How to Keep an App in Constant Use
Monday, August 29th, 2011
We’ve discussed how to create a great app and how to get it downloaded a million times, but that’s only part of making a winning app. The other part is keeping people using that app.
Some apps are likely to make people come back, just by virtue of the type of app. Most people use Gmail and Facebook regularly. They use their favorite games whenever they’re sitting at the doctor’s office waiting for their appointment. Unfortunately, not all apps are like that. Even for other apps, though, there are a lot of ways to keep users coming back.
One way is with games. Users come back to play games. If your app is a game, or if it has a game tab in it, users will come back to play whenever they’re bored. You can find lots of free online HTML and Flash games and turn them into tabs in your app.
Another way is by offering new content regularly. If the app is a guide app, updating the information on the blog with new tips and tricks regularly may keep people checking back in regularly. If people know the information is new, they may check back. You can also do this by hooking up a Facebook page to your app like StreetTeam did.
If you only update every several weeks, update the application itself, and upload a new version to Android Market. When customers see the app update, they often open it to see what’s new. Don’t do this more than once every 4-6 weeks, or your customers will uninstall.
When there’s something new and exciting on the app, and it’s important to re-engage customers, don’t forget the power of push messaging. These messages go into the same feed as text messages, and don’t require opening the app to be read. AppsGeyser gives every app developer three to use per month, and more credits can be purchased from our sales team. These should be used with care. No one likes to be spammed. Use these messages only when there is something truly exciting to share.
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter,
If you’re interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.
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