When to force users to download App?
I'm noticing that some apps that are available on desktop try to force users to use the app either by:
- Requiring app download for signup
- Only making certain features available to the app users (e.g. Instagram)
Can you provide some insight into why brands do this and the potential competitive advantages this creates for them?
You’re NOT Instagram. So ‘requiring’ will drive people away. Feature availability sounds much more incentivized without ‘forcing’ them per se.
I can’t offer any more insights since you haven’t given enough information.
It's not something that we're doing personally. Just asking about the practice in general when it comes to startups.
I agree with you that it could drive away users. Thanks for sharing!
When majority of the tech is built mobile-first, you have technical challenges to bring feature parity across all platforms. For something like Instagram, it's not very likely you'd be taking photos and posting them on a desktop, but rather only as a browsing experience.
There is a "professional" use-case where many content creators prefer the desktop or browser versions of websites for automation / tooling purposes such as bulk scheduling, or even auto replying to DMs with the help of automation tooling.
Good point. Targeting app downloads to B2C users is what all of the apps that do this have in common.
Don't force to download. Just display A banner or link to download it. If they use your product and if they need to manage through phone then they will definitely download it.
I think this is a safer approach which will allow you to end your test at any time if it's not delivering results. Thanks for sharing :D
When there is something they can only do with an app (due to technical reasons)
What company do you think forces app downloads for mostly technical reasons (at least initially)?
I'm also thinking about the fact that these apps that do this all benefit from user-generated content so maybe uploading content through the app streamlines the process of getting consent to use the content on their platform?
Just a thought. Thanks for sharing!
Snapchat is one that originally comes to mind (though their mac app has improved these days). I’ve seen other apps that rely on proprietary GPU, AI, or framework features (usually Apple-specific). Or, if you developed an app first and are still getting around to a fully-featured web-app.
Thanks for clarifying on that. These technical use cases make it easier for me to understand.
When a certain market share is reached, users stop growing/grow only a little.
Then, it's best time to put ads to ask your users to download mobile app to increase engagement and usage of your app. Cause you don't need to focus on user growth anymore.
Nice got it. So after user growth levels off, they ramp up monetization.
Thanks for sharing :)
Anytime you ‘require’ users to do anything, there will always be pushback. Always give them an option to download. Nobody likes feeling like they are being held hostage by a company.
I agree, but it's also interesting to see when forcing them makes users adopt the new behavior vs abandoning the app altogether. But I think this has only worked for IG.
Thanks for sharing!