The Ultimate Guide to Facebook App Install Ads

If you’re looking to increase your business growth online, chances are you’ve read about apps and how amazing they are at driving up sales. Not only do they get your products on the tip of your customer’s fingertips, but they are also incredibly powerful in compelling people to take action.

The challenge, of course, is getting people to install your apps in the first place. Since this strategy is incredibly popular, thousands of business owners are implementing it, making it a saturated landscape. 

Fortunately, there are still ways to convince people to install your app. After all, if you offer value to them, chances are, they’ll bite whatever you’re offering. In this guide, we’ll be looking at ways on how to get people to install your apps through Facebook advertising. 

Keep in mind that this guide is geared toward people who are looking to build a user base for their apps through Facebook Ads. This means you should’ve already addressed all the necessary factors leading up to this point. 

Things like creating and building an audience through a Facebook page, building a Facebook app, tidying up your Ads Manager account, and other details should already be in place. You should’ve already installed the free Facebook Software Development Kit (SDK) by now. This tool measures and monitors the effectiveness of your ad and maximizes the delivery system so interested people will get exposed to your campaign, increasing the chance of actual app engagement. 

With that out of the way, let’s dive right down to the guide itself. 

Your Target Audience 

The first thing to do when launching a Facebook app install ad is to identify your audience. With Facebook’s massive data on your fingertips, it’ll be easy for you to narrow down your target audience and pinpoint people who have the highest conversion potential. 

What’s more, it’ll also ensure that you’re advertising to people who are already interested in the product you’re offering, saving you money while also providing maximum efficiency. This results in a higher return rate at a much lower cost compared to when you’re merely shooting in the dark. See how we applied this cost-efficient user acquisition strategy for Booky, a leading food and beverage app in the Philippines, in this case study.

Consider these questions when you’re trying to create a customer persona:

• Are you fulfilling a certain demand for this buyer?
• Are they within your target demographic?
• Does their data coincide with someone likely to buy your product/service? 
• Is their behavior in line with someone who’s currently using your product/service? 
• Are their interests within your ideal customer parameters? 

Say you’re someone who’s advertising an app for clothing brands. Your target audience would be people who are interested in fashion. That means shoes, hats, bags, and accessories. 

Beyond that, they could also be categorized based on the music they like (whether they’re into hip-hop or rock), the sports they’re following, the hobbies they’re into, and so on. Just based on these interests alone, you can form a solid representation of your ideal customer, helping you fine-tune the type of ad you’re going to launch. (Click here for a more detailed explanation about the topic.)

A quick note: you also want to target people who are connected to Wi-Fi since cellular data has a slower connection. What’s more, Apple doesn’t allow people to download apps that are over 100mb if they’re using cellular data. 

App Event Optimization

App Event Optimization is a tool that will not only help you increase app installation but also drive up revenue. In a nutshell, AOE shows your ad to people who are likely to take a specific action depending on their behavior across other applications.

This option is available through the API or Power Editor Tool. AOE has 14 standard app events including add payment info, added to cart, added to wishlist, purchased, and more. 

Similar to narrowing your audience, you’ll have to determine which of the 14 options is the most valuable for your business. After evaluating, you should select two that offer the highest value and run a test to see which one will give you the best result. 

Ad Creative

Now let’s talk about the ad itself. Your creativity will play a large part in this as it will determine whether or not you’ll capture your target audience’s attention. Bear in mind that even though you’ve already narrowed down your audience, there’s still a chance they’ll ignore your ad due to a number of factors.

Here are a few pointers to remember when creating your ad campaign to boost your success rate: 

• Images – if you’re running a single image ad, keep it at 1200px x 628px. For carousel posts, lower it to 1080px to 1080px. Confining your images to this dimension will prevent them from getting cut or stretched, both of which will affect their quality. 
• Color Scheme – depending on your product, you’ll have to use different color schemes to entice people to engage with your ad. Red is often used by apps involving food, green is typically for financial services or the green movement, blue for relaxation like spa and vacation apps, and so on. (Click here for more details.) 
• Image Texts – your image texts should only account for 20 percent of the overall photo as you’ll get penalized by Facebook if you exceed that limit. The text should highlight the value that your app offers and shouldn’t come off as something that’s looking to drive up sales. 
• Avoid Stock Photos – although stock photos still have room for mobile app install ads, it’s best to stay away from them as they look generic. Instead of stock photos, try using images that show off people using your app, your brand’s icon, or the product you’re selling. 
• Be Consistent – the design on your ad should mirror those seen when the customer is directed by Facebook into the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. 

Returning to the clothing app example, you can use the carousel option to show off different clothes for different styles. This will act as a signal to your audience that you’re not only catering to a single niche but has a wide array of options for them to choose from. 

Video is King 

Over 100 million hours’ worth of video is being consumed on Facebook daily, 65 percent  of which comes from mobile users. Thus, video marketing has become one of the most preferred advertisement forms on this social media platform. This isn’t surprising since people nowadays prefer to watch a video rather than consume blocks of text. 

So how can you create a compelling ad for people, especially one that is geared toward mobile app installs? Here are a few pointers to consider: 

• Keep it short – generally speaking, your video shouldn’t exceed 30 seconds. And in the first three seconds, it should already capture the attention of viewers. 
• Eliminate introductions – skipping introductions and getting into the meat of your content allows you to chuck your point across right off the gate. This saves you money by lowering production costs, while also signaling that you respect your viewer’s time. 
• Highlight value – put heavy emphasis on the value that your viewers will get if they download your app. Are you offering to make their lives easier through your app? Or maybe you have an awesome game that’s a welcome distraction after a stressful day? Whatever it is, always prioritize value over everything else. 
• Sound off – 85 percent of people who watch videos on Facebook prefer to consume it with the sound turned off. As such, your video should stand on its own without the help of audio, which you can achieve by creating a text-based video ad or putting captions on the clip. 
• Call to action – at the end of the video, you should provide clear instructions on how to download your app. And to drive your point home, create a sense of urgency. Tell them if they download right now they’ll get freebies or a great discount from you, but only at a limited time. 

Headlines and Ad Copy

Brevity is the golden rule of thumb when it comes to writing headlines and ad copy. For the former, it should only be confined to four words. “Limited Discounts,” “Quality Pet Food,” “Affordable Gadgets,” and “Cheap Flights” are just some examples that make a great headline. 

Ad copy, on the other hand, will give you more room to wiggle as the standard count is at a maximum of 90 characters. Here, you can employ the problem-solution approach. What that means is that you’re going to highlight a pain point then offer a solution through your app. 

So let’s go back to our clothing app example. You can say, “Are you looking to spice up your style? We’ve got you covered.” That’s only 59 characters right there. Or you can say, “Outfits getting repetitive? Spice up your wardrobe with our classic and trendy pieces.” 

When combined, your headline and ad copy might look something like: 

Stay in Style on a Budget 

Say goodbye to boring OOTDs with our newest collection of classic and trendy pieces. 

You can see that both headline and ad copy just cuts straight to the point while offering value to the viewer. 

And on top of all of this, always monitor your campaign. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to Facebook advertising as different businesses will yield different results. As such, it’s important to monitor your progress then tweak your approach as you go along. This will give you plenty of room for improvement and ensure that your next campaign will be more successful than the last one. 

Discover more effective Facebook advertising strategies from Growth Rocket. Explore our blog or better yet, speak with a social media expert today.