Top Growth Hacks for Mobile App Retargeting Campaigns

In today’s economy, rising costs and inflation are not only changing mobile buying behavior but also tightening ad budgets. Brands no longer have the luxury to focus solely on growth anymore. What’s more, app abandonment and user churn are on the rise. Almost 1 in every 2 apps are uninstalled within 30 days. This is where paid media retargeting campaigns, which keep your brand top of mind to users who have previously engaged with your app, can create immense value.

In this blog post, we share top growth hacks for running successful mobile retargeting campaigns to help your marketing team.

This is a guest blog written by YouAppi.

Importance of paid mobile retargeting campaigns

Paid mobile retargeting campaigns are significantly important in the world of mobile advertising. Such campaigns are designed to re-engage users who have previously interacted with a mobile app or website but did not complete a desired action, for example, signing up for a service, making a purchase, filling up a form, etc.

• Increased conversion rates: By re-engaging users, conversion rates for retargeting campaigns are 10 times higher than user acquisition campaigns. In fact, UA initiatives are, on average, 5x to 25x more expensive than retargeting campaigns. Since users are familiar with the app, they’re more likely to complete the desired action.
• Better ROI: Retargeting campaigns tend to have higher conversion rates and lower acquisition costs. This in turn leads to an improved ROI for advertisers.Rather than focusing resources on acquiring new customers, apps can acquire only the customers that show the highest purchasing potential and shift more investment to consistently retarget them from the moment they’re acquired.

As the average app loses 77% of its daily active users within the first 3 days after install, by running retargeting campaigns alongside user acquisition initiatives, app marketers can stretch their ad budgets further and limit wasting money on leaky UA campaigns.

Strategies to run successful mobile retargeting campaigns

There are several key strategies to consider when crafting meaningful mobile retargeting campaigns. Remember, the more personalized and seamless your user journey is, the better impression you’ll leave on users and the more repeat conversions you’ll generate down the line.

1. Leverage audience segmentation

Segmentation is a crucial mobile retargeting strategy that enhances the effectiveness of your growth campaigns by targeting the right users at the right time. By grouping users based on their behavior, preferences, and interaction history with their app, marketers can create highly focused campaigns.

For instance, retargeted users can be segmented into those who have abandoned a shopping cart, those who have not opened an app in a certain time period, or those who have made a purchase in the past. This ensures that marketing efforts are not wasted on uninterested users, and that resources are channeled only towards users who are more likely to convert.

2. Understand your audience & personalize your ads

Personalizing your mobile ads goes hand in hand with segmenting your audience and is a crucial strategy for effective retargeting campaigns – especially in the age of data privacy. In fact, 88% of users feel comfortable sharing their personal data with a brand if it will lead to a better user experience.

To get the most out of your retargeting campaigns:

• Identify high-potential segments of your acquired audience and tailor messaging to the specific needs and preferences of each group
• Create personalized content for each segment, such as user-specific offers, product recommendations based on past behavior, or reminder notifications about unused app features
• Consider leveraging dynamic creative optimization (DCO) with product feeds to match the right message to the right user at the right time based on their intent

Personalized ads can significantly enhance engagement rates, improve your app’s user experience, and foster a stronger connection between your brand and your audience.

3. Enhance user experience with deep linking

Deep linking is a valuable part of a robust mobile retargeting strategy. Use deep linking to directly connect users with the specific in-app content related to a retargeted ad, bypassing the app store and general home screen. With deep links, users that tap on a retargeted ad are taken directly to the relevant page within the app – be it a product page, a specific feature, a special offer, or even just the home page (if that’s preferred). This eliminates unnecessary navigation and brings users one step closer to conversion, creating a seamless user experience that increases loyalty and conversions.

To get started with deep linking, make sure to work with an MMP that offers a robust mobile marketing platform, which includes attribution, fraud prevention, and campaign measurement.

4. Invest in engaging creatives

Since Apple’s ATT framework and the increasing complexity of precision targeting, creative ads and strategy have emerged as a key lever of campaign optimization. But advertisers have just a few seconds to win the attention of a new player. This makes the design and testing of eye-catching and engaging ads a critical task, especially as the deprecation of the IDFA increases competition across the mobile marketplace.

To craft high-performing mobile ads, we recommend advertisers to make sure:

• their ads align with their app environment
• feature concise and on-brand copy
• leverage video and seasonal elements
• test rigorously to ensure all ad elements resonate with users. A/B test different ad creatives, messaging, and audience segments to identify what resonates best with your target users.

It is also important to work with advertising partners and DSPs that can support and guide your mobile creative strategy. For example, at YouAppi, we offer free custom mobile creative design solutions to our clients as part of our Appi Studios service.

TLDR

Mobile retargeting campaigns play a crucial role in boosting conversions, maximizing ROI, and increasing brand awareness. With these top growth hacks, your mobile retargeting campaigns can significantly contribute to the success of your mobile advertising strategy :

• Provide personalized recommendations, content, and offers to enhance user experience
• Segment your audience based on their behavior, preferences, or engagement level
• Use deep links to direct users to specific in-app content related to retargeted ads
• Design eye-catching and on-brand ads that align with an app’s environment. Also don’t forget to test ads rigorously to optimize their performance