6 App Marketing Trends for 2023
User Acquisition Campaigns
December 20, 2022
With 2023 just around the corner, it’s time to think about the next big marketing trends for apps and mobile games. The app world is a fast-paced industry with a lot of opportunities and competition. What do you think are gonna be the next big trends? Read on to find out our thoughts on that!
If in doubt, you can rely on Pantene’s new color of the year: Magenta.
1. Custom store pages are waiting for their time to shine
Apple launched Custom Product Pages (CPP) a year and a half ago, a few months later, Google announced you could now make up to 50 custom listing pages on the Play Store (more than Apple’s 35).
Custom listing pages allow you to design a product page to target a specific audience through UA campaigns. This is a great tool for marketers. With ATT now in full swing and the impending doom of third-party cookies, targeting is evolving to rely less on demographics and more on user personas (more on that later).
CPPs (and their Play Store alternatives) are a great way to capitalize on that and personalize the funnel entirely, up to the store landing page.
Even more so, Google has recently introduced a churned Custom Store Listing product page, which would be used to target solely churned users and try to win them back. This feature is still in beta testing (you can become a beta tester by filling out this form)
2. TikTok is the place to be for UA campaigns
TikTok has been steadily growing. The short-video app is the most downloaded social media of the moment, with a cultural imprint growing bigger and bigger.
With its addictive short-videos format and a precise algorithm, the Chinese platform’s growth is also extending its ads business. Mobile games have thrived thanks to TikTok advertising and more apps are joining the ranks.
TikTok has a large user base (who tends to open the app daily), it’s a great place to advertise your app or game. Don’t forget TikTok when planning your next UA campaign, the app is driving success but to have a great campaign, the content needs to fit seamlessly into the platform.
In order to prepare successful TikTok campaigns, check out our post on the topic.
3. UGCs, or the search for authenticity
The success of TikTok ads is what brought UGC-like ads to the forefront. With users looking for both community and authenticity, UGC ads feel like the perfect solution. Because UGC (or UGC-like) content feels more authentic and less like an ad, it’s more likely to be effective, especially on platforms flooded with visual content.
As shown above, 73% of ads featuring UGC receive more positive interaction, which will lead to more trust from users as well as stronger commitments. Positive emotions drive conversions and allow brands to build stronger relationships with their customers.
Moreover, TikTok is a great platform to uplift UGCs, because it fits seamlessly within the platform, both TikTok and UGC growing steadily at the same time is no coincidence.
4. Make it funny
TikTok’s success is not only the result of a very efficient algorithm and product but also because it brings joy to users. Now more than ever, users are searching for authenticity and positive emotions. Adding a fun touch to your ad creatives might be enough to bend the scales in your favor.
According to TikTok’s latest research, the positive emotions brought by the app actually help trigger purchases. 90% of users who took an action off-platform said they did so after the platform made them feel happy.
Humour is a great way to instill positive feelings in your user base. According to a Kanta study, “humor is the most powerful creative enhancer of receptivity”. This study shows that humor is one of the best ways to trigger a reaction from the audience but it also helps your ad stand out, which is a great side-effect in such a busy industry. Humorous ads are also perceived as more expressive, more involving, and more distinct than their less fun counterparts.
People don’t have a lot of attention span to spare so it’s essential to catch their attention quickly, humor can be a solution for that. With the rise of storytelling ads in the past years, it’s now time to infuse more humor in app and mobile game ads.
5. An eventful future for the Play Store
The Play Store’s LiveOps (or Promotional Content) is the Google equivalent of in-app events (IAE) for the App Store. IAEs have been quite successful for the past few months, especially around seasonal events like Black Friday, Halloween, or Christmas.
While Google’s version is still in beta testing as of now, it could be a great addition to the store, one that would help developers boost their organic visibility and win back churned users. Events are a great way to showcase new sides of your product, allowing for innovative targeting options.
Given Apple’s success with the App Store In-App Events, and Google’s great results with its event tool, they should come out of beta and be available to every developer soon.
In-App Events have been pretty successful on the App Store to improve visibility for both apps and games. While Google’s third-party cookie deprecation is still a bit further away, LiveOps/Promotional Content will be a great tool to boost organic traffic in the stores.
6. Less data, more personality
The end of IDFA brought an unexpected challenge to app marketers. It’s also an opportunity to shake things up in marketing strategies. User personas (or gamer motivations) are becoming more prominent in creative planning for both apps and mobile games.
Relying on these allows developers to target an audience without relying on demographic data, but rather aiming for behavior cues and consumer needs. With less access to data and targeting options, user personas will help you target efficiently thanks to your creative assets.
You will need to build a stronger creative portfolio, with more assets and a larger marketing funnel. Good-quality creative assets can be the boost you need to take your app’s marketing to the next level.
Your creative can influence targeting and help you reach the right audience for your app or game. You can tailor your creatives around hypotheses and use them to test. Having different types of creatives will also allow you to reach different users, which is th ekey to long-term success. You don’t need private data to reach your audience, you need quality creatives.
Relying on user personas will help you diversify your creative portfolio and broaden your audience. Mobile audiences are both very diverse and broad, you might be surprised to find out who enjoys your app or mobile game. To figure out how to include gamer motivations or user personas in your marketing process, check out our article on the topic.
- Mobile Video Monthly #38 – November 2023 - 5 December 2023
- Disturbing ads, a new trend for mobile gaming creatives? - 28 November 2023
- The Power of Holiday Marketing in Boosting Mobile Game Engagement - 21 November 2023
