Business of Apps Podcast

Growing the app's user base is what on an app marketer's mind from Monday till Friday and possibly on weekends as well. Going international is one of the ways to expand an app's user base. Today’s guest is Victoria Chen, International Growth Lead at Flowkey, a piano learning app for beginners, returners, and advanced players. Victoria is sharing her experience of the app's localization and helping you to avoid possible mistakes you may make, having zero experience with it. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ Global Landscape and Growth Marketing: Internationalization tackles local issues ✔️ Flowkey: Professional pianists create and produce in-house arrangements for all abilities ✔️ Popular Songs: Learn to play the songs you know and love (i.e., Piano Man, Swan Lake) ✔️ Benefits: App brands should go to other markets to get more users and revenue ✔️ Is it worth it? Depends on total effort, research, cost, and if the app is translatable ✔️ Market Criteria: Potential profit, market size, and purchasing power ✔️ Mental Health Market: Keep yourself mentally healthy, even if you have to pay for it ✔️ Localize App: Make product usable/available, launch it, develop authentic improvements ✔️ Regional Manager: Translate apps using someone familiar with culture, native language ✔️ Key Takeaways: As you build a localization strategy, start with a plan and local insights ✔️ Android or iOS? iOS ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s)? Wolt ✔️ What technology would Victoria find useful in daily life? Augmented reality Links and Resources: Flowkey Flowkey on LinkedIn Quotes from Victoria Chen: “Going to another market directly means getting more users and having more revenue.” “In terms of purchasing power, I will usually suggest people to go a bit deeper—not only how much people are spending, but what they are spending it on?” “If you are a business, you have to also look at what type of category people are willing to pay for it or invest in it.” “People know that they should pay for education for learning languages, learning instruments, but it’s still quite a new concept that people should invest in their own mental health.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

How do people discover mobile apps these days? Via a built-in search on the App Store and Google Play, about 65% of app downloads are powered by search. The other route - online ads in your Instagram feed, on YouTube, on TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, Readit and on and on. How do app marketers take advantage of search as an app marketing channel? Right - they do the App Store Optimization (aka ASO). But do you wonder if you're doing everything what is possible to do with ASO? Today’s guest is Binh Dang, Senior Organic App Growth Manager at Idealo will answer that question for you. Binh talks about his ASO custom campaigns concept. Find out what you’re missing! Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ App Growth Marketing: Binh’s two favorite things—games and marketing ✔️ Idealo: Leading price comparison online shopping platform in Germany ✔️ Idealo’s Mission: Save money and buy stuff without causing damage to the environment ✔️ Standard ASO Steps: One-way road or repetitive loop processes for app store assets ✔️ Pros/Cons: Efficient system, a scientific testing method for improvements; diminishes ROI ✔️ Specific Purpose: ASO custom campaigns are short-term, story-driven sprint of activities ✔️ ASO Campaigns: Product marketing, seasonal promotion, brand communications, and extracurricular activities ✔️ Mistakes: Bad timing, confusing communication, and radical application of new method ✔️ Key Takeaways: Talk to your peers across channels and departments Use different processes in different contexts Create campaign timeline and plan in advance Android or iOS? Partial to iOS, but prefers to be Android ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s)? Google Calendar ✔️ What technology would Binh find useful for everyday life? More wearable devices Links and Resources: Binh Dang on LinkedIn Binh Dang’s Email Idealo Quotes from Binh Dang: “We help millions of users, mainly inside of Europe, make smarter shopping decisions. We will continue to reach out to more to advocate a more affordable and also sustainable lifestyle.” “A customized ASO campaign can be seen as a short-term, story-driven sprint of ASO activities.” “I have to be flexible enough with my ASO activities to serve multiple different purposes. So, when a new opportunity arises, I can capture it.” “I have at least four major types of campaigns. They basically serve four different purposes, and they answer four different types of strategic questions that users may ask.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

Fact - people are tired of ads, especially on mobile. Because of such a variety of options they're bombarded in their Instagram / Facebook feeds, inside apps, on websites and of course on YouTube and Google, it is hard to expect a level of engagement app brands need from them to increase their sales.  There is a way to solve this problem and achieve a high level of engagement - launch a higher purpose campaign to let people do something for their environment, local community, something that will make them feel good and, at the same time, help an app brand to achieve its marketing objectives. Today’s guest is Luca Stefanutti, Head of Product Marketing at Runtastic. He leads the Running Growth squad with the goal of growing the Adidas Running app. Luca’s job is to connect product and marketing to give users the best value proposition in the health and fitness category. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ Runtastic: Opportunity to feel and see results with support every step of the way ✔️ Two Apps, One World: adidas Running and adidas Training ✔️ Higher Purpose Ad Campaign: App marketing tool to change the world by taking action ✔️ Success Story Strategy: Build a bridge between inspirational goal and any app ✔️ User- vs. Customer-Centric: Understand your audience and what they care about ✔️ App KPIs: Connect with users, leverage mechanics, and measure success metrics ✔️ Android or iOS? Android ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s)? Vivino ✔️ What technology would Luca find useful? eCommerce and privacy campaigns Links and Resources: Luca Stefanutti on LinkedIn Luca Stefanutti on Twitter Runtastic adidas Runtastic: Campaigns and Tracking Partners Quotes from Luca Stefanutti: “We are not so little, it’s simply because we have more than 370-million of downloads across the world, and we have more than 168-million registered users. We are quite famous.” “It will really give you the possibility to create something more, something beyond the simple usage of a product.” “It’s not about buying a product or service, it’s really about changing the world by doing an action.” “The first thing that you always consider is your user.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

Mobile app growth and how to achieve it are in the center of any well-thought app marketing strategy. You may power your app growth with paid marketing or the product itself may lead its growth. Every app has a diverse audience, some people find the app extremely useful and use it enthusiastically. Others are less engaging, and then there are those who download apps but hardly if ever, use them. Do you have an emotional relationship with specific apps? It’s okay. Most users do to feel connected. Today’s guest is Tanya Sharma from Babbel, a digital language learning product. Tanya talks about product marketing and user acquisition to grow a database of app core users. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ Connecting the Dots: Tanya’s path as a consultant to app marketing to acquire users ✔️ Product Managing Marketing: Balance different channels to acquire different users ✔️ Growth Marketing Principles: Follow the lean startup method—build, measure, learn ✔️ App User Acquisition: Native or paid ads? Build sustainable scheme to power UI ✔️ Channel vs. User Acquisition Strategy: Awareness, conversion/direct response, retention ✔️ Product Life Growth Guard: Quality of users acquired, not cost to acquire users ✔️ Marketer’s Best Friends: Pay attention to loyal users to increase conversion rates ✔️ Referral Concept: Understand logic and motivation for users to recommend products ✔️ Key Takeaways: Leverage core user base by tracking and rewarding repetitive behaviors ✔️ Android or iOS? iOS ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s) today? KptnCook ✔️ What iPhone/iPad technology would Tanya find useful? Gesture controls, multitasking Links and Resources: Tanya Sharma on LinkedIn Babbel Quotes from Tanya Sharma: “What got me really excited to move into product marketing and especially user acquisition was the idea of being in the intersection of being creative, having insights, analytics, and the business knowledge needed to actually bring the kind of users that use your product.” “Measure is important because no growth marketer can exist without knowing success metrics.” “What makes these loyal users so special is that they’re advocates of your product. They go out there, talk about your product, and bring you free new users.” “Leveraging your core audience to expand your user base is the fastest and the cheapest way to grow and scale your product.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

On this episode we're talking about app users retention - one of the hardest nut to crack for any app marketer. The method to crack this nut we're suggesting is out-of-the-box thinking. Sink or think? When you’re trying to solve a problem, no matter how hard you try, it can all be in vain. That’s when it’s time to think out of the box by being a lifelong learner. Today’s guest is Catherine Bostian, Senior CRM Tech Manager at Delivery Hero. Catherine talks about how to apply out-of-the-box thinking to app user retention. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ Growth Marketing Career: Strategic and technical backgrounds to understand customers ✔️ Growth Marketing Levers: Power of code and communication for data-driven mindset ✔️ What Delivery Hero does? Online food ordering and delivery markets in a lot of places ✔️ Business Values: Delivering solutions, aiming higher, and caring about customers ✔️ Out-of-the-Box Thinking: Figurative box with walls made of categorical assumptions ✔️ In-the-Box Troublemakers: Common wisdom, soapbox speakers, and false assumptions ✔️ False Consensus: How humans overestimate how someone else will react to something ✔️ App User Retention Strategy: Approach customer problems as opportunities to identify assumptions Identify insights and elements, such as content Test new and better ways of what you are doing to customers ✔️ Key Takeaways: World views, marketing approach are subconsciously colored by assumptions Be empowered to question and test assumptions to improve users’ experience Not a one-and-done process, but a continual evolution of learning ✔️ Android or iOS? iOS ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s) today? Down Dog ✔️ What app technology would Catherine find useful personally? Augmented reality Links and Resources: Catherine Bostian on LinkedIn Delivery Hero Quotes by Catherine Bostian: “I kind of picture it being stuck inside a figurative box where the walls are made up of assumptions and a world view that we spent a lifetime developing.” “Out-of-the-box thinking has to be this explosive process where we come to understand what those assumptions and worldviews are, and then we can begin to break free of them by asking questions and testing as part of an iterative process.” False Consensus Effect: Describes how we as humans overestimate how likely someone else is to react based on how we ourselves would react to something. “Our worldview and therefore our strategy or approach to marketing is often subcounsciously colored by our assumptions. That doesn’t make us powerless, but rather that empowers us to question and test those assumptions to improve users’ experience of our product and also, hopefully in the end, their lives. Lastly, it’s not a one-and-done process, but rather a continual evolution of learning. Go forth and think outside the box.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

Today mobile app marketers are in a constant battle to connect apps with as many users as possible and their battle field are the Apple's App Store and Google Play store. After years of fierce competition, both Apple and Google have won the app war. Apple got the premium part of the market by delivering high-quality apps, but Google successfully scaled to reach a much broader market segment. Today’s guest is Christinne Cuyugan, Growth Marketing Lead at Drops, a learning language app. If you want to learn a language, it only takes five minutes a day. At Drops, Christinne focuses on strategizing growth opportunities for the app and app store marketing. She talks about how app marketing is different in the Apple App Store compared to Google Play. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ Christinne’s Career Growth: Customer support specialist to user acquisition position ✔️ App Marketing Psychology: How colors, tactics impact user behavior to perceive brands ✔️ Drops: Focuses on building language essentials, such as vocabulary, into a habit ✔️ What are the similarities and differences between Apple and Google app stores? ✔️ Four Elements: Great screenshots, preview video, keyword strategy, and 4-star rating ✔️ Partnership: Focus on product/app to deliver Apple’s high standards for user experience ✔️ Evergreen Techniques: Screenshots capture app and testing gains trust ✔️ Mistakes: Apps fail, so prioritize acquisition and monetization for sustainable growth ✔️ Christinne’s Wishful Thinking: Wants Apple to allow casting and downloads per keyword Wants Google to be transparent with reporting and rankings ✔️ Other App Stores: Amazon and Chinese must haves ✔️ Android or iOS? iOS ✔️ Favorite mobile app(s) today? Drops and Too Good To Go ✔️ What app technology would Christinne find useful in daily life? Augmented Reality (AR) Links and Resources: Christinne Cuyugan on LinkedIn Christinne Cuyugan on Twitter Drops Quotes by Christinne Cuyugan: “Drops is a language learning app, whose main mission is to make language learning awesome and fun and beautiful.” “You definitely need four things to make your app shine in both stores.” “The first one or two screenshots definitely need to capture your app in the best way possible. It needs to be attractive enough for users to give your app the chance.” “Even if your brand isn’t known, but the app is trusted and also you see what you would get out of it, I think that a lot of users would give it a chance.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

Ask a professional app marketer "what is in your marketing toolbox?" and he'll tell you - App Store Optimization, Paid User Acquisition, Influencer Marketing, PR, podcasts, TV and radio. Now, you can split all that app marketing techniques into two buckets: Organic and Paid. Organic relies on distribution channels that you don’t spend your money on. With paid, you do. It’s that simple. As an app marketer, should you go with organic, paid, or both? Today’s guest is Arthur Kolajan, VP of Sales and Partnerships at Jellyfish. Arthur talks about how to make the difficult choice between organic or paid app marketing. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️ How Arthur got involved in app marketing: Recruiter, new role, and recommendations ✔️ Why is it called Jellyfish? True story—founders wanted something without ‘digital’ ✔️ Organic App Marketing: Strategy and optimization needed to be successful ✔️ Paid App Marketing: Facebook, Instagram, and other channels for brand awareness ✔️ App Lifecycle: Conceptualizing, funding, developing, and marketing ✔️ Overnight success? Launching app without strategy requires marketing and money ✔️ When to launch: Anytime is the right time for marketing an app ✔️ App Visibility: Simple to find, download, generate profit; complex with number of apps ✔️ App Stores: Reasons why they exist to make informed decisions ✔️ Apple Search vs. Google Ads: Two biggest paid app platforms and marketing potential ✔️ App Ad Campaigns: Optimize relevant metadata for high conversion and high visibility Make keywords effective and creative by testing banners, copy, and users Track data points (Conversion, cost, consistent organic/paid communication) ✔️ Android or iOS? iOS ✔️ What is Arthur’s favorite mobile app(s) today? Multiplayer gaming apps ✔️ What’s Arthur’s wanting with app technologies? Social audio Links and Resources: Arthur Kolayan’s Email Arthur Kolayan on LinkedIn Jellyfish Quotes by Arthur Kolajan: “The reality is that for organic to actually work, you need to have a strategy in place.” “It’s some additional PR, but it’s more about app store optimization. It’s more about search engine optimization for your Website. It’s about creating this viral to loop some referral campaigns.” “The right timing is actually any timing because when you launch, you want to support your launch with the proper strategy. When you grow, you don’t want to lose to small competitors.” “If they stop marketing, they will die. ” “You need to go where there’s less competition, and then you will be found. The reality is that less competition means less data. So, you actually are more likely to be found if you go into a competitive category because there will be more data about what people search for.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

A mobile app user acquisition funding is a crucial process every app business owner should know well to succeed. Too often it's being neglected and it leads to an app project failure. In this episode we want to fill the gap for app developers and brands and talk about an app projects funding. Today’s guest is Martin Macmillan, CEO and co-founder of Pollen VC—a financing model for mobile apps and game publishers to unlock unpaid revenues and eliminate payout delays up to 60+ days. How? By connecting to their app store and ad network platforms. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️  App Business Funding: Solving app developer problems, payments ✔️  Use old financial services knowledge and new knowledge as app developer ✔️  Company Portrait: Digitally verify sold or displayed but unpaid receivables every day ✔️  Borrowing Base: Pull IP or ad network revenues and borrow up to 95% ✔️  Misunderstandings: User acquisition and financial staff need to speak same language ✔️  Key Metrics: Calculate user acquisition machine as an investment equation ✔️  Capital Stack: Start with cheapest, next most expensive, stop when it doesn’t make sense ✔️  Economic Laws: Demand-and-supply curve for UI for a mobile app ✔️  Public or Private: As companies get bigger, budget process gets harder ✔️  Android or iOS? iOS ✔️  What is Martin’s favorite mobile app today? Vivino ✔️  What’s Martin wanting with technologies? Longer battery life and a bigger keyboard Links and Resources: Martin Macmillan’s Email Pollen VC Pollen’s LTV Calculator and App Cashflow Forecaster Quotes by Martin Macmillan: “Most developers and publishers that we’re working with, they just want to know what is available, how much can I draw, and when can I get it?” “The user acquisition is nothing more than an investment equation. How much money do you invest? When do you break even on the money? When do you get your return on your money?” “A lot of people didn’t really realize whether their UA was likely to be ROI-positive or not.” “Be very focused on profitability, as opposed to a source of capital or anything else. You want to be able to do everything that’s going to keep you driving towards maximizing your return.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

How old were you when you got your first smartphone? These days, 98% of the Generation Z demographic have a smartphone and owned their first one by the age of 10. Why? Apps.  Today’s guest is Lexi Sydow, Senior Market Insights Manager at App Annie. Lexi talks about how to build a winning Gen Z mobile marketing strategy. If you were born in the mid-to-late 1990s to early 2010s, then you’re part of Gen Z. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️  Why should app marketers consider different generations? Priorities and psychology ✔️  Gen Z Stats: Average user base doubled faster and engages 20% more frequently ✔️  Mobile Device Delight: App marketers offer personal, timely, and relevant communication ✔️  Why attract Gen Z? Formative years establish brand preferences and earn loyalty ✔️  Daily Active Users: KPI metric measured anytime app is opened during defined period ✔️  What app categories are most popular with Gen Z? Comics, social, and games ✔️  Time vs. Money: Gen Z spent time playing games, but interest grew in finance, shopping ✔️  TikTok and Snapchat: Gen Z marketing strategy should focus first on videos and images Links and Resources: Lexi Sydow on LinkedIn App Annie App Annie Report: How to Build a Winning Gen Z Strategy on Mobile #16: 10 Actions marketers need to win mobile with Lexi Sydow, Data Analyst at App Annie Quotes by Lexi Sydow: “Gen Z is the only generation to grow up with a smartphone in their hands.” “Every engagement of every session is an opportunity to delight a consumer.” “Mobile offers a really great way to garner brand awareness and trust.” “It’s all about tapping into this market in an authentic way that resonates with them, especially as they’re forming these habits and continuing to grow in their influence.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024  

How do app marketers engage consumers and keep them using their apps? This is not a trivial question. For the last several years, one of the top problems marketers had with their apps was a User Churn. The numbers are staggering - around 30% of users used an app within the first day since they had downloaded it and only about 10% or less within the next 30 days.  But don’t lose sleep over app retention and engagement questions. Today’s guest is Tommy Yannopoulos, Director of Sales at Remerge. Tommy talks about the economics of mobile app retargeting to re-engage consumers. Today’s Topics Include: ✔️  Mobile Marketing Industry: Valuable learning experience getting acquired by competitors ✔️  Retarget: Engage consumers when they are not on your property to complete an action ✔️  Performance Marketing: Math equation that everyone is trying to crack and scale ✔️  User Acquisition: Communicate consistently with consumers ✔️  App Ecosystem: Losing consumers is part of the game; reduce churn to relate to brand ✔️  Audience Segments: First-time and previous purchases present different behaviors ✔️  eCommerce App Mistakes: Lack of personalization Lack of focus on seamless consumer experience Use of poorly developed creatives not compelling to consumers Challenge of measuring efficacy and incrementality of campaigns ✔️  Privacy Updates/Delays: Consumers have rights, companies obligated to follow them ✔️  Android or iOS? iOS ✔️  Favorite App(s): AllModern from Wayfair ✔️  What’s Tommy looking forward to with app technology in the future? 5G, Apple’s innovation Links and Resources: Remerge Tommy Yannopoulos’s Email Tommy Yannopoulos on LinkedIn The Social Dilemma on Netflix Quotes by Tommy Yannopoulos: “User acquisition, that’s my biggest argument for why you should retarget. If it’s economically in the green for you, there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t do it.” “You should retarget because you want to talk to your consumers on a consistent basis.” “It’s important for businesses to stay engaged with their consumers because as we know, especially in the app ecosystem, losing consumers is part of the game.” “The Holy Grail of retargeting, in general, is personalization.” Brought to you by Business Of Apps App industry marketplace Insights App Growth videos App Data App Events A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/   London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024