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SimplePrints doubles app downloads using targeted Facebook campaigns

SimplePrints, a mobile photo album creation application, grew its overall business 70 percent within the first five months using Facebook's mobile app install ads.

Facebook app install ads have gained steam as a strategy for getting users to discover new apps. The challenge for SimplePrints was maintaining momentum post-holiday season, when there are not as many spikes in downloads.

?We can combine our optimization capabilities with the rich audience data from Facebook to provide mobile app marketers with an extremely efficient use of their media budgets across a massive new audience, while providing people who use Facebook with more relevant ads tailored to their interests,? said Micah Adler, CEO and founder, Fiksu, Boston, MA.

SimplePrints worked with Fiksu to optimize its app install advertising campaign on Facebook.

Track record
Fiksu helped SimplePrints by creating targeted campaigns using Facebook?s audience segmentation. Suddenly, the app?s download volume nearly doubled, while it?s cost-per-install reduced by 20 percent.

The cost managed to stay within target ranges even with the increase in downloads.

Unlike traditional banner ads, Facebook incorporates social elements into advertising. Users are notified through their newsfeed which friends have already downloaded a promoted app. A low friction direct download procedure allows users to immediately get an app with only a few touches.

Fiksu uses the advantages of Facebook?s technology with its platform to increase brand awareness through factors such as media integration, Big Data, attribution and optimization engine development of APIs.

Last month, Fiksu?s partnership with Plain Vanilla Games and its popular trivia app, QuizUp, pushed the app to be named the fastest growing iPhone game in history.

QuizUp users can challenge friends or strangers to a rapid-fire 7-question round of trivia questions. Challengers can be found through social media sharing tools or manual invitation.

 

Taking initiative
Companies seeking a cost-effective method of growing their user base are no stranger to teaming up with Facebook.

Facebook launched mobile app install ads in October 2012 and mobile app engagement in October 2013. In 2013, mobile app ads drove more than 245 million installs in Google Play and Apple App Store, per Facebook.

King Digital Entertainment Plc, developer of the mobile game Candy Crush, also used Facebook ads to promote its application, which has since become one of the most popular apps.

And it seems Twitter and Yahoo are catching on, as rumors circulate around their expansion into mobile app install ads to rack up advertising revenue from developers.

Steve Bagdasarian, vice president of business development and strategy at Fiksu predicts Twitter will be a definite competitor for Facebook upon entering the app install ad world.

"Twitter is a sleeping giant,? Mr. Bagdasarian said. ?Its ability to feed real-time data back to advertisers about where users are and what's on their minds at any one time ? that's going to be very, very powerful.

I see Twitter making a huge impact in 2Q 2014."

Final Take
Michelle Saettler is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York