How to Increase Mobile App Engagement: The Ultimate Playbook

Are you launching a mobile app?

Bringing the app into the market is where your work only starts. To ensure the success of your app, you need to make sure the app engages its users so they’ll keep using it beyond the first visit or two.

App engagement refers to the level of user interaction, satisfaction, and involvement within an app. It plays a critical role in retaining users, driving app visibility, and ultimately, achieving business goals.

User engagement drives retention, and retention is good for business. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer, and increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits from 25-95%.

In short, engaging and easy-to-use apps will have users flocking around them, staying longer and are more likely to buy whatever the app is selling.

This blog will guide you on how to increase mobile app engagement by implementing effective strategies, leveraging essential features, and tracking relevant metrics.

By following these recommendations, you can optimize user experiences, foster long-term engagement, and maximize the success of your mobile app.

I. What is Mobile App Engagement?

Mobile app engagement is a fundamental aspect of building a successful app and fostering a loyal user base. Mobile app engagement refers to the level of user interaction, involvement, and satisfaction within an app.

Engaged users are active and enthusiastic, regularly using and interacting with the app's features and content. They form a loyal user base that not only drives app usage but also becomes advocates, recommending the app to others.

Engaged users are more likely to spend time within the app, explore its features, and make in-app purchases. This increased user activity not only drives revenue but also strengthens the overall success of the app.

II. Obstacles for Growing App Engagement

The obstacles for app engagement come in many forms:

High drop-off rates

Retaining users beyond the initial download is crucial for sustained engagement. Many apps face high user drop-off rates after the first use, making it essential to design compelling experiences and continually provide value to users. In fact, the average retention rate on Day 7 after the app instalment is only 6,5% on Android and 9,4% on iOS.

Competition

The app market is saturated, with 5.7 million apps vying for users' attention. Standing out from the competition and capturing users' interest requires thoughtful engagement strategies.

High Expectations from Users

Users have increasingly high expectations when it comes to app experiences. To maintain engagement, apps must continually evolve, adapt to user preferences, and offer innovative features. A clear majority of the users will reward brands for making apps that are easy to use.

Retaining Attention

With the abundance of apps available, capturing and maintaining users' attention is a challenge. Ensuring that your app remains engaging, useful, and enjoyable over time is crucial to its success.

It’s a well-known anecdote that nowadays humans have a shorter attention span than a goldfish, and social media and apps are some of the main culprits. However, this persistent story that seems to be a myth. How else would we able to binge on Netflix series or podcasts?

Still, one might argue that capturing and holding the attention of your audience is more important than ever. Ads that feature short content dominate the social platforms, especially on the platforms favored by Gen Z.

Image Source: eMarketer 2022; platform ad guidelines, Insider Intelligence.

When you understand the challenges, you can implement effective measures to improve app engagement and foster a loyal user base.

In the next sections, we will explore strategies, features, and metrics that can help address these challenges and enhance mobile app engagement.

III. The Role of Design in User Engagement

The role of design in improving user engagement in a mobile app is pivotal. A well-thought-out and user-centric design can significantly enhance the overall user experience, making the app more appealing, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. Here are some tips on how to use design to improve user engagement in a mobile app and where to focus:

Intuitive User Interface (UI):

• Keep the app's UI simple, clean, and intuitive, ensuring that users can easily navigate and find what they need without confusion.
• Use recognizable icons, clear labels, and familiar UI patterns to guide users through the app effortlessly.
• Focus on a consistent design across the app, so users can quickly learn and understand how to interact with different sections.

Visual Appeal and Branding:

• Create an aesthetically pleasing design that aligns with the app's branding and target audience. A visually appealing app creates a positive first impression and encourages users to explore further.
• Use colors, fonts, and graphics that resonate with the app's purpose and evoke the right emotions in users.
• Incorporate eye-catching visuals, such as high-quality images or animations, to make the app engaging and visually stimulating.

Click on the stories to see some of the apps made with Choicely.

User Feedback and Support:

• Provide easy-to-access feedback channels for users to share their thoughts, suggestions, or issues with the app.
• Actively respond to user feedback and make improvements based on their suggestions to show that their opinions are valued.
• Offer timely customer support through chatbots, in-app messaging, or email to address user queries and concerns promptly.

Smooth Performance and Responsiveness:

• Optimize app performance to ensure fast loading times, smooth transitions, and seamless interactions.
• Eliminate any lags or delays that could frustrate users and negatively impact their engagement.
• Test the app across various devices and network conditions to ensure responsiveness and consistent performance.
• NOTE: When you build your app with Choicely, you don’t need to worry about these things. We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on app performance such as the loading times, delays, device compatibility.

Recent mobile app trends. Image source: Gitnux

In summary, design plays a critical role in improving user engagement in a mobile app. A well-designed mobile app fosters a strong connection with users and ultimately leads to higher retention rates and increased app success.

IV. The Power of Push Notifications

Push notifications serve as a crucial tool for increasing mobile app engagement. They allow you to proactively communicate with your users, providing timely updates, reminders, and personalized messages.

Let's explore the importance of both real-time and scheduled push notifications in enhancing user engagement:

Real-Time Alerts and Updates

Push notifications are crucial in activating users and keeping them engaged. They can be used as immediate alerts sent to users' devices, keeping them informed – just about anything:

• relevant updates on breaking news, important events or new content
• new content
• time-sensitive information
• limited-time offers
• promotions
• inform about changes within the app
• remind users about unfinished tasks
• remind about upcoming deadlines or abandoned carts
• Et cetera.

All in all, timely notifications are a great way to bring users back to the app, and keep them engaged and informed.

Scheduled Push Notifications

Scheduling is a handy way for app owners to approach push notifications. Many important events are planned and known ahead of time anyway, so why not schedule push notifications well in advance? It leaves room for the app owner to also react in the situation, and also react with ad hoc notifications.

Some benefits of using scheduled push notifications include:

• Establishing a consistent presence by sending notifications at regular intervals
• Leaving time for making well planned, personalized and effective push messages
• Activating users take specific actions at specific times – within your app or “in the real world”

When you use both real-time and scheduled push notifications, you can maintain a continuous line of communication with your users, drive engagement, and encourage regular app usage.

Here’s how to send push notifications with Choicely.

Personalizing Push Notifications

In addition to timely delivery, personalization and relevance play a critical role in maximizing the impact of push notifications and increasing mobile app engagement. Users can opt-in for push messages on specific topics. By tailoring personalized content, you can create more meaningful connections and drive higher engagement.

Personalization also allows you to send targeted offers and increase the chances of conversion and user satisfaction. Understand your users on a deeper level, and you can create more meaningful connections and drive higher engagement.

Personalization allows you to:

• Send targeted offers or recommendations based on users' past interactions and preferences, increasing the chances of conversion and user satisfaction.
• Address users by name or include personalized content within the notification, fostering a sense of individual attention and enhancing user experience.
• Consider contextual factors, such as location or time zone, to deliver relevant notifications at the most fruitful moments.

To create compelling and relevant push notifications, you need to:

• Be concise and clear, use attention-grabbing language and a compelling call-to-action to encourage user engagement.
• Segment your user base based on relevant attributes, such as demographics, preferences, or behavior. Tailor your notifications to each segment's specific interests.
• Leverage user data and insights to understand what type of notifications drive the highest engagement. Experiment with different approaches and track the performance of your notifications to optimize their effectiveness.
• Continually test and iterate your push notification strategies to identify what resonates best with your users.

By personalizing push notifications and making them relevant to each user, you can capture their attention, provide value, and drive increased engagement with your mobile app.

Personalization requires you to integrate your app with a database containing customer information, such as your CRM. Contact us or a book a meeting with us to learn more personalization and CRM integrations.

V. Features for Increasing App Engagement

To effectively increase mobile app engagement, you need to know what strings you can pull. With interactive and immersive features, you can create a more engaging experience for your users.

Let's explore some key engagement features:

Voting

Incorporating voting features within your app is an excellent way to boost user participation and delight your community. Whether it's voting for favorite contestants, products, or any relevant topic, allowing users to express their opinions fosters engagement and a sense of involvement.

Providing mobile voting as an option in your competition can boost your total vote count and revenue. For example, when the Miss Universe organization launched their global app in 2021, they set the record for the largest fan vote in the pageant’s history. The app also got over 3 million downloads.

The largest fan vote in Miss Universe history, powered by Choicely

Learn how to create a vote with Choicely app builder.

Surveys

Conducting regular surveys within your app enables you to collect valuable feedback and gain insights into user preferences. By understanding your users' needs and desires, you can make informed decisions about improving your app and your whole business.

It pays off to measure and focus on customer satisfaction. According to research, an industry’s Net Promoter Score leader outgrows its competitors by a factor greater than two times.

Here’s how to create a survey with Choicely

Image source: CustomerGauge

Ratings

Ratings are a fun way to give users a voice. The ratings could be on athletes, on your products, events, speakers, the drinks at the office, anything. Ratings are a good way to see what resonates among your audience, collect specific feedback or just to have fun.

Learn how to create a rating using Choicely.

1-vs.-1 Battles

Implementing a voting system with two options, such as two competing sports teams, allows users to engage in friendly competition and express their preferences. This gamified approach not only enhances user engagement but also creates a sense of excitement and interaction within the app.

By incorporating these user interaction features, you can create a dynamic and participatory experience, driving higher engagement levels and encouraging users to remain active within your app.

Learn how to create a 1 vs. 1 battle with Choicely.

Gamification

Gamification is a powerful technique that incorporates game-like elements and mechanics into non-game contexts, such as mobile apps. Gamification leverages the principles of competition, achievement, rewards, and progression. Ultimately it aims to enhance the user engagement and motivate desired behaviors.

VI. Advanced Functionalities That Enhance The User Experience

To further increase mobile app engagement, incorporating advanced functionalities can greatly enhance the user experience. Let's explore the advantages of these features and provide examples of how they can be used in apps.

Maps Integration

Integrating maps into mobile apps offers numerous advantages, including:

• Enhanced User Convenience: Provide users with easy navigation and the ability to locate desired places or services within the app. This convenience saves users time and effort, increasing their engagement and overall satisfaction.
• Improved Contextual Information: By displaying relevant points of interest or landmarks on the map, users gain valuable contextual information. For example, in a restaurant app, users can see nearby dining options or read reviews, enhancing their decision-making process.
• Location-Based Personalization: Maps enable location-based personalization, allowing apps to deliver customized content, recommendations, or offers based on the user's current location. This level of personalization enhances user engagement and relevance.

Maps can be used in various types of apps, like

• Travel and Hospitality Apps: Maps are a fundamental feature in travel apps, guiding users from point A to point B, or showing the user around the services and sights in your destination. For example, Eerikkilä Sports & Outdoor Resort app guides its users in its premises with a 3D map.

The 3D map from Eerikkilä Sports & Outdoor resort's app.

• Events Apps: Maps can be integrated into event apps to provide users with the location and layout of events, nearby attendees, or interesting places to visit. For example, Suomen Asuntomessut – a Finnish apartment fair – showcases the fair area, services and apartments in its app.
• Real Estate Apps: Real estate apps can utilize maps to display property listings, neighborhood information, and nearby amenities, enabling users to explore and evaluate potential locations.

By integrating maps into your mobile app, you can enhance user experience, provide valuable location-based information, and increase engagement by offering convenient and personalized features.

VR/AR Functionalities

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offer exciting possibilities to create immersive app experiences, taking user engagement to new heights. How they work:

• Virtual Reality (VR) technology creates a simulated environment that immerses users in a digital world, typically through the use of headsets or specialized devices. By providing a 360-degree, interactive experience, VR can transport users to virtual locations, simulate scenarios, and offer unique interactions.
• Augmented Reality (AR) overlays digital content onto the real world, enhancing the user's perception and interaction with their environment. AR can be experienced through mobile devices, leveraging their cameras and sensors to blend digital elements seamlessly into the real world.

Here are some industries and use cases where VR/AR functionalities can significantly improve user engagement:

• Entertainment: Virtual and augmented reality have already revolutionized the gaming industry, creating highly immersive and interactive experiences. The potential is still vast across many kinds of entertainment apps, from enhancing live event experiences, TV shows and more.
• E-Commerce: these technologies can enhance the shopping experience by allowing users to virtually try on clothes, visualize furniture in their space, or explore products in a virtual showroom. VR and AR can engage users, improve purchase decision-making, and increase customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training: VR/AR have immense potential in education and training, providing immersive learning experiences. They can simulate historical events, virtual science experiments, or realistic training scenarios, making learning more engaging and effective.
• Travel and Tourism: transport users to destinations they desire to visit by offering virtual tours, showcasing landmarks, and providing interactive travel experiences. This engagement not only inspires users but also assists them in planning their trips.

Here’s a great example by UniteAR on how to fit an Espresso Maker on your counter using AR. Features like this can be embedded into mobile apps.

By incorporating VR and AR functionalities into your mobile app, you can create captivating and interactive experiences that immerse users in your content, increase engagement, and leave a lasting impression.

Chatbots

Chatbots offer a valuable opportunity to enhance user engagement and provide personalized assistance within mobile apps. 

Let's explore the benefits of engaging users with chatbots inside apps:

• 24/7 Availability: chatbots can operate round-the-clock, ensuring that users have access to support and information at any time. This availability enhances user engagement by providing immediate assistance whenever needed.
• Personalized Interactions: chatbots can analyze user data, preferences, and past interactions to deliver personalized responses. By understanding user intent and context, chatbots can provide tailored recommendations, suggestions, and solutions, leading to higher engagement and satisfaction.
• Seamless User Experience: Chatbots offer a conversational and intuitive interface, allowing users to interact with the app in a natural and convenient manner. This seamless user experience encourages ongoing engagement and fosters a positive relationship between users and the app.
• Scalability and Efficiency: Chatbots can handle multiple user interactions simultaneously, ensuring efficient handling of user queries, even during peak periods. This scalability enables consistent engagement without compromising on response times or user experience.

Chatbots can be utilized in various ways across different businesses to enhance user experience, streamline interactions, and provide real-time support. Here are some example use cases of how different businesses could use chatbots inside their mobile apps:

• E-Commerce: A chatbot can help users like a salesperson: to find products based on their preferences, offer product recommendations, and assist with sizing and color options. They can also function as a support channel, answering users’ inquiries.
• Travel and Hospitality: With chatbot inside the app users can book flights, hotels, and rental cars directly through the chatbot. The chatbot can also provide travel recommendations, real-time updates on their bookings, or act as a virtual tour guide.
• News and Media: The chatbot can deliver news articles and updates based on users' interests and preferred topics, give updates on significant events or the type of news the user has subscribed to, as they happen – creating a personalized content experience.

You can add existing chatbot solutions to your mobile app. Image Source: ChatBotJournal and eSparkBiz.

These are just a few examples of how chatbots can be integrated into mobile apps across various industries. Chatbots offer a versatile and efficient way to engage users, provide support, and deliver personalized experiences, ultimately enhancing customer experience.

VII. User Monetization as an Engagement Strategy

User monetization features play a significant role in engaging users and generating revenue within mobile apps. Let's explore how different monetization models engage app users.

In-App Purchases

In-app purchases offer users the opportunity to access exclusive or premium content, features, or virtual goods within the app. Paid voting are also carried out as in-app purchases. By providing valuable and desirable offerings through in-app purchases, you can engage users and enhance their overall experience.

Examples of successful in-app purchase implementations:

• Entertainment apps that offer content to its users often provide in-app purchases for premium subscriptions or ad-free experiences. These purchases enhance the content consumption experience, reduce interruptions, and offer additional benefits, resulting in higher engagement.
• Productivity apps often offer premium features or subscriptions through in-app purchases. These purchases unlock advanced functionalities, collaboration tools, or additional storage space, catering to the specific needs of users and increasing their engagement with the app.
• Gaming apps are probably the most famous example of in-app purchases. Users cam buy power-ups, virtual currency, character upgrades, or additional levels to proceed in the game. These purchases enhance the gaming experience, provide advantages, and keep players engaged.

Successful monetization focuses on offering value, enhancing the user experience, and aligning with the app's core functionality. By carefully integrating these features into your mobile app, you can engage users, generate revenue, and provide additional value to your user base. Learn more about app monetization models and calculating their ROI here.

Paid Votes

Paid votes offer unique benefits that can significantly drive user engagement within various industries. Some of the advantages of paid votes include:

• Increased User Participation and Interaction: Paid votes encourage active user participation and interaction with the content or event, as users have a direct stake in the outcome. When viewers know that their votes can influence the results, they become more invested in the process, leading to higher engagement levels.
• Enhanced Audience Engagement and Loyalty: Paid votes foster a sense of community and camaraderie among users, creating a shared experience and sense of belonging. Users may discuss and debate their choices with friends and on social media, further enhancing engagement.
• Revenue Generation and Sustainability: Paid votes serve as a revenue stream for industries hosting these events. The funds generated through paid votes can be reinvested in the event's production, marketing, and prizes, ensuring the sustainability and success of future editions.

Many different industries can leverage paid votes in their apps:

• Music contest: Offering paid app votes can fuel the amount of votes, and gain new voters especially among younger audiences. For example, when the national broadcaster of Iceland, RÚV, offered paid mobile votes as way to vote in the Eurovision qualification rounds, the total vote count reached an all time high. It was also clear that the voting fueled other engagement within the app.
• TV Show: Some reality shows allow the viewers choose which cast members continue. In that case paid votes are an extra revenue source. The power to choose incentivizes viewers to cast their votes, and generates a higher level of engagement and emotional attachment to the show. The Love Island reality show has really doubled down on this approach and seen a lot of success across different markets. A TV Show app can also work as a companion app of the show, providing extra content for the fans.
• In Beauty Pageants, paid votes and apps are a standard. They don’t only contribute to the final result but also generate revenue for the pageant organizers, enabling them to organize larger and more extravagant events in the future. Learn more about Choicely’s Beauty pageant apps.

Leveraging paid votes not only enhances user engagement but also contributes to revenue generation, allowing organizers to fund the events, offer attractive prizes, and improve the overall experience for both participants and viewers.

In-App Purchases are a common way to monetize your app. Paid votes are also carried out as in-app purchases, and they are common in beauty pageants, talent contest and shows. Learn more about app monetization models.

Ecommerce Integration

Integrating ecommerce features within your mobile app is a great way to make purchases easier and boost engagement within your app.

Let's discuss the benefits of providing an ecommerce store in the app:

• Seamless Purchase Experience: By incorporating an ecommerce store into your app, you can tremendously improve the user experience. Once they’re engaged within your app, they don’t have to leave it to purchase your products. This way you can build your app into a seamless experience of branded content and commerce.
• Additional Revenue Opportunities: It goes without saying, but let’s state it still: providing a way to purchase through your app opens up a new avenues for revenue.
• Cross-Promotion and Partnerships: Ecommerce app facilitates cross-promotion and partnerships with relevant brands or businesses. By featuring their products or services within your app, you can leverage their customer base and tap into new audiences, thereby increasing app engagement.

Incorporating an Ecommerce store into a mobile app can be useful for any kind of business that has an online store. Though the concept of “integration” might sound intimidating, it can also be very straightforward – the app can simply show views from the existing store within the app without any coding involved.

A simple way to calculate and estimate the revenue of an ecommerce app.

Learn more about app monetization models.

Promotions and loyalty programs

Promotional activities and loyalty programs play a vital role in enhancing user engagement within mobile apps. They can generate excitement, drive user participation, and create a sense of urgency.

Here's how they can enhance user engagement:

• Limited-Time Offers: Implement time-limited promotions, such as flash sales, discounts, or special offers, to create a sense of urgency among users. Limited-time offers motivate users to take immediate action, increasing their engagement with your app. These promotions can be communicated through push notifications, in-app messages, or targeted emails to effectively reach and engage your user base.
• Contests and Giveaways: Organize contests or giveaways within your app to encourage user participation and engagement. Contests can range from user-generated content submissions, votes, surveys, trivia quizzes, or creative challenges. By offering attractive prizes or incentives, you incentivize users to actively engage with your app, participate in the contest, and share their experiences with others, leading to increased app engagement and user-generated content.
• Referral Programs: Implement referral programs that reward users for referring their friends or contacts to download and use your app. By providing incentives such as discounts, in-app currency, or exclusive benefits, you can motivate your existing users to actively promote your app and bring in new users. Referral programs not only increase user engagement but also help in expanding your user base through word-of-mouth marketing.

Here's how to estimate a total loyalty app revenue. Learn more about app monetization models.

Promotional activities should be strategically planned and executed to align with your app's goals and target audience. By creating a sense of excitement, exclusivity, and reward, promotions can significantly enhance user engagement and drive the growth of your mobile app.

VIII. Utilizing Data and Metrics for Continuous Improvement

To increase mobile app engagement, it is essential to track and analyze key app engagement metrics. Let's identify some of these metrics and explain how they help in evaluating user behavior and identifying areas for improvement:

Active Users and App Downloads

The most fundamental metric that you need to measure when launching your app and running it is the amount of active users within your app. It tells you the sheer volume of people who are using your app within a given timeframe. Track and compare your active user counts on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. See how your app promotion efforts are taking effect, and how different factors affect the usage of the app, and go towards what’s working.

Now, active users may be calculated differently in different contexts, but most commonly it refers to any user that has opened the app. According to Measurelab, GA4 defines an “'active user” as a user who has an engaged session, or any new or returning user who triggers a “first_open event” from an app.

It’s also worth tracking the amount of app downloads in app store analytics, see how your app marketing efforts pay off, and what portion of your app downloads convert into actual active users in any given time period.

Average Engagement Time

Average Engagement TIme is another fundamental app engagement metric that will take you far in understanding how engaged your users are. Average engagement time is calculated from:

The number of engaged sessions x Average session duration = Average engagement time

It measures the amount of time users spend with your app during a specific time frame, be it a day, week or a month. Longer engagement times indicate higher user engagement and interest in the app's content.

Tracking Average Engagement Time and the metrics that add up to it help identify if users find value in your app and if they are spending enough time exploring its features and functionalities.

Push Notification Metrics

Metrics related to push notifications, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, provide insights into the effectiveness of your notification sends. Monitoring these metrics helps evaluate the impact of your push notifications on user engagement.

By analyzing the performance of different notifications – content, sending time, etc. – and iterating based on the data, you can optimize your push notification campaigns to drive more users to the app higher engagement.

In-App Actions

Tracking how users find your key content, and especially how they convert to paying customers is a good idea. Define specific actions to measure like clicks, interactions, and conversions, and you’ll get insights into user behavior and engagement with your most app features.

Analyzing in-app actions helps identify which features or functionalities are popular among users and which may need improvement. By optimizing and enhancing the most engaging features, you can increase overall app engagement.

Screen Flow

Screen flow refers to the sequence of screens or user flow within your app. Screen flow is a glimpse into the users’ path and how they navigate across your app. It is a good tool for iterating and improving app design. By analyzing screen flow, you can identify any bottlenecks, areas of confusion, or drop-off points that may hinder user engagement. Optimizing the screen flow can lead to a smoother user experience and improved engagement.

User Retention

User retention measures the percentage of users who continue using the app over a specified period. It indicates the app's ability to retain users and keep them engaged over time. Monitoring user retention helps identify if users find value in your app and if they are motivated to continue using it. By focusing on strategies to improve user retention, such as providing valuable content and regular updates, you can enhance engagement and build a loyal user base.

One way to look at app engagement metrics. Image source: AppFutura

By regularly tracking and analyzing these app engagement metrics, you can gain valuable insights into user behavior, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to enhance user engagement and the overall success of your mobile app.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mobile app engagement is a crucial factor in the success of any app. Ultimately, engaged users are the ones driving the growth of your app.

Throughout this blog post, we have explored various strategies to increase mobile app engagement. In conclusion, it is essential for app owners to design their app from a user-first perspective, and then continually analyze data, develop functionalities, and adopt monetization strategies to optimize app engagement.

By prioritizing user satisfaction, app owners can create an immersive and rewarding experience, leading to increased app engagement and long-term success.

Remember, the journey to increasing mobile app engagement is an ongoing process. Stay committed to serving your users, adapting to their needs, and evolving your app based on data and feedback.

With a strong app engagement strategy in place, you can build a thriving community of loyal users and achieve sustainable growth for your mobile app.

Build your app with Choicely

Create your app for free. Start paying only when you're set to publish!