Developing an app and achieving the first 10,000 installs is a challenge for app marketers. Continuous testing will drain your budget, waste time, and not achieve the desired results. But once you master a formula for predicting and measuring your app's growth, you'll be able to create explosive performance.
In this article we would like to share with you how Hamza Alsamraee, founder of NewForm.ai, used Tiktok to create a boom for his product and achieve impressive numbers: more than 1 billion. views, 48% CAC decrease, ROAS increase 5.6x and over $100 million spent on advertising.
This article will provide an in-depth analysis of the strategy Hamza uses and leverages the Airbridge Mobile Measurement & Attribution solution for his campaign on Tiktok.
What do most app marketers misunderstand about TikTok?
There is no single “trick”, but there is a process that we use and it has been very effective. It all depends on good quality content, all other factors are secondary.
There is no “golden” content style (we will cover the notes below), the key here is to iterate quickly and effectively. However, most groups fail at this.
Most agencies and in-house teams search for content the wrong way. They contact a group of content creators (UGC)/influencers, or worse, they hire an agency to contact a group of UGC creators at random. And it will be difficult to find reliable, high-quality, and cost-effective creators this way.
The reality is that creative people rarely meet deadlines, I know this because I was once a creative person myself. They also don't scale effectively, whereas a short video can cost a brand thousands of dollars. On the other hand, there are plenty of affordable UGC content creators, but finding a good one is like finding a needle in a haystack. Brands have to screen through dozens of people just to find the right one.
Previously, I was responsible for driving growth at Faves, a subscription app that achieved more than 1 million downloads. I saw firsthand how difficult it was to find creators – so I became one. I have personally created over 1000 videos for Faves.
But I think most people don't have the time (or interest) to create thousands of videos. The key is to have trustworthy, analytical creators. This is the biggest difference between Newform and other agencies. Our creators are all in-house – and all have analytical skills (tech, engineering,….).
This is why the biggest growth “trick” is to have a trusted in-house creator who can methodically churn out thousands of videos every month (whether through us or direct staff). Instead of giving content briefs to random creators with varying levels of quality, you can now control content quality and focus on positioning.
It is this positioning that will unlock profitable and scalable growth for your app. If you don't want to change too many variables, focus on building your content programmatically, while testing your hypotheses.
After thousands of TikTok videos, what surprising information have you discovered to maximize ROI and reduce CPI?
It may sound strange, but nearly half of our most effective videos start with “I hate ___.” Just as painkillers sell better than vitamins, so do successful apps. Position your app as a solution to a specific problem users are having, rather than just a cool feature. The results will quickly and significantly improve.
Plus, using first person (“I have this problem”) is much more effective than using second person (“You have this problem”). The personal statement "I" creates authenticity and closerness to the viewer.
How does the effectiveness of Spark Ads on TikTok compare to other advertising options?
Spark Ads work best with content that already has organic engagement – meaning the video has already attracted viewers and has high watch times and low CPM (bid per impression) ( because TikTok users love to scroll down to see comments). You'll find that high-performing app advertisers rarely use Spark Ads for new low-engagement ads because the effect won't be significant.
This doesn't mean you should ignore Spark Ads. In fact, many apps have exploded on TikTok with viral effects thanks to Spark Ads. I encourage marketers to search for their apps on TikTok and reach out to creators who make videos with app content for Spark Ads.
The core problem lies not only in attracting users, but also in retaining them. While reaching 10,000 installs is a gratifying achievement, the real challenge lies in converting those “passing” users into loyal fans and eventually paying customers.
Across all apps, don't follow temporary content trends (sounds, challenges, etc.). This only attracts users to "skim through". The goal is to present the application as it is to attract the right, loyal users who will stick around for the long term and bring profits.
“Cellphone” content is more effective than content that just captures a green screen/screen recording. Instead of recording video of the app screen, incorporate live demos with the phone in the user's hand. For example like this:
Ultimately, most retention and monetization strategies come from onboarding. And referrals start with your content. At Newform, we pay great attention to the compatibility between “introduction content” and the product. If the content sets incorrect expectations about the product, it is bound to fail.
App marketers often struggle on TikTok. So what are the most common mistakes when marketing on TikTok to grow?
A few problems:
Misidentifying audiences with app install campaigns: If you have a subscription-based app and your goal is to increase revenue – you should avoid targeting under 25s. While they may deliver great top of funnel metrics (e.g. CPI, CPT), their bottom-funnel conversions are poor. However, if you're optimizing for payment events, this would be the right audience.
Setting goals that are too narrow: TikTok's algorithm knows more than 99% ad buyers. I've only seen very rare cases of restrictive goal setting that still works. So for most applications, just expand the target.
Note from Airbridge: Optimize app registrations with funnel analysis. Reallocate your ad budget or optimize your subscription funnel by viewing funnel/campaign/creative/country/device bounce rate details across Settings, Subscriptions, Fees, Free Trial, Registration, 2nd/3rd payment step, ....
Spending too much money on Android or T2 countries: The biggest opportunity today is iOS users, USA. For Android users, it is more difficult to convert into customers and still have to spend an amount of money to attract similar to iOS users. T2 countries may have very low CPI, but will find it difficult to scale profitably due to low earning potential. We concentrated about 90% of spend on iOS users, and most of that spend was on US users. Other countries likely to meet profit targets include the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavian countries, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, etc.
Note from Airbridge: Explore retention and monetization insights after installation. Whether you are a gaming app, subscription or social network, dig deep into detailed in-app metrics like ROAS/Retention, ARPU, CPI, Time to First Purchase, Predicted Lifetime and Predicted Lifetime Value, channel / campaign / device / country level on the Airbridge dashboard.
Airbridge – Unified measurement solution for global app marketers
International app marketers can eliminate costly attribution tools and switch to Airbridge's unified measurement platform. Our hyper-detailed & customizable dashboards provide real-time visibility into cross-platform user journeys across mobile, web, PC and consoles, from the first click to loyal users. 200+ metrics, iOS measurement, deep linking, fraud protection, and data sharing – all for an all-inclusive price that saves your marketing budget, instead of draining it.
