AUDIENCE(52)

FIGURE 13.1 Vegas.com’s Facebook Timeline Image (July 2013)





Build Email and Push Reengagement Channels


Assuming you get the download, the next thing you need to do is get permission to message SUBSCRIBERS via email and/or push messaging. As far too many app developers continue to discover, getting the download is not enough; you also need an external means to drive SUBSCRIBER engagement with your app. That’s where email and push messaging enter the picture. Both allow you to build messaging strategies that optimize both the use of your app and offline engagement with your company as needed.





Optimize Your Mobile Audience Experience


Mobile apps should not be static creatures; they must evolve with the needs of your SUBSCRIBERS. As they do, be sure to look for ways to increase your mobile app’s contribution to your Proprietary Audience Development goals. Ask yourself:

Are we serving CUSTOMERS as best we can?

Are we giving SUBSCRIBERS frictionless opportunities to share content or experiences inside the app with audiences outside the app?

Are we sufficiently cross-promoting our other proprietary audience channels to SUBSCRIBERS?

Are we leveraging SUBSCRIBER data to fully personalize experiences inside the app and better personalize messaging outside of the app?



Just like a website, a successful mobile app demands a keen eye for optimization to ensure that you’re not leaving money on the table or sending SUBSCRIBERS running for the DELETE button. Mobile app development in your company also deserves a champion who understands that your mobile audience is a company asset that’s not to be squandered.

Mobile First and Responsive Design

Mobile First is a development philosophy championed by Luke Wroblewski (@LukeW)—an author, designer, entrepreneur, and former bigwig at Yahoo! and eBay. Luke believes brands should design websites and applications for mobile devices first and then adapt them to desktop PCs. In February 2012, he posted a simple infographic in support of his philosophy that compared the 317,124 live births worldwide each day to the 1.45 million mobile devices sold each day.4 That’s right—nearly five mobile devices are “born” each day for every human birth.

As that ratio has widened, Luke’s work has helped spawn the Responsive Design movement and has inspired a host of startups that launch apps instead of websites. Instagram and Vine are prime examples, as are Everlapse (@Everlapse), a collaborative flipbook app, and Urturn (@UrturnOfficial), a social expressions platform. In these cases, the apps are the product; therefore, their modest websites serve more to initially support hiring and investment needs than CUSTOMERS.

However, for most companies, the need for a mobile-friendly website is only getting more pronounced. Mobile web browsers are installed on every smartphone and tablet—your app is not. Prioritize accordingly.



SNAPSHOT: MOBILE APPS

ORIGIN: Apple launched its mobile AppStore on July 10, 2008, ushering in the modern mobile app era with over 500 apps.5

PRIMARY CONTENT: Any type of content (text, audio, video, interactive) to serve the account, communications, entertainment, financial, gaming, payment, service, shopping, social, and other needs of users.

PROPRIETARY AUDIENCES: SUBSCRIBERS (app users). Mobile apps can also drive SEEKER, AMPLIFIER, and JOINER audience growth for other channels.

EFFORT REQUIRED: High to create, maintain, and evolve app(s).

WHO OWNS THE DATA: You own data generated by your proprietary mobile app, but it is shared/known by mobile OS provider (Apple, Google Android) and potentially the wireless provider (AT&T, Verizon, etc.).

POTENTIAL REACH: As of December 2012, there were an estimated 1.5 billion smartphone users worldwide (there are 5 billion total cell phone users worldwide).6 By September 2012, over 306 million iPads had been sold by Apple alone.7 Factoring other manufacturers, there were likely a total of over 600 million tablets in use by end of 2012.

APPS DOWNLOADED: Estimated that over 56 billion smartphone and 14 billion tablet apps will be downloaded in 2013.8 In May 2013, the fifty-billionth app was purchased from Apple.9

SKILLS REQUIRED: Mobile app development, programming, design, copywriting, additional skills specific to type of app developed.

GATEKEEPERS: App store operators (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Blackberry, etc.).

STRENGTHS: Fully controlled environment with experience optimized to increase usability of mobile environment (smartphone or tablet).

Incredibly flexible medium that can be used to advise, entertain, inform, promote, and sell.

Ability to provide online and offline content for use when there’s no Internet connection. Can also provide location-based information and interactivity.

Ability to communicate directly with SUBSCRIBERS in app, via push messaging and via email (both only with permission).