27 Oct, 2011

Prevent Facebook App Failure: Top 5 Ways to Build a Better App Experience

Posted by Rich Fleck | Categories: Facebook, Social Acquisition, Social Engagement | Tags: Social Media ROI, Facebook Apps

It feels like everyone has caught a little Facebook app fever.  Apps are sprouting up all over the place – and have become a de facto standard as part of a social strategy.  But in the rush to launch, it’s often easy to make mistakes and design an app that might look good but doesn’t engage the audience.  To design an app that acquires and engages your audience, we came up with this Top 5 list: 

  1. Know Your Audience:   Take the guesswork out of the app experience.  Leverage social listening and social analytics to analyze your audience before developing an app engagement idea.   Consumers are out there talking, sharing their opinions –these discussions are fantastic cues to help create an experience that consumers will respond to. 
  2. Drive WOM:  Don’t wait until your app launches to begin promoting it.  Leverage your email, mobile, and site audiences to begin a pre-launch WOM effort.  This is a great way to build an authentic, engaged audience that is ready to on App Day One.
  3. Optimize the Experience:  After launching the app, improve the experience by analyzing and refining the process.  Identify drop-off points, test different calls-to-action, improve key messages. 
  4. Encourage App Engagement:  Apps are not set it and forget it functionality.  It’s important to create sustained engagement with a messaging strategy that encourages ongoing participation with the app experience.  Targeted Facebook posts, email messages, and site content are great ways to get your audience to continue engaging after their initial experience. 
  5. Measure Results:  Acquiring new Fans is a good baseline metric.  But understanding repeat visits, Fans acquired by customer segment, and Friend referrals will give you a better assessment of total app ROI.  And it will also help you make even more informed decisions in your next app adventure. 

So when the time comes to create your next Facebook app, think beyond the app to create an experience that activates and engages your social audience.  Now go out there and activate your social audience.