Have You Gone Mobile? Take It One Step Further and Go In-App
Mobile commerce, the buying and selling of goods and services via smartphones is increasingly becoming more common, especially among Millennials. From buying a cup of coffee to groceries to home goods to games, mobile shopping is a popular trend that will only become stronger as time goes by.
Millennials take their phones everywhere and rely on these devices and the convenience that they bring all the time and the younger generation to follow them isn’t likely to be any different. Therefore, if you want to reach this market, you need to take your adventure into the realm of mobile a little further and start using in-app advertising to improve your improve your app discovery rate rate and get the most out of monetizing your brand.
How do you make money with in-app marketing?
The app economy isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. It is a growing market that is estimated to reach nearly $190 billion by the year 2020. Unless you are familiar with this economy it may be hard to imagine from where the money is coming, especially since many consumers expect to obtain apps for free.
Essentially, when it comes to making money from you app there are two ways that you can do it. The first is to charge people a fee to download it. The second is to make your app free and include ads such as in-app purchases.
In-app purchases are a very popular method of monetizing free apps and is one of the most common marketing strategies among app developers. Basically, the way it works is in-app marketing involves displaying a message, ad, etc. within your app to reach the active user. It is an un-matched opportunity for creating a personalized, in-the moment engagement in real-time with your users. Since this is the case, it’s important to make whatever message, perk, etc. you incorporate into your in-app marketing strategy relevant and appealing to you users.
Include in-app purchases that count
If you want your users to buy in-app, then you need to offer them something that they want and something that makes sense to the specific app experience that you are providing to them. For instance, if you have a game app, offering in-app purchases such as additional characters, levels, lives, etc. can be highly profitable. On the other hand, if your app isn’t a game, appropriate in-app purchase offers could be linked to extra functions or utilities for a premium experience. For example, if your app covers the news, a “Press Pass” may be an highly attractive offer.
Another way that you can benefit with in-app purchases is through micropayments. Essentially, set attractive prices for what you’re selling. If you want people to buy, make the offer and the price irresistible. You will be amazed at how fast small payments can add up and contribute to a considerable amount of your app revenue.
Is in-app shopping truly more successful than mobile web shopping?
According to eMarketer research, 51% of mobile shoppers purchase through in-app while 49% purchase via mobile web. While these percentages are not significantly different, what is more interesting (and arguably more important) isn’t the overall percentage of mobile buyers using either option but the demographics of these mobile buyers.
What the research learned was that of those surveyed, 58% of millennials said that they prefer to purchase through apps while 60% of consumers over the age of 45 said that they prefer to buy on mobile web. With facts and figures like these it becomes clear that you need to make sure you choose the marketing strategy that will most appeal to your audience.
