Before the end of last year, Appsflyer invited me to be part of their 2022 mobile marketing prediction project. AppsFlyer is a global SaaS mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform. I gave four predictions to Appsflyer and would like to dive into them more deeply here.
1. More app-only companies will tap into the web onboarding funnel.
2021 has been challenging for mobile app marketers due to iOS 14 and 14.5 and SKAdNetwork that uses different attribution rules. 2022 might be even more difficult for mobile app marketers.
The old-school web marketing might provide a breath of fresh air for app markers by creating a mini web onboarding flow or an entire web onboarding funnel and then guide users to have full product engagement via the mobile app.
Web marketing provides more capabilities with tracking and attribution, and then app users will still be able to engage with the app after onboarding fully.
2. First-party data attribution and analytics will be more critical than ever.
Data storage is costly.
Being able to structure data (infrastructure and taxonomy) and making good use of data to provide actionable insights require capital and good talent.
That's the reason why most companies avoided going the first-party data attribution and analytics route for years. First-party data is information a company collects directly from its customers and owns.
First-party data is robust because it enables companies to have control of their data and make better decisions out of it. In 2021, big brands have already started collecting first-party data and prioritizing its custom attribution and analytics out of it to grow their brands.
Furthermore, in 2022, there will be a lot of more mid-size and small-size companies that start building their first-party data attribution and analytics; hence, more SaaS companies will begin to provide affordable data solutions.
3. 2022 will be the year of SMS marketing.
The evolution of mobile commerce has made SMS marketing more personalized, dynamic, and engaging.
According to research from Yotpo, 89% of mobile consumers want to receive text messages from brands, and mobile consumers spend 2X more time texting than emailing.
Moreover, SMS marketing technology has evolved throughout the years. It's no longer broad and texts only. It can include an image or gif, landing URL, or CTA like a paid social ad in an SMS format.
However, SMS requires the consumer's consent. Brands will need to provide value upfront in exchange for consumers' consent. However, its high open rate and conversion rate will pay off.
4. Lead capturing + lifecycle marketing = new retargeting.
Retargeting campaigns used to be the marketer's "secret weapon" to reduce paid CPA.
However, with around six in every ten iOS users rejecting tracking, this significantly reduces the amount of available data for retargeting campaigns, lookalike campaigns, and more.
In 2021, some companies already started optimizing their sales funnel by moving user information capturing to earlier steps to collect leads from prospects and use lifecycle marketing to continue nurturing leads and then generate sales or conversions via lifecycle marketing.
In 2022, companies will emphasize lifecycle marketing, even more, to compensate for the reduced efficiency of retargeting campaigns.