App marketers are constantly searching for alternative growth channels to maximize their reach. One avenue that holds significant promise is Xiaomi’s ecosystem, which is renowned for its smartphones and MIUI operating system. With a growing user base exceeding 600 million, Xiaomi presents a fantastic opportunity for app developers to reach millions of active users across various devices. In this guide, we explore how developers and marketers can leverage Xiaomi’s ecosystem to maximize app exposure and drive engagement.
Here’s the Overview of Xiaomi’s Ecosystem:
- Smartphones
Known for its extensive range of smartphones, Xiaomi caters to a diverse range of market segments. In addition to budget-friendly smartphones with excellent value for money, Xiaomi offers premium flagship models with cutting-edge features. Innovation and competitive pricing have propelled Xiaomi to prominence in the global smartphone market. - MIUI
MIUI is Xiaomi’s proprietary Android-based operating system, known for its user-friendly interface, extensive customization options, and seamless integration with Xiaomi’s ecosystem. Users can select themes, use advanced security options, control gestures, and optimize their devices using AI. MIUI also serves as a platform for delivering its ecosystem services and improving its user experience across its wide range of devices. The active user count reached 400 million early in 2020, maintaining steady growth. The number of MIUI active users surpassed 500 million last year. Currently, there are more than 600 million users. - Mi Store
As Xiaomi’s official app distribution platform, the Mi Store offers users access to various apps, games, utilities, and other digital content. With the Mi Store, users can easily discover, download, and update apps tailored to their preferences. Aside from offering developers an opportunity to showcase their creations and reach a wider audience, Xiaomi ensures quality standards are met. - Mi Ads
Xiaomi’s advertising platform is Mi Ads. Advertisers can promote their products or services across Xiaomi’s ecosystem, which includes smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and other internet-connected devices.
Advertisers can target Xiaomi device users’ specific demographics, interests, and behaviors with Mi Ads. By using analytics and insights, advertisers can measure and optimize their ad campaigns for better results.
As one of the leading OEMs in the global smartphone market, Xiaomi has established itself as a significant player. In 2022, Xiaomi smartphones shipped over 153 million units, accounting for almost 13 percent of the global smartphone market and behind only Apple and Samsung.
Regional dominance
Xiaomi has a strong presence and market dominance in several key regions across the globe. Notably, the company excels in:
- China: In its home market, Xiaomi gained prominence for offering high-quality smartphones at competitive prices. Xiaomi maintains a significant share of the Chinese market despite stiff competition from domestic rivals. Around 67 million smartphones were shipped in China in the third quarter of 2023.
- India: Xiaomi is the number one smartphone vendor in India, capturing a significant share of the market. A strong marketing strategy and extensive distribution network have helped the brand dominate the highly competitive smartphone market in India. The fourth quarter of 2022 saw the shipment of about 30 million smartphones across India.
- Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia are among Xiaomi’s key markets in Southeast Asia.
Europe and beyond
Over the past few years, Xiaomi has steadily expanded beyond its traditional markets, becoming a major player in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and other regions. Based on shipments in the third quarter of 2023, Xiaomi obtained 22 percent of the European smartphone market.
Types of Placements within Xiaomi’s Ecosystem
Now that we covered the basics of Xiaomi and got a grasp of their significance in the global market, we can move on to discovering how app developers and marketers can leverage this. Let’s take a look at the different and unique ways to maximize your app’s reach with Xiaomi:
- Native Placements: Native ads are performance-based ads that include various placements in Xiaomi devices. Native ads are carefully integrated into the device, so that they are shown as organic content users rather than an annoying ad that keeps popping up on their screen.
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- Icons: The app icon can be placed in a range of different ways in a Xiaomi mobile device such as in the game folder, Mi Browser and the app vault. Xiaomi also offers ‘’1st screen’’, ‘’Must-Have’’ and ‘’Hot Search’’ features in the Mi Store so that your app can be shown where users are looking the most. By leveraging these placements, you can get your app in front of the users directly and all they need to do is click on the app icon.
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- Push Notifications: As we all know, push notifications are crucial to interact with the users. Whether to call a user back to the app or give information about the latest offers, push notifications should be tailored and data-backed. With Xiaomi’s push notifications, you can interact with users who don’t own your app, spark curiosity, increase CTR and get installs.
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- Pre-Installed Apps: Pre-loading involves pre-installing your mobile app on newly purchased devices. It allows motivated new device owners to see your app from the very beginning and catches their attention. This model eliminates the process of browsing app stores and trying to find the right app, creating a cost-effective campaign.
Why not choose Google Play?
Google Play is undoubtedly a significant app distribution platform, but Xiaomi’s ecosystem provides marketers and developers with unique advantages:
- Access to Xiaomi’s Extensive User Base:
Xiaomi has a massive user base spanning smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and other connected devices. Xiaomi’s ecosystem enables developers to reach millions of active users.
- Targeted Advertising Opportunities:
Advertisers can target Xiaomi device users based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors. You can maximize your advertising campaign’s effectiveness by targeting your ads to the most relevant audience.
- Seamless Integration with Xiaomi Devices:
Xiaomi’s native placements ensure that your ads are seamlessly integrated into the user experience. Whether through app icons, push notifications, or pre-installed apps, your ads will appear organically, enhancing user engagement and driving app installs.
- Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions:
Xiaomi offers cost-effective advertising options as an alternative to traditional channels. With a variety of placement options and flexible pricing models, developers can maximize their marketing budgets and achieve better ROI.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Xiaomi’s ecosystem offers fertile ground for app developers and marketers seeking to maximize app exposure and drive engagement. By discovering OEMs (which include other giant brands in the global mobile market), you can strengthen your user acquisition strategy and tap into new user bases natively. Check out some OEM success stories to learn more👇
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