12 Best Strategies for Attracting and Retaining App Users

As more and more companies create independently branded mobile applications, the competition for users is more intense than ever before, and the apps created may not be downloaded and used by users. You need to design something that truly provides value to your users’ lives, something that gives them a reason to keep using your app every day.

In this regard, the American technology media The Next Web interviewed the Young Entrepreneurs Association. It is not easy to get users to use the app for a long time, but there are some key strategies that can help you.

1. Know your users

One of the most overlooked aspects of marketing is building personas. Our idea is to build a perfect user profile based on market research. Control of market research and user portraits is the basis of all marketing and can help developers customize strategies accordingly. It is obvious that some digital products have never figured out what users want from the beginning to the end, while the developers and operators of some applications have grasped the users' tastes very accurately. (By Ismael Wrixen, FE International)

2. Ask users how they would like the app to be improved

Learn from your users what your app can do for them. Users may enjoy guiding future versions and features of the app, which not only gives them a sense of accomplishment but also makes them more accepting of the app because of the participation process. This approach can bring more users back in subsequent versions. (Source: Serenity Gibbons, NAACP)

3. Give users rewards

Offering coupons, exclusive content bonuses, or other incentives will give users a reason to use your app. Special promotions and mobile-specific rewards can increase user engagement and loyalty. Different rewards are presented in different forms and have different effects, but they can all maintain emotional resonance with users, which will produce the ultimate effect and the more successful the reward strategy for users. (From Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker)

4. Leverage influencer marketing

In such a competitive market, it is difficult for new applications to acquire customers without spending a lot of money, and the cost of acquiring customers has become increasingly high. A fast, effective and high-yield customer acquisition strategy is to collaborate with KOLs on social media. If you choose to work with popular KOLs on mobile social sites such as Instagram or Snapchat, you can get much higher returns. (Bryce Welker, Accounting Institute for Success)

5. Give users control over the experience and increase engagement

Give users choices so they feel they can control their experience rather than being controlled by the app. Often, apps send users frequent notifications and create closed feedback loops where it’s easy for users to feel like pawns on a chessboard and have a poor experience with the app. To ensure user retention and engagement, your app must give users a sense of participation and choice. (Source: Samuel Hofer, Silky Games)

6. Update content regularly

Create new content for your app and encourage users to open the app to view the new content. Content can be in the form of videos, blog posts, and some combination of knowledge that is useful to your target audience. You can create content based on common questions that your users have. Then pay attention to the comments section, which can provide some ideas for future updates. (Source: Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner)

7. Create a community

Creating a community is a great way to get users more engaged with your app and keep checking back in. You don't need to be Facebook to have a community. You can create one in your app. To differentiate yourself from the social media giants that try to be everything to everyone, focus on creating the best community for your target market, listen to your users and learn from your experience. (Source: Jared Atchison, WPForms)

8. Repeated testing

Many apps have intrusive ads, persistent purchase requests, or requests to access unreasonable parts of your mobile device, such as a music player requesting access to your contacts. These will cause your users to close your application. Apps should do extensive pre-launch testing and research among regular users and have a solid plan for improvement. (Source: Codie Sanchez, Codie Ventures LLC)

9. Is there a quality control process?

No matter how good your idea is, having issues with quality and functionality will not help you retain users. It's not uncommon to have glitches at launch, but it's important that you test your app rigorously before you release it. It is important to have multiple consultations with the development team in the early stages in order to properly scope the project and outline expectations. Maintain a strict QA program, track front-end and back-end functionality, and work with experienced developers. (Source: Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns)

10. Proactively solve problems

You can't make an app that pleases everyone. It can be very troublesome if an app has a lot of bad reviews, obvious flaws in the reviews, and silence from the developer. People speak up when things aren’t right, and developers have a responsibility to keep users happy. Negative reviews can serve as an aide to developers to proactively weed out problem areas. Build user loyalty by proactively resolving issues and glitches whenever possible. Proactive updates and bug fixes for each app are necessary. (Brandon Stapper, Nonstop Signs)

11. Make it easy for users to provide feedback

When soliciting feedback from users, it is important to strike the right balance. Because the channel for obtaining user feedback is the most direct contact with users, and the process is also the easiest way for users to establish a cognitive impression of the brand, product or team, so a good user feedback system is a plus for user experience. Many apps overuse push notifications and in-app review requests. Therefore we also firmly believe in not sending spammy push notifications. Making it easy for users to communicate with you and provide feedback around your app is key. (Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.)

12. Build a truly useful app

Mobile apps often seem to be designed to benefit the business, with little to offer in the way of real use to the user. Gaining a presence on users’ mobile devices is not easy. Applications packaged by other websites may not be useful to you, and imitation may not necessarily be successful. Be creative and consider how your users’ needs intersect with your brand.

Source: White Whale Out to Sea