In an ever-changing and competitive streaming world, media companies are vying for consumer attention like never before. Thankfully, you probably already have a powerful tool to drive viewer acquisition and engagement — your app. Consumers who download your app are much more likely to become highly engaged, loyal viewers. But how do you grab attention and get new viewers into your app?
Here are six tactics to help you drive app adoption and engagement:
1. Personalized banners drive users from web to app
Web search is the leading way mobile users find brands and sought-after content. While the best experiences for media and streaming tend to — or only — exist in apps, this imbalance actually provides a huge opportunity to acquire and direct web users to your app where engagement is higher and users are more valuable.
Web banners alone can be highly effective for educating users on app benefits and guiding traffic to your app. But if you’re looking to step up your game, contextual messaging drives even stronger conversions.
As seen above, Branch allows A&E to pull in show titles from its web page to customize the copy of its web-to-app Journeys banner. This creates a dynamic Journey for a more personalized feel.
The CW Network showcases custom creatives for each show page and uses a full page Journeys interstitial. Video content must be streamed in the app and Branch Journeys make that pathway as seamless as possible, even for advanced use cases.
And of course, users entering the app via a Journeys banner will be deep linked to the content they were originally viewing on the web!
2. Emails deep link app users
Users who (a) have your mobile app and (b) interact with your emails represent a highly engaged and valuable audience. From our research, the majority of marketing emails are now opened on a mobile device, so deep linking is critical for maximizing the potential of email as a marketing channel.
Whether you’re sending a promotional email, an engagement message, or triggered and personalized content, a fluid experience supported through email deep linking is the expectation.
Headspace sends app users directly to the promoted content in its app, reducing friction and increasing engagement.
Branch solves the email-to-app gap by integrating with email service providers (ESPs) to provide reliable linking and attribution for every install and down-channel conversion. Deep linking helps turn email into a powerful channel to drive both app engagement and bottom line results.
3. Deep link from owned social media accounts
Social media is a largely untapped market for your app. Deep linking outside the walls of social media platforms and their in-app webviews can be quite difficult to master. Branch links take care of that, leaving you a green pasture for app promotion.
Branch links can be scaled across social channels to route users from content in a social post to that same content within your app. For example, dDone right, deep linking can do wonders for an organic social acquisition strategy.
There are two key types of placements to consider on social media:
- Branded link in bio. This evergreen placement is an easy win.
2. Posts and Stories. This is a great opportunity to reserve a regular social post to highlight your app’s features. It’s also a chance to introduce deep linking to content you’re already promoting.
4. QR codes and SMS boost app downloads from TV
With the rise of connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) apps, chances are your media company has a digital presence on these platforms. While TV-to-app may seem like a stretch to acquire users, QR code usage coupled with OTT app functionality has made this more attainable than ever.
QVC considers distance to strategically position its QR code during its Live program. This encourages users to scan and download the QVC app from the comfort of their couch!
Within its OTT app, QVC lets users send an SMS link to view products on their mobile devices. Users are also encouraged to use their phones as a shopping assistant while viewing the Live program.
Branch offers best-in-class QR code linking and analytics support that can be used to help power your SMS campaigns through the use of Branch Links.
5. Referrals boost user-to-user engagement
How often do you listen to a song or watch a show and instantly think of that one friend who you know will feel the exact same way?
Having a seamless pathway to sharing is essential. A mobile linking platform (MLP) like Branch provides the accurate link matching necessary to enable user-to-user sharing and re-engagement with referrals.
A shared piece of content has a much higher activation potential than other forms of content distribution. After all, if your friend took the time to send something to you, it must be good.
6. Deferred deep linking from ads drives higher conversions
Have you ever seen something intriguing featured in an ad and gone through the process of downloading the required app only to be dropped at the homepage? In other words, you got lost. Frustrating, huh? We agree. Deferred deep linking through install is a Branch core competency. Delivering the expected content is a no-brainer and guaranteed to drive higher conversion rates. Many companies we work with optimize on conversions rather than only installs so clearing a path for the user to action is essential.
Build a better UX and drive conversions
Deep linking consumers from ads, web, emails, social media, and shares will not only build a better user experience designed to delight your users. It will also drive app installs, boost conversions, and, ultimately, create loyal, long-term viewers. In a world where consumers have so many choices for what to watch, making it easier for them to engage with your app is an unmistakable step. Branch’s leading mobile linking and measurement solutions help streaming companies optimize and attribute conversions.
Branch provides the industry’s leading mobile linking and measurement platforms, offering solutions that unify user experience and attribution across devices and channels. Branch has been selected by over 100,000 apps since 2014 including Adobe, BuzzFeed, Yelp, and many more, improving experiences for more than 3 billion monthly users across the globe. Learn more about Branch or contact sales today.