Marketing In a Crisis: App Advertising

Note to readers: This is the fifth in a series of posts offering some guidance for marketers during this global health crisis. 

Previous posts: 

• Marketing in a Crisis: Ecommerce Channel Ads
• Marketing in a Crisis: Search Engine Marketing
• Marketing in a Crisis: Social Advertising
• Marketing In a Crisis: Local Advertising

The COVID pandemic is shifting consumer behavior quickly.

Downloads and time spent with teleconferencing apps, telehealth apps, and any shopping or entertainment apps are surging. This change in behavior likely won’t be a temporary shift either and it’s very likely that apps—which have been steadily gaining consumer media time over the last decade—will see their importance grow as part of the overall media mix with brands in the post-COVID era.

In today’s post in our ongoing Marketing in a Crisis series, we’re going to take a closer look at app marketing and how marketers should think about their programs to adjust them accordingly.

Consumers at home = more time spent with apps

By now we know that the global COVID-19 pandemic is translating into a deep economic crisis that will affect everyone, everywhere. It’s times like these where companies need to get creative and communicate with their current and potential customers with a sense of empathy and social responsibility, while still demonstrating their value where applicable.

Some categories will see a huge impact on their business, regardless. Companies in sectors like transportation, travel, leisure, retail, insurance, among others may find it hard to reach their objectives with their apps.

Then there are other verticals like gaming, education, health and fitness, delivery apps or entertainment that have an opportunity to take advantage of lower acquisition costs, scale their programs and give back to the community.

Empathy and giving back can span both groups, and some leading companies are already doing this. Donating part of their profits to help either research centers or the less fortunate, creating communities to ensure that people stay at home, and providing services to help make commuting unnecessary are some of the ideas we’ve seen from brands, particularly those that are taking the biggest negative hit from the pandemic.

Tips for app marketers to shift their strategies during COVID-19

The team at Skai Apps has a wealth of knowledge and experience that can help app marketers get through these challenges. Here are some of their favorites.

Make sure your creatives are sensitive to the current situation

Refrain from promoting ads that encourage in-person transactions and, conversely, highlight any social features within the app the user can partake in while remote (i.e., video chat, MMS texting). 

Skai Apps clients can use our creative builder to swiftly put together new assets and our ad creator to launch the new creatives in bulk across all your existing ad sets.

Stay nimble

We are constantly reminded that we are in an unprecedented time, and the reality is that no one knows what will happen week-to-week or month-to-month. Because of this, marketers need to be able to adapt and adjust quickly when they notice a micro-shift in the market. 

Use the filter tool in Skai Apps to quickly identify and pause any ads that may have specific insensitive messaging.

Track sentiment on your posts

It’s hard to gauge just how consumers will react to brand messaging right now. It’s important to be able to pause ads that are getting negative sentiment and share those insights with your team so they know how to proceed. Conversely, discover what is generating positive sentiment and find ways to build out more ads based on those insights.

Skai clients can use our Facebook Posts grid to see how users are responding to ad copy. Adapt your messaging based on how users react. 

Be aware of your vertical and how the current situation affects your app

While some verticals such as sports and travel are taking a big hit, mobile gaming, food delivery, and e-learning apps are thriving. Keep a close eye on your KPIs. 

Skai Apps clients can use our trend chart to decide whether or not you should increase or decrease spend based on how performance is changing over time.

How Can We Help?

Even though apps have already become a major part of consumers’ lives, this global health crisis has put a major new emphasis on how apps can help us everywhere—from shopping to communicating with friends and co-workers to simply providing a much-needed, entertaining distraction from the stress.

Having a technology partner that can help drive performance across the major online channels that matter to app marketers is incredibly important. 

Contact us today to learn how Skai can help. 

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