5 Growth Hackers Behind Explosive App Marketing

Facebook acquired MSQRD (Masquerade), a special photo and video filter app, in March last year.

Mark Zuckerberg introduced at the 2016 F8 conference that MSQRD's 3D mask technology will be used for Facebook's live video broadcasts .

This article is a transcript of an interview with Masquerade CEO Eugene Nevgen at the F8 conference at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

3D Mask Filter: Becoming a celebrity is not a dream

MSQRD lets you wear masks and animated filters of famous people while taking photos or recording videos.

The app was featured on the Jimmy Kimmel show and had over 1,600 downloads within the first few months of its release.

Among MSQRD's multiple celebrity fans is Cara Delevingne, who has posted several Instagram videos wearing a Leonardo DiCaprio mask.

Eugene Nevgen's co-founder Sergey Gonchar was a talented graphics programmer who came to Belarus from Montenegro to work and went to school with Eugene and became inseparable.

The third co-founder, Eugene Zatepyaki, is an expert in computer vision and machine learning, which is the facial tracking algorithm used in the MSQRD App.

Just like that, three like-minded young people began to build this product, which soon became the headlines in the media.

Eugene Nevgen (left) and Sergey Gonchar (right) at the Facebook Developer Conference

Next, Eugene Nevgen introduced several successful experiences in App growth hacking marketing :

#1 : It’s not just the language that needs to be localized

Eugene said: "From the beginning, the team quickly realized that MSQRD needed more than just language localization. We not only translated the description and title on the App interface, but also selected different mask graphics for MSQRD's homepage on the App Store .

For example, Stalin's mask is more popular in Russia; in the United States, we chose celebrity masks of Leo and Snoop Dogg; and in Asia, we chose the image of a panda . ”

Since they customized different App page design methods in different countries, MSQRD, which was initially popularized in Russia and Belarus, also quickly emerged in the United States and the Asia-Pacific region.

#2: Test whether you should have a video preview

When the media reports on MSQRD, its viral marketing model is often emphasized - the marketing cost is zero!

Eugene founded MSQRD before he was in the app store optimization business, so why didn’t he leverage his expertise?

“We did optimize the app store page, and of course, we also did A/B testing. For example, we found that video previews increased conversions,” Eugene confirms.

The way A/B testing works is by splitting your ad traffic in half and diverting it to a landing page that mimics an app store. Eugene's team set up two identical pages, one with a video preview and one without. When a visitor visits the "simulated" app store, every click, scroll, and second click on the page is tracked.

Through A/B testing, video previews increased conversion rates by 13%. It also reduced the page’s bounce rate by 5% and increased direct installs.

MSQRD A/B test results for video previews

#3: Remember, You Only Have 12 Seconds

“When we looked at page analytics from our A/B testing, we found that 80% of visitors stopped watching the video preview at 12 seconds,” shared Eugene. The App Store allows developers to upload video previews between 15 and 30 seconds. The same video will appear in all countries and regions. “By placing the most eye-catching mask within the first second, we increased conversion rates,” Eugene said.

#4: Design App Store Screenshots to Be Search Visible

According to data from several experiments Eugene’s team ran on MSQRD’s app store page, less than 2% of people view screenshots in full-screen mode. “Many designers preview app store screenshots in full screen mode, assuming that’s what everyone does,” explains Eugene, who previously worked as a UI designer. “But they won’t, so it’s important to make sure you use large fonts and keep your captions concise and to the point. Whoever sees your app in search results should immediately know what your app does.”

#5: Launch new products quickly and at the right time

Just in time for the 2016 New Year, a monkey mask was added to MSQRD. Because 2016 is the Chinese Year of the Monkey, many people are using software to record videos for friends and family.

In Eastern Europe, where the app first became popular, people are very particular about their zodiac sign and are willing to buy decorations and toys themed after their sign, so the timing of the new masks is perfect.

Leonardo Dicaprio's Oscars mask was designed ahead of the ceremony and went viral on Instagram.

So, how do you make your App successful ?

Following the wave of public interest and trending topics definitely helps. When most people were looking forward to Leo winning his first Oscar , MSQRD launched Leonardo Dicaprio's mask, which led to a surge in user downloads.

However, according to Eugene, none of this would have been possible without a data-driven approach to product design and app store marketing.

As Eugene said, “You can find all the display elements that are suitable for this landing page, but if it does not produce the effect of improving conversion , then the page has lost its core value. This is especially important when the application scenario of the page is channel delivery (or is aimed at immediate traffic). If a page that is not combined with the market environment or optimized is displayed to millions of users, most of the traffic entering the page will be wasted.” Take MSQRD as an example. When the Oscars ceremony ends, you must wait for another opportunity to create new optimization materials.

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media advertising

The author of this article is @哟呼科技. It is compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting! Site Map