Once the app is downloaded, you have little time to take a sigh of relief and then again start focusing on making things easier for them until their goal is achieved.
According to AppsFlyer, an app marketing company, the global uninstall rate for apps after 30 days is 28%. Entertainment apps are most frequently deleted, whereas apps based on finance are least frequently deleted. No matter which app category you belong to, your strategy should be to remain on the mobile phones of users for a long time and not just sit around but fulfill your purpose as well.
If we analyze the encounters of users with an app step by step, it can help us unveil the critical factors that influence mobile app audiences so that we can work upon those and achieve our purpose. Here are the details:
Step 1: Finding Your App in the App Store
For this, we have to first find out what exactly users type to search for an app. Based on research, it has been found that 47% of app users on iOS confirmed that they found the app through the App Store’s search engine, and 53% of app users on Android confirmed the same.
What have been their search queries? Interestingly, as per the data provided by the TUNE research, 86% of the top 100 keywords were brands. With little scope for non-branded categories, most of the keywords were either games or utility apps. Common keywords in the non-branded category are: games, free games, VPN, calculator, music, photo editor, and weather.
Leaving brands aside, if we analyze the user type of a non-branded category, we will get two types of users:
1. Users are informed, and they know what they are searching for.
2. Users are exploring possibilities and have no precise information in mind.
If you are a mobile app development company targeting non-branded users, then your efforts must be directed toward creating apps that compel these two types of users. To do so, we have to analyze, once they are on an app store, what keywords they use to search. Regina Leuwer, with expertise in marketing and communications, brings some light to the subject. She reached out to Sebastian Knopp, creator of the app store search intelligence tool app-keywords, who shared with her the data on unique trending search phrases. And according to that data, in 2017, there were around 2,455 unique search phrases trending in the US.
Now, if we study these data to get information, we will find that the name of the app is critical to attracting the attention of the users.
If your app belongs to the non-branded category, then make sure your app name is similar to the common search queries but also unique in comparison with your competitors. So that when your app name is flashed, they click on it, finding it purposeful and compelling at the same time.
Step 2. Installation
Remember, your users’ mobile devices have limited resources, from battery to storage and RAM to the Internet. Everything is limited. So better create an application that is easy to download, or say, gets downloaded in 5 minutes. One critical piece of advice here:
1. Keep the application file size small.
If you are a developer, use APK Analyzer to find out which part of the application is consuming the most space. You can also reduce the classes.dex file and res folder that contain images, raw files, and XML.
Step 3. Onboarding
After the user has successfully downloaded your mobile application, don’t make any assumptions. Guide them properly. This you can do through an onboarding process, where users can learn the key functionality and where to begin with the mobile app.
Below are the three things you need to keep in mind when creating an onboarding process for your users.
- Short and Crisp: The entire guidance of features and functions should be completed within a few seconds, with easy options and a loud and clear option to skip.
- Precise Information: Don’t introduce them to the app. They already know what they have downloaded. The objective is to inform people about the key functions and features.
- Allow Users to Skip: Let the tech-savvy users skip the intro. Your app is to meet their requirements, not have a friendly session.
Step 4: Purpose and UI
Here, the stage is set for your app, and it is your golden chance to impress your users. What is needed here is collaboration between the purpose and UI of the app. It totally depends on the problem-solving capability and ease of use of the mobile app. Interface design plays a critical role, allowing the users to access features of the apps easily and quickly to perform the task for which they have downloaded the app. When it comes to interface design, make sure that it is interactive and task-oriented. Here are some factors that you must take care of while creating a mobile app interface:
1. Usability: The mobile phone is the epitome of convenience, and if your users find it difficult to use your app, then there is no way they are going to make the space for it on their mobile phones. From screen size to the color of the app, there are many factors that are equally critical and need attention.
2. Intuitive: To create an intuitive user interface, you have to read the minds of the users and develop a model based on that. The next should be precise, clear, and ‘obvious’ in an interface.
3. Availability: Key features should be hidden in the drop-down menu, or even if so, it should be obvious for the user to look into the drop-down. An intricate work of design and research is required to make essential features available for the customers, and they don’t need to navigate here and there.