Based on the statistical data from Statista in the first quarter of 2023, there were 27 billion app downloads from Google Play. However, the average retention rate stood at only 5.7% within the first 30 days.
This raises the question: How can an app stand out among thousands of others?
The answer lies in increasing app engagement. A strong engagement strategy not only helps you surpass competitors but also keeps users coming back. This is important for receiving positive reviews and ensuring a steady income for your business.
Let’s delve into the deployment strategy for mobile app interaction, where creativity and dedication provide an engaging experience for users. This approach aims to build a loyal community and deliver genuine value to your business.
Why Do We Need App Engagement?
Increasing app engagement is seen as a vital strategy in business and app development. This involves all the things users do when using an app, from looking at content to using different features. Normally, when users interact a lot with an app, they spend more time on it, see more things, and use more screens.
Boosting user interaction has significant benefits. When users are actively engaged, they tend to spend more time and money on products and services. This not only generates revenue for businesses but also helps in collecting important data and receiving feedback from users. Such information is valuable for product development and mobile marketing strategies.
Positive customer interactions have the power to boost a business’s reputation and generate word-of-mouth advertising. Studies indicate that 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations more than traditional advertising methods.
In various industries, it has been found that positive customer interaction is connected to higher revenue and market share. Statistics show that:
- Actively engaged customers in the retail banking industry achieve a significant increase of 37% in their annual revenue.
- Success in improving interaction on mobile applications leads to a 2.2x higher marketing effectiveness.
These statistics demonstrate how fostering positive user interaction directly correlates with financial success and increased market influence. It’s clear that when users have positive experiences, businesses see tangible benefits. This not only improves their bottom line but also enhances their standing within the market.
How do you Measure App Engagement?
The app’s level of interaction can be measured using different metrics. The metrics depend on the business goals and the type of application. For example, if you are developing an ecommerce app, you may measure the following criteria:
Retention:
- Definition: The business can measure the retention rate by tracking the number of users who return to make purchases after downloading the app.
- Example: If 100 users downloaded the app last month and 80 of them return to shop in the following month, the retention rate is 80%.
Sessions:
- Definition: An ecommerce app can measure the number of sessions per day or per week.
- Example: If there are 500 sessions per day, this could be considered a positive level of interaction, especially if this number increases over time.
Session Lengths:
- Definition: A longer session length can indicate positive interaction.
- Example: If the average session lasts 10 minutes, it may show that users frequently view and interact with various content on the app and add products to the shopping cart.
Daily Active Users (DAUs) / Monthly Active Users (MAUs):
- Definition: The business can measure the number of users interacting daily and monthly to determine the frequency of interaction.
Stickiness:
- Definition: The app’s stickiness is calculated by comparing the number of daily users to the number of monthly users, helping to assess the level of attachment and commitment of users.
Churn Rate:
- Definition: Measures the rate at which users terminate app usage.
- Example: If only 5% of users terminate usage in a month, the churn rate is low.
The mentioned metrics offer valuable insights into how users behave and interact with an ecommerce app. These insights help businesses assess the app’s success and make informed decisions to improve the user experience and achieve business goals.
12 App Engagement Strategies to Make Your Mobile App More Appealing
1. Design an effective user onboarding flow
If users, on their first download of the app, are unfamiliar with how to use it, they may lose patience trying to figure it out themselves. In such a situation, there is a likelihood that they will seek another app with a more intuitive onboarding process, reducing the complexity of use.
To simplify the user onboarding experience, you can implement the following:
Streamline Registration and Login:
- Allow users to create an account using their social media accounts to reduce the required information.
- Minimize the number of fields needed for account creation, optimizing the registration process.
Interactive Guidance and Onboarding Tours:
- Utilize prompts and step-by-step guidance to make the onboarding process lively and understandable.
- Run onboarding tours that interactively guide users, helping them quickly become familiar with the app’s key features.
2. Leverage Gamification to Boost Engagement
In a crowded market, app developers need to differentiate themselves and retain customers. Using gamification is a great way to achieve this. According to a report, there are currently 2.2 billion mobile gamers worldwide. Gamification offers various benefits, including:
- Awakening Curiosity: Gamification sparks the interest of users and motivates them to advance and unlock greater rewards.
- Promoting Competition: Leaderboards display the accomplishments of other users, motivating players to strive for greater achievements and compare their results with others.
- Gamification seeks to empower users, enabling them to have a sense of control by choosing which milestones they want to pursue.
A fitness app like “Strava” uses a reward system to motivate users. When users run, cycle, or walk, they receive achievements and badges. These rewards can be earned for reaching new distances, beating time goals, or participating in online challenges. By doing this, the app encourages users to maintain a healthy lifestyle and also creates a positive and supportive community.
3. Implementing Push Notifications
Push notifications are notifications that appear on a user’s phone. They use short, engaging, and creative messages to attract user interaction and engagement. Push notifications can be used to inform users about special offers and new services.
Recent data suggests that implementing push notifications effectively can boost user interaction by as much as 80%. Within the initial 30 days, approximately 65% of users come back to the app. Furthermore, it significantly improves user retention rates, increasing them from 3 to 10 times compared to not utilizing push notifications.
4. Integrate Social Media Platforms into Your App
The key to success is developing an app that allows users to effortlessly engage with social media. A strong app community is essential for retaining users. By seamlessly sharing their experiences and content on social networks, users contribute to the app’s success. It is crucial to integrate with social platforms, encourage user engagement, and facilitate easy sharing in order to achieve triumph with the app.
5. Implement App Stories
If you’re looking for a unique and innovative method to captivate users, App Stories might pleasantly astonish you. In an e-commerce app, App Stories can be employed to showcase user stories related to product usage or shopping experiences. For example, a customer can share their thoughts on unboxing a new product, create a video tutorial on product usage, or take advantage of exclusive app offers.
App Stories allows users to showcase their shares in an interactive way, using photos or videos. This creates an engaging experience for other users. Moreover, the app lets you include interactive buttons like “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” right in the story. This increases the likelihood of turning story viewers into shoppers.
6. Two-Way Communication
Two-Way Communication is the exchange of information between two parties: you and your users. It’s not just about sending messages from the sender to the receiver, but also involves receiving feedback from the receiver. In app engagement, Two-Way Communication creates a channel for two-way communication, allowing information to be transmitted and user feedback to be heard. This interactive mobile marketing strategy is important for enhancing interaction within mobile apps and building trust.
7. Loyalty Program
Creating a customer loyalty program is an effective method to encourage longer app usage. This program not only strengthens the bond with customers but also enhances their loyalty. By providing benefits, rewards, and exclusive experiences, we not only increase app engagement but also foster a greater commitment.
8. Encourage users to experiment with your features.
Users may not have the chance to discover all of the features in your app immediately. To ensure certain features catch their attention, consider describing them in the app store, giving an overview on welcome screens, and integrating them into the onboarding process.
In the app, you can use in-app messages to give users short and relevant tips, helping them understand and use different functions. These messages can encourage users to try out new features or take specific actions. This approach prevents the user interface from getting too crowded with instructional text. You can also use visual icons like tooltips to highlight important features without overloading the interface with too much information.
9. Mobile App Customer Support
We all know that excellent customer service brings satisfaction to customers. More than 80% of people who use a service will do so again if they’re happy with it. Provide an immediate and accessible help section in your mobile app. This will help you get more good reviews, raise the app’s rating, and turn users into loyal customers.
10. Leveraging User Reviews & Ratings To Boost App Engagement
Users’ feedback and reviews hold significant value as they provide us with insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your application. This understanding serves as the foundation for continuously enhancing and optimizing the user experience. To attract reviews and feedback, there are several effective ways:
- Positive Reminders: Use positive prompts within the application to encourage users to share their opinions and reviews.
- Create a Positive Experience: Build a positive app experience to stimulate interest and encourage users to talk about their experiences.
- Offers and Discounts: Facilitate review collection by providing incentives or discounts to users who share their opinions and feedback.
- Feedback Gateway: Establish a convenient feedback gateway within the application to make it easy for users to share their opinions, suggestions, and receive assistance when needed.
These methods not only assist in collecting reviews but also foster an environment conducive to creating a positive user community and increasing app engagement.
Conclusion
App engagement plays a crucial role in determining the success of any mobile application. From the positive interaction of users to the app’s ability to respond and deliver value, all directly impact the user experience. This poses a challenge for developers and businesses to build a positive and long-lasting environment for users.
Optimizing user experience, providing a smooth and responsive interaction platform, are vital factors to enhance user engagement. Additionally, defining the value the app brings and leveraging strategies to enhance interaction can help create a positive environment, stimulating user engagement and retention over time. With this information, Nexle hopes that you can succeed in your app engagement strategy.
If you need advice, please contact us!
Feel free to reach out to Nexle Corporation for expert guidance and solutions to your queries or requirements.
