CW Network uses Google?s new invite feature to extend reach
Google?s latest invention for Android application developers allows brands such as The CW Television Network and recipe generator Yummly to reach a larger audience with its new App Invite feature that allows marketers to access users? contact lists to spread referrals.
The feature, which is currently in beta, enables marketers to tap into users? contact lists on their devices and give them an option to seamlessly send other consumers invite notifications. Through the App Invite service, marketers open up their audience and encourage installs with an integrated experience.
?In today?s market, there are millions of apps on the virtual shelves of Google Play and the App Store, and as a result, it is becoming increasingly challenging for brands to be discovered and engage with consumers,” said Craig Palli, chief strategy officer at Fiksu. “Google?s new App Invites feature presents a scalable, automated way to enable brands to reach out to consumers, while also providing an equally simple and scalable method for those consumers to discover, install and begin using the app.
“This new feature absolutely has a runaway potential for success because it aligns brands with a powerful new scalable tool to reach a large volume of engaged consumers,” he said. “Google has made it extremely easy to get this off the ground, and when things are simple, they tend to be successful.
“The announcement of App Invites is consistent with several of Google?s other recent announcements that suggest the company is poised to become an increasingly powerful partner for brands in the growth of their app marketing strategy.?
Broader reach
Brands on board believe that this will take off and allow for users to share content as well as invites. Users can share an advertisement for an app as an invite with an integrated button that sends users directly to the Google Play store to download the app.
Yummly plans for users to be able to send various content such as recipes and shopping lists to friends and family through SMS and email. The button will be included to download the app.
This is an authentic manner of increasing downloads for the brands. It is important for marketers to access consumers this way rather than forcing advertisements upon them.
The seamless experience is also imperative, as prompting users directly to download the app is crucial to increasing installs. Users simply click the App Invite button and will not be taken to an outside browser as the download begins.
The fewer steps it takes for users to get to the end result, the more likely they are to follow through to a download.
Google steps
This is one of many steps to secure Google?s place as an icon in technology.
Project Brillo, Google?s latest attempt to unify the disparate technologies of the Internet of Things, has a stronger chance of gaining acceptance than its quietly abandoned predecessor Android@Home did, by providing both interconnectivity and the base for developing apps across devices (see more).
Additionally, while many big brands are retooling to be mobile-friendly to retain high Google mobile search rankings ahead of the big search engine?s algorithm changes starting in two weeks, the tweaking will catch a number of marketers off guard, especially those with multiple or neglected Web properties (see more).
?Productizing the phenomena of word-of-mouth recommendations is smart because it increases the sticky nature of apps,” said Yvonne Chen, senior director of product marketing at Localytics. “Google?s App Invites also help to show a user the app’s relevance to him/her more quickly, creating an engaging, personalized initial app experience.
“Given 20 percent of apps are only used once, this on boarding process is critical because it could determine whether or not the user engages with the app again or it is forgotten,” she said. ?At first glance, App Invites seem to be most relevant for apps with shareable content.
“It would be difficult for an app like Uber to make use of, but for content apps, the organic reach they could earn through sharing of restaurants, articles, recipes, flight prices, etc. is incredibly valuable. This feature has the potential of being successful for brands, but brands need to define success and tie it to a downstream metric like lifetime value or user retention to truly understand the impact on their business.?
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer
