Targeting the right audience is of paramount importance to any mobile marketer; it allows you to advertise efficiently, and effectively and maximize your ROAS. This happens to be the specialist of universal app campaigns (UACs). UACs are a great way to promote your app and reach new users, but it’s important to understand where UACs can run in order to maximize your ad campaign’s performance. Here’s everything you need to know about where UACs can run and how to make the most of them.
What is a UAC?
A UAC is a form of automated online advertising offered by Google. Google’s UAC is powered by machine learning algorithms that allow it to determine your best-performing ads and show them to your best-responding audiences. This allows UACs to help app marketers quickly and easily reach the right users on the right platforms, namely Google Ads, YouTube, Google Play, and the Google Display Network.
Google Ads
Google Ads is the most common platform for UACs. UACs can be used to display ads in Google Search and Display networks, including Gmail and the YouTube App. Ads will automatically be optimized across all these networks.
Google Play
UACs can also be used to show ads in the Google Play app store. These ads will be targeted to users that are likely to be interested in your app. Ads can be targeted to specific behavioral, demographic and locational segments, allowing you to reach the target market you have identified.
YouTube
UACs can also be used to show ads on YouTube. These ads will be targeted to users who are likely to be interested in your app based on their YouTube viewing history. Ads can be targeted to specific demographics and locations, allowing you to reach the right users.
Google Display Network
UACs can also be used to display ads on the Google Display Network. This network includes over two million websites and apps that reach over 90% of internet users. These ads will be targeted to users based on their browsing history and demographics.
AdMob: In-app Ads
UACs can also be used to show ads in other apps through Google’s Admob integration. These ads will be targeted to users based on their in-app behavior. This is a great way to reach users who are already engaged with mobile apps that offer similar stimuli to users as your own app.
Benefits of Alternative App Marketing Strategies
Ad platforms like AppSamurai are specifically adept at targeting users beyond the reach of walled gardens like Google’s marketing solutions and UAC. AppSamurai specifically is a one-stop shop mobile marketing solution that allows advertisers to target users through multiple channels with unique benefits.
OEM Inventories
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, it is used to describe entities that build technologies and devices; in mobile marketing, it includes smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo to name a few. OEM inventories are further subcategorized into pre-install campaigns and recommendation engines.
Bypass the Competition
By advertising using pre-install campaigns, your app will be pre-loaded onto new smartphone devices before they are sold to end-users. The campaign displays a conversion once a user opens your pre-installed app on his smartphone for the first time. This campaign style allows you to target and pay for users who are interested in your app before your competition can even reach them. This is a method commonly used by Samsung and can be accessed via AppSamurai’s ad platform.
Get Recommended
The in-device recommendation engine is a form of advertising space within a smartphone device’s applications page that features promotional apps for its users. This method can be targeted toward users that download apps similar to your own; it converts when a user downloads your promoted app for the first time. Xiaomi’s Mi Ads platform is optimized for this form of advertising and is accessible through AppSamurai’s inventory.
To learn more about OEMs, click here.
DSPs (Demand Side Platforms)
Demand-side platforms, or DSPs, are a type of software that advertisers can use to purchase ads through automated programmatic advertising. DSPs enable mobile advertisers to easily purchase and manage their ad inventories from various sources from a single platform, making them among the best marketing automation tools to use.
Extended Ad Reach
AppSamurai’s aggregation of the top DSP platforms in the world means that advertisers can gain access to a vast plethora of placements around the world, boosting their reach to new heights.
Improved Targeting
DSPs can provide you with advanced targeting capabilities that enable you to hyper-target all ad campaigns. You can select specific demographics, locations, and even browser behavior to get your brand in front of the audiences who are most likely to download and install your app. The right platform will also be able to use retargeting campaigns to connect with users who’ve seen your ads but didn’t connect with them the first time. This will help maximize impressions and ensure your ads have more chances to reach the right people at the right time.
Ad Performance Analytics
Additionally, you can gain all of the insight you need into your campaigns at a granular level. You can view key metrics in real-time, from click-through rates and impressions to page view lift and traffic. This information will remain consistently up-to-date to keep all of the data relevant at all times. Based on the information you collect about your campaigns, you can take the appropriate steps to further optimize them
Rewarded Ads
Rewarded ads, also known as incentivized ads or rewarded engagements, are certain types of ads that enable users to choose whether to view them. After viewing these ads, users can receive certain in-app rewards, which could include in-app currency or other monetary rewards like Paypal top-ups or Starbucks cards. Rewarded ads are usually displayed on what is known as offer walls.
Offer walls consist of a series of ads that ad networks put together. Through the integration of an SDK in their app, owners can offer rewarded engagement materials to users. Users can then choose to engage with the offer wall, which will enable them to view ads and receive rewards after interacting with them. Rewarded ads
Increased Ranking in Stores
A burst of incentive-led installs will allow your app to experience a boost in terms of its category ranking in the app store. Why is this beneficial? By jumping over competing apps, you enter the competitive space for increased visibility amongst organic users, boosting your organic uplift.
Drive more in-app purchases
Once users have purchased in-app items and content with rewarded currency or points, they’ll be more likely to spend real money on in-app items in the future. In fact, statistics show that rewarded ads are up to 4.5 times more likely to lead to in-app purchases.
Influencer Performance Marketing
Not to be mistaken with the branding version of influencer marketing which focuses on building brand awareness, influencer performance marketing aims to enhance app user acquisition. The same way one would provide a DSP (demand side platform) with an attribution tool’s tracking URL, influencers are provided with trackers and creatives which they then integrate into their content or profile information and distribute via explore pages.
Organic Uplift
Historic campaign data has proven that advertisers that promote their apps via IPM campaigns only end up paying for 70% of their total acquired users.
ROAS Positive
Based on the aforementioned fact, not only does this mean that you can boost your organic downloads and enhance your visibility to prospective customers, but you also end up getting a 30% natural discount every time you launch an IPM campaign.
Brand Awareness
While IPM does focus on performance-based marketing, it cannot be denied that this is a form of viral marketing. Given that, it can be expected that the followers of the influencers that promote your app are bound to hear about it, and even discuss it amongst their communities.
Conclusion
The key factor for advertisers to consider is that by simply running UAC campaigns, you cannot reach your full potential target audience. In order to run a successful marketing campaign, the optimal strategy would be to divide your marketing budget amongst UAC campaigns and alternative app marketing platforms. App advertising platforms like AppSamurai specialize in targeting users that are out of UAC’s reach, which means a synergized approach will maximize your target audience and hence your mobile marketing success rate.
Run all your alternative DSP, OEM inventory, rewarded ads and IPM campaigns on AppSamurai’s one-stop shop platform with the assistance of a dedicated account management team. For more information, head to the AppSamurai website or sign up to begin your hyper growth journey today.