Today SGN announced the acquisition of Mob Science. What a great move for Chris, Josh and the whole team! I discussed the acquisition with the Peter Delevett from the San Jose Mercury News for a story he filed entitled,
“MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe looks to profit from Zynga’s downfall.”
During the interview, Peter asked me to describe the differences between creating app mechanics for social apps versus that of mobile apps. This is a question we answer every day at Kontagent and we know now what smart app developers and marketers need to do to create amazing experiences. Specifically, we recommend that:
Design for short session engagement on phones: People often engage “on the go.” This is very different than the world of social apps as Web users frequently sat for long sessions.
Differentiate by device: Tablet apps and mobile apps often exhibit vastly different user behavior. Design for the device and leverage bigger screens, longer engagement windows, and higher likelihood to purchase on tablets. Social apps on the web only had one platform to worry about.
Precisely measure user acquisition channels: Unlike apps on Facebook where there was one dominant user acquisition channel (Facebook Ads), mobile advertising is extremely fragmented and there are enormous differences in the quality of users across channels.
Analytics are more important than ever: Iteration time is much slower on mobile due to App Store approval processes and the very nature of binary client side app distribution. Be prepared to measure results, carefully plan and analyze experiments, and use data intelligently to make the best decisions and get the most out of less frequent, larger app updates.
Leverage social channels: Check out the Top Grossing apps today and you’ll find nearly all of them build around social features. Unlike social apps on the Web, leveraging just one social channel is not enough on mobile. Facebook, Twitter, Game Center, and now Google Plus are all important in the Web. Measure the performance of social channels to test and optimize sharing features and campaigns.
Don’t forget to test: You only get one big launch on mobile–make the most of it. There is limited “shelf space” in the form of a featured position in app stores, and discovery is a major problem for the ecosystem today. Make sure you experiment in small test markets well before your big launch in major markets, and that you are using data to help test what is and isn’t working in your app and iterate before you go big.
When monetizing your mobile app, remember that the same online lessons apply BUT:
Optimize game mechanics and balance engagement while encouraging your users to make in-app purchases;
Track revenue channels to understand the best price points for your user cohorts;
Individually track each and every revenue channel, from in-app purchases to ad yields, for-sale mix and conversion funnels–to understand the best price points;
Today launching a mobile app feels a little more like launching a boxed software product in the days of yore. And while, many lessons apply as you cross over from the world of social app development to the mobile app business, you’ll have to overcome new challenges. The most successful mobile app companies in the world realize this and have deployed new practices, and make the most of this explosive marketplace.
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About the author: Josh Williams is president and chief science officer at Kontagent, where he oversees strategic revenue projects, data science and R&D. A serial entrepreneur, Josh has led two successful start-ups to large exits (one in big data, one in gaming). Josh is an investor and loves collaborating with other entrepreneurs.
