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If you’ve put in the effort to develop a mobile app to grow or start your business, the last thing you want is unengaged users. As with any business, two major parts to making it successful are bringing in new users and keeping them. Bringing in new customers deals with tactics like good marketing, brand partnerships, strong offers, and exposure with your target demographic. Keeping customers is a whole other set of practices that really boil down to how good your product is. You want your mobile app users to love your app, and build a sense of loyalty to it. Not only will this keep your app usage high, but word of mouth on the benefits of your app will likely bring in new users also. With so many apps on the market today, it can be hard to stand out in the crowd in a way that is both unique and beneficial to users, but with the right approach, you can build a highly interactive app. So, if you’ve launched your app or are in the process of development, here are the top tips to make your app more engaging.
Users are much more likely to download an app than they are to keep it. There are millions of available apps, and most people keep an average of 60-90 apps at one time on their phones. If you want to be one of them, it's crucial to hook your users within the first 3-7 days of onboarding. Your initial interaction with users is precisely like a first impression, and you really only get one chance. The best method for onboarding is to keep your information accessible, and simple, and display your value upfront! You don’t want to overwhelm users with too much information, but you want to give them enough that they will understand how they will be interacting, and what the real benefit is. First, you want to make sure it's easy to sign up. If your app from the start feels complicated, users are likely to just delete it. Following the signup step, ensure you highlight your value right away and remind users why they’re signing up in the first place. You should introduce your core features, implement a video demo if your app is complex, and use as little text as possible. These 4 foolproof steps will keep your users easily engaged from the start, and over time you can introduce other features within your app.
It's becoming less of a novelty and more of an expectation for apps to be personalized for their users. While it has its benefits for the users, it actually has just as much benefit for the success of your app. When you collect personal data that allows you to tailor the in-app experience to the unique characteristics of your client, you have better chances of offering them features or services that will keep them as long-term users. Whether you're targeting a product to a more specific demographic, or customizing a service to only offer what your users actually want, personalizing your app is key to retention and engagement. Users want to feel important and understood more than anything. If you can show them through your app that you understand their needs and their interest, you have a better chance of building a long-term relationship with them coming back to your app over and over.
Sending push notifications to your users is one of the number one ways to drive engagement. A push notification is an alert that is sent directly to your user's notification page of their phone. These usually include a short message, offer, or call to action regarding your app! You can use push notifications to target segmented users with relevant products, give updates on new services, or alert users of special deals! Push notifications create a sense of urgency and be a source of engagement during typically slower times. The frequency of your push schedule will really depend on the type of service your app is delivering. For some retail or calendar-based apps, you may provide more notifications as the service requires more use to be successful. For others, less frequent notifications may actually be more effective. Push notifications should be sent with a strategic purpose, and working with your audience mind will ensure you use them effectively.
Creating a seamless in-app experience is important to drive engagement in today's market. More often than not, an app can be linked to another app to create fewer steps for users in their journey to either use your services or purchase something. For example, if you are a retail app, allowing users to connect their banking app will drive more frequent purchases and an easier buying experience. Another key area to integrate with your app is social media. Users love to share their day-to-day lives, achievements, and favorite products with their followers. Allowing your users to share their experience, performance, or engagement on your app with their social media following will likely have them wanting to use it more. On the flip side, your app may get additional marketing from their shares! Integrating social media gives your users more reason to use your app, and also creates an overall better experience for them.
Another way to drive engagement is to have a loyalty program or a way in which users are rewarded for using the app more. A lot of retail apps will use reward points as an incentive for users to shop more on their platform. But, this opportunity can be implemented for many industries! Whether you offer discounts on services, special deals, or unlock special features with more usage, it can be a great way to get your audience to want to spend more time on your mobile app. It's human nature to want to work towards something, and apps have been taking advantage of this mindset to bring in repeat users and keep them hooked on their platform.
The majority of users will stop using an app if they don’t see value in it, feel confused about the services, or have questions that go unanswered. In-app messaging is the perfect solution for these common issues. Allowing your users to chat with a service team about whatever questions they may have will reduce the number of lost users due to preventable reasons. Messaging can be used for more than addressing problems as well. You can use in-app messaging to check in, promote deals, and point out new and advanced features on your platform. This way, all of your users will feel connected and educated on your platform.
While all of these suggestions can improve the engagement of your consumer base, the key to high engagement all comes down to the quality of your app. If your app is poorly developed, it's not likely going to retain a lot of users. Invemo LLC has expert knowledge in building high-quality apps with positive feedback from users and clients. If you want to build your dream app, Invemo LLC can provide you with the resources and expertise needed to do so. Regardless of what stage you are in, Invemo can help. Contact us for more information!
