User acquisition is vital to the process of building your business.
You need new users to install your app, create an eCommerce account, start a free trial of your SaaS product, or play their first game.
In essence, this type of customer acquisition refers to a process that becomes a key component to growing a business and acquiring new customers.
In this article, we will discuss user acquisition strategies that will help with growth and conversion rates.
Key Takeaways
- User acquisition is essential for business growth, involving strategies like paid social media ads, search engine marketing, and content creation to attract new users and convert them into customers.
- Effective user acquisition not only expands the user base but also enhances brand awareness and drives sales, utilizing cost-effective methods like social media campaigns and targeted advertising to reach potential customers.
- Improving user acquisition involves understanding the target audience, utilizing a mix of marketing channels, and keeping up with trends to adapt strategies for maximum engagement and conversion, with a focus on mobile users due to their high engagement and purchasing propensity.
How Do You Acquire Users?
There are several key ways to attract new users. The first, and probably most well-known method, is through paid ads on social media channels like Facebook or YouTube.
You can also use the following methods for acquiring users.
- Search engine marketing (SEM), via placing ads at the top of Google.
- Search engine optimization.
- Content marketing, where you create valuable content to attract website visitors.
- Word-of-mouth marketing. Using this strategy, you depend on people talking organically about your software or product.
Why Is User Acquisition So Important?
Successful user acquisition is important because it allows you to grow your business by acquiring new customers. It is also a trump card in developing a B2B GTM strategy.
It also helps to increase brand awareness and create a more extensive user base. When you acquire new users, your business gains prospects who become customers. They may turn into consistent monthly sales or become interested in buying other products or services from you.
By acquiring these potential customers through acquisition strategies, you’re building a foundation for future success.
It’s Cost-Effective
Targeting users is cost-effective, meaning it’s a more affordable way to use marketing spend to reach new customers than other marketing activities, such as TV or radio ads.
You can even start a user acquisition campaign on social media for free as you work to get exposure for your mobile apps. As valuable users download your app via your user acquisition work, you can expand into affordable paid advertising campaigns with Apple search ads, for example.
One by one, continue adding new ad networks to your plan and put profits back into the campaign as it grows.
It Drives Conversions with Ease
Customer acquisition helps to increase your conversion rates. With the proper targeting, you can easily convert website visitors into customers or new, existing users of your app.
You’re not wasting money on advertising to people who aren’t interested in your product or service. Instead, you can focus on attracting people already interested in what you have to offer. The fact that downloading a new app is effortless in most people’s minds makes it that much easier to gain users if your targeting is on point.
More Users Means More Customers
The more users you acquire, the more customers your business will have. As your base of active users increases, so do sales and revenue generated by these individuals. The inputs will be clearly tracked in your demand generation funnel and SaaS sales funnel.
Every free app trial brings you closer to converting into a subscription. Each new account on an eCommerce website means an order is just around the corner.
Uses of User Acquisition
Creating a successful inbound marketing funnel strategy is vital when your business model remains based on increasing mobile app users, for example. Various marketing and paid media channels exist where you can cost-effectively use mobile app install ads. Here are strategies to consider.
Owned Media Marketing
Using owned media is a great way to drive app installs. By promoting apps on your company website and social channels, you can increase downloads with the people who already know about and enjoy your brand.
Always start with your owned audience when starting a new user acquisition strategy. Once you maximize existing web users, start branching out into other areas.
Earned Media Marketing
Earned media refers to the attention gained from bloggers or other third-party websites. You may also see this referred to as organic or influencer marketing.
When you partner with bloggers or other individuals with a large following, you can expect increased downloads and brand awareness. Cross-promote with your partners to create a win-win situation for both businesses involved.
Paid User Acquisition
Paid advertising is an excellent way to gain new users for your app or software product. By paying for ads on Google Ads or Facebook Ads, for instance, you can easily target people already looking for apps similar to yours.
App Store Optimization
App Store Optimization involves the act of improving the visibility and the ranking of your app in an app store. You can do this by optimizing your app’s title, keywords, description, and screenshots.
Having a well-optimized app makes it easier for people to find and download. ASO is a long-term investment, so remain prepared to keep up the effort over time. Get listed in marketplaces like Google Play Store or the App Store, and then continue pointing your audience to those listings.
How Can You Improve Your User Acquisition Strategy?
Now that you understand the importance of user acquisition, it’s time to improve your efforts. Here are the best practices of top user acquisition companies:
Always know your audience. The best way to improve user acquisition and expansion is through precise targeting and messaging.
Remain patient when planning a new strategy or campaign, as it can take months for the money you spend on ads to start paying off.
Keep an eye on the market so that you’re not stuck with an outdated tactic during a time when trends change.
Utilize a combination of different user acquisition strategies to diversify your efforts and maximize their potential for success and sharpen your brand messaging.
Start with Your Website and Social Channels
If you’re not promoting your app on your own website and social channels, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Make sure to include App Store links, screenshots, and videos of your app in action to current customers.
Social Media Advertising Platforms
You can easily make money on social media channels like Facebook or Twitter by running ads for mobile apps you’re promoting. Focus on the channels where your audience is already hanging out to get better results. Include App Store links with all of these promotions so that potential users don’t have to search for your app.
Optimize Your Mobile App Store Listing
An app listing at the app marketplaces is only the beginning as your sales team works on your customer acquisition funnel. Continue optimizing titles and descriptions until you find what brings the most traffic and success at the app stores.
Use Mobile User Acquisition
Mobile user acquisition includes the use of mobile-based platforms to take advantage of the growing use of mobile devices by most users. Your business will benefit greatly if you develop a mobile-friendly website or an app for the company.
Most website traffic exists on smartphones today. Adopt a mobile-first strategy going forward to improve your ability to gain users, increase sales, and succeed throughout your overall mobile user acquisition strategy.
Why Is Mobile User Acquisition Important?
Now that you know what mobile user acquisition is, you should gain an understanding of why it’s so vital inside throughout the customer acquisition process.
You can gain useful customer data during every app install. You can see and measure user patterns, get feedback about user experience, and continue to improve your ability to improve customer lifetime value.
Mobile users are typically more engaged than desktop users. They’re also more likely to make a purchase or sign up for a service. So if you want to increase your conversion rate and revenue, focus on acquiring mobile users.
You can still run mobile user acquisition campaigns for a relatively low cost. All app developers should use a paid mobile user acquisition campaign. App Store search ads, for example, provide an excellent way to target users and increase app purchase revenue numbers.
How to Get Started with User Acquisition
Now that you understand the importance of user acquisition, it’s time to get started. Use the following tips to create and hone your customer acquisition strategy.
Identify Your Target Group
The best way to improve user acquisition is through precise targeting and messaging. Your business will benefit significantly if you focus on your target audience instead of throwing ads everywhere just because you can. When setting up a user acquisition campaign, use the proper demographics, interests, and income levels.
Pick the Marketing Channels that Matter
Your user acquisition campaigns will work best if you first focus on using your marketing investment consistently on a single platform to magnet customers to your landing pages or app user acquisition funnel.
For example, use specific pay-per-click ad campaigns for Google Play search ads to find users most likely to download your app or buy your product. You can’t expect to compete well in the mobile app business if you don’t first master one user acquisition channel.
Common User Acquisition Channels
Typically, the following will get you the most traction.
- A paid video ad on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
- Free social media, using targeted posts and creative assets.
- Pay per click (PPC) advertising through search engines like Google and Bing.
- Mobile app install advertisements in other apps or websites built for mobile users. As an example, you can purchase banner ad space from a website that attracts your target market.
- Mobile user acquisition partners like Admob or AppLovin.
If you start getting solid conversion numbers with your ad spend on a paid media marketing channel, move into social media marketing, for instance. Get the target audience already frequenting your social media networks to install the app.
Once that channel works well with your mobile marketing, brainstorm the next customer acquisition channel to go after. Keep building your app marketing campaign in this manner until you’ve built an effective user acquisition plan that dominates your space.
Pay Attention to Trends in User Acquisition
Once you start using these customer acquisition strategies, pay attention to the way trends change over time. What worked last year may not work today due to the rapid pace of change in the app industry.
For example, the use of chatbots is another channel that currently drives app installs. If you’re not using chatbots in your user acquisition strategy, it’s time to start thinking about how you can add this tactic.
Over time, however, this strategy may not remain a strong user acquisition strategy as users respond differently to app marketing methods.
The key point is that you must constantly learn and adapt to user acquisition activity based on marketing analytics and user data.
Conclusion
User acquisition is one of the most important aspects of growing a business. It’s especially critical in the mobile app industry, where users are more likely to be on their phones than using a desktop computer.
Use these tips to focus your customer acquisition strategy and acquire more users for your app or service. And don’t forget to pay attention to changes in user acquisition tactics over time. If you become great at attracting quality users, you can quickly become an industry leader.
Frequently Asked Questions
Even though we’ve provided you with a comprehensive view of how to hone your digital content strategy, you might still have a few more questions. Let’s handle those now.
User acquisition is the process of increasing the number of new users who sign up for your product or service. It encompasses all marketing activities that aim to bring in new customers, from paid advertising and PR to search engine optimization and social media outreach.
Users are the lifeblood of your business. Without users, you won’t have a customer base to make money from or an audience for future marketing efforts. Building up a strong user acquisition strategy is critical if you want to grow as a brand and company in today’s mobile world.
These apps help you find and acquire users for your app or service. There are various user acquisition channels, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s essential to figure out which marketing channels work best for your business and then focus on mastering those strategies.
It’s the practice of using advertising to drive new users to your app or service. There are many different paid channels you can use, including mobile ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as well as search engine PPC ad campaigns through Google Adwords.
