMs: “the unchallenged oligopoly of Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, also named GAFA, owns more than 70% of the US total digital marketing expenditure. This underlines the challenge mobile marketers face when pushing for greater visibility and achieving their user acquisition targets. Fortunately, there are alternatives to GAFA platforms mobile marketers can use to help achieve their company goals and increase ROAS.”
- Dynamic on-device targeting: The advanced targeting capabilities alternative app stores offer enables you to develop relationships with users through on-device advertising. With our partnerships, ads can be displayed by defining factors such as location, appographic, social demographics and keywords.
- Creative ad formats: Our partnerships also enable you to engage users with creative ad formats. We have several ad units that can be tailored to your target audience. This includes formats such as native ads, app search ads, splash ads, icon ads, banner ads and push ads.
Learn more with “A Complete Guide to Ad Formats for Alternative App Stores”
Summary
Learning about the different types of user acquisition models available to you enables you to stay ahead of the curve. There are two types of user acquisition strategies: paid media marketing and owned media marketing. Channels for acquiring new users include paid advertising, influencer marketing, ASO, email marketing and rewards programs. Avow can help you reach your user acquisition goals through its partnerships with OEMs all over the world – offering access to untappd markets and dynamic on-device targeting capabilities.
If you would like to know more about how Avow can help you achieve your acquisition goals, get in touch with our team.