In this blog post, I will recommend some practical tips to execute your promotional content strategy effectively.
Running Promotional Content Events (PCEs) is a marketing strategy used to highlight new updates, special events, or offers in your app to specific groups of users. It aims to get more people interested in your app, encourage them to use it more, or attract new users by promoting it on the Google Play Store.
But before we delve into the tactics, let's quickly discuss the benefits of running PCEs:
Doubling Explore Acquisitions: Apps that utilize promotional content and request featuring can experience more than double the explore acquisitions during the featuring window compared to those that don't.
Increased Awareness: Promotes awareness of your app’s updates, special events, and offers.
Enhanced Engagement: Drives user engagement by bringing back previous users and encouraging active users to interact more deeply with the app.
Improved Monetization: By promoting special offers or discounts, you can increase the chances of monetization from new or existing users.
Boosts Visibility on Google Play: By submitting promotional content, you signal to Google Play your active investment in your app. This can lead to high-visibility placements in the Google Play Store, such as the homepage, events tab, and search results.
Aligns Store Listing with Brand Activities: Promotional content allows you to sync your store listing with current brand activities without the need to change your screenshots. This keeps your app presentation consistent while highlighting new promotions or events.
If you are new to Promotional Content and don’t know how to set it up, here is a detailed guide by Google that provides a step-by-step breakdown of how to run Promotional Content, including relevant guidelines around assets, copy, submission, etc.
Now let's dive into the five tactics to execute PCEs the right way:
Maximise the impact of feature slots - As you have read about the benefits of PCEs, which can double your explore acquisition, the most obvious action item on your agenda should be to make use of all the quarterly feature request slots provided by Google Play.
Each quarter, you are given six feature request slots, divided into:
Four times for any event type targeting everyone and potential users.
Two times for any event type targeting a specific audience, which may be based on user state, buyer state, or a custom audience.
While it is important to utilize all six slots, it is equally important to consider the following factors that would allow you to shortlist events for feature requests:
Are there any markets larger in size than others? If so, requesting a feature in such markets could lead to a bigger uplift in acquisition.
Is there an event suitable for more than one market at once? If so, you can use a single feature request to get the app featured in multiple markets, thus bringing a bigger improvement to acquisition.
Are there specific types of events or messaging of events leading to an app feature? If so, think about prioritizing feature requests for such events in the future.
In terms of impact, how many people can your event influence, and how much value does it bring to the table? Shortlist the ones that top the list in this criteria. It is crucial to think about this because a feature request does not guarantee a feature. Based on your submission, Google decides whether or not the event is worthy of getting featured.
Based on the three factors above, you can prioritize the most important events targeting everyone and potential users, and consider the remaining ones for event types targeting a specific audience.
Following this step will ensure that all slots are utilized with the aim of maximizing impact.
Maintain a PCE calendar - Running Promotional Content is an ongoing effort because there are always opportunities to offer discounts to your audience, announce new app features and enhancements, and every quarter Google Play refreshes feature request slots to six. Therefore, each quarter, you get six opportunities to boost your acquisition without spending a single penny.
To ensure this opportunity is never wasted, it is always best to maintain a calendar to plan your submissions. Schedule some time to start preparing this calendar at least a month in advance before the new quarter on Google Play begins. This will give you enough time to shortlist the best events for feature requests and prepare the necessary creative materials and copies.
Here is an example of how you can build a PCE calendar in Excel:
You can begin by preparing this calendar specifically for feature requests, and if time allows, extend it to include all other event submissions. This will help you effectively track how your PCE strategy is shaping up over time.
Feature request timing - While planning your PCE roadmap is important, it is equally crucial to consider how far in advance you are requesting an event to be featured. According to Google’s guidelines, “events that request features must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the event start date.” Therefore, it is good practice to avoid leaving event submissions to the last moment and risking the waste of your feature request by not giving Google enough time to review your app.
Keep your assets and copies ready so that they can be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event publishing date.
Use stock images as assets - According to Google's guidelines, you should avoid using any text in your image assets. If you do, Google may not consider the event to be of high quality, and can limit its visibility in the Play Store. In my experience, using stock images has been the quickest solution to manage PCE creative requirements.
If there should not be any text on the image, then it makes sense to simply use stock images, which eliminates any effort required from your graphic designers. However, make sure your messaging is clear and prominent in your Tagline and Description.
(Here you can find content quality guidelines to publish high quality PCE)
Be aware of the safe zone - While finalizing the creative asset, it is important to be aware of the safe zone. When you upload a Primary Image, Google Play Console crops out 20% on the bottom, 10% on the sides, and 15% on the top.
Therefore, make sure all important objects and people are clearly visible in the safe zone. It often happens that you come to know about this issue after uploading your image to the Promotional Content dashboard on Play Console. To avoid last-minute back-and-forth, shortlist pictures while keeping this rule in mind.
Try custom audiences - I would list one additional tactic. Although I haven't tried it myself, it sounds promising. Using a custom audience, you can create groups of users based on specific behaviors and serve them personalized events. While this sounds quite interesting, the fact that it requires developer support means that the actual implementation of this feature could take some time on your end.
Once you submit your high-quality Promotional Content event, all set to be featured on Google Play, don’t forget to do the following:
Monitor the impact of Explore Visitors and Acquisitions in the target market, if the event gets featured.
Monitor the change in the conversion rate from the Explore Traffic source, and see if running the Promotional Content led to any adverse impact on the conversion rate. If you notice a drastic dip, consider stopping the event earlier than planned.
Check out Promotional Content reports to see how users convert on your events.
To wrap up, leveraging Promotional Content Events (PCEs) offers an edge in amplifying your app's visibility and user engagement. By implementing the tips and tactics outlined in this blog post, you're not just promoting an app; you're cultivating an active, engaged community and driving tangible growth.
Remember, the effectiveness of your PCE strategy hinges on planning, timely submissions, and adapting to results.
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