A Guide to App Advertising: Take TikTok as a Case Study

👉The original blog is posted on FoxData.



When introducing a new app to the market, engaging in media buying is a crucial step. This process requires thorough research, particularly for apps that are not widely recognized. I'm Ivy, a marketing expert at FoxData, and today I'll be coming in to share about effective strategies for app advertising.To illustrate effective marketing strategies for an app, let's examine the launch of TikTok.

Step 1: Verify App Fundamentals

Before initiating any promotional activities, it's essential to ensure the functionality of the app's landing page. This is the hub where potential users will download the app, and it plays a pivotal role in the conversion rate.

Next, conduct comprehensive research on the app's details. This involves scrutinizing the screenshots, keywords, and descriptions provided in the app store. However, it's equally important to review additional data such as the app's size, the number of installations, user ratings, the operating system requirements, and any in-app purchases (IAP) listed at the bottom of the store page.




Updates and download figures can reveal the app's market tenure, while the file size gives insight into download duration. These elements are vital when determining the bid price for advertisements. Furthermore, understanding the various pricing models and IAP promotions can help in shaping the advertising goals and creative approach.

One crucial aspect not to be overlooked is the language and compatible operating system versions. These details are instrumental for targeting specific languages and regions during campaign setups on Facebook and other advertising platforms. Tailoring your approach in this way can significantly enhance the conversion rate by avoiding engagement with users who might face language barriers or have incompatible devices.

For media buyers working at advertising agencies, it's imperative for you to have a clear understanding of the offer details, which include target geographies, budget constraints, and the cost per installation as stipulated by advertisers. Extract as much information as possible from the store page to fine-tune your advertising efforts.

👏Expert Tip：As a media buyer, here is everything you need on FoxData. Our media buyer always check App Profile on FoxData, as it includes the screenshots, keywords, descriptions, app's size, the number of installations, user ratings, IAP, and others you may need to do full research on product information.

It's worth mentioning that our media buyers also often use the translation function to translate relevant app information such as descriptions, reviews, keywords and so on, which helps media buyers to design multi-language marketing campaigns in different regions more conveniently and increase the conversion rate.  Dive into the App Profile on FoxData here! 

Step 2: Conduct a Competitor Analysis

In addition to understanding the app's basic details, it's imperative to analyze the competitive landscape. This involves leveraging tools such as FoxData, which provide insights into the market's current dynamics and how various products, including your own, rank within it. While some premium features of these platforms are behind a paywall, the free versions usually suffice for examining the rankings of apps and their competitors on the Top Apps and Top Charts.

The Top-grossing category is sorted based on both downloads and generated revenue. When an app ranks highly in specific countries and regions, this often indicates significant advertising efforts in those areas.

For instance, consider TikTok's impressive ranking: it holds the number one spot in the social category in 146 countries, covering roughly three-quarters of the total 233 countries globally. This data suggests that TikTok has invested heavily in advertising and has experienced rapid growth on an international scale. A skilled media buyer must be adept at determining the ease with which an app can be promoted. By researching and analyzing such data in advance, they can craft a more effective and tailored advertising strategy.

Category Ranking on FoxData

Global Overview on FoxData

Assuming the intention is to market TikTok within the United States, it would be prudent to utilize Top Charts as a resource to identify competing applications. By examining products that are similarly ranked to TikTok, advertisers can gain insights for their research, as these applications often exhibit minor variations from one another.

 

👏Expert Tip：If you're unsure where to start, try Top Charts, and filter by category and region, you'll pinpoint the right samples to sit for competitive research. Our media buyers always pick the Top 10 competitors to track, and then conduct detailed research in conjunction with App Profile, Category Ranking and Global Overview.

Step 3: Analyzing Spy Ad Creatives

In addition to gathering basic app information and conducting competitor analysis, a crucial element of successful advertising is understanding ad creatives. Utilizing platforms like FoxData, which is an international mobile ad intelligence and analysis tool, we can gain insights into the ad creatives and descriptions used by our competitors. For instance, recent Meta Ad Creatives from TikTok have been focused on themes like earning a living and celebrating Christmas.

TikTok's Ad Creative Strategy

TikTok's advertisements are deployed globally, featuring ad descriptions in multiple languages, which are typically concise. Some of TikTok's ad creatives do not include any descriptions at all, relying on the strength of their visually compelling video content to convey their brand's message succinctly.

Identifying Competitors Strategies

You can identify your competitors according to Step 2's expert tips. Then we choose ReelShort as an example because it is in the Top 5 on the free competitor trend and gets a hit around the world recently.

ReelShort's ad presence in the Top Apps has remained robust over the last 90 days, with noticeable increases in activity at the start and end of each month.


ReelShort's advertisements were predominantly placed on Instagram and Facebook, with Audience Network and Messenger also being significant platforms. The majority of these ads were in video format. You can review ReelShort's ad creatives on the Meta Ad Creatives sections for reference to enhance TikTok's advertising tactics.

👏Expert Tip：FoxData offers access to a vast repository of mobile ad creatives, allowing you to extract key information and creative approaches used by similar apps to inform the development of your ad strategies. In addition to identifying a competitor, track it, and then check its Creatives on Advertising-Meta Ad Creatives. You can also just try Ad Creative-Meta Ad Creative, to track the category of your apps, and you will find the best way to adjust your ad strategy. 


Now just join FoxData and try our tool to advertise your app. Meta Ad Creative is Free for a Limited Time. Hurry up!  Let's sign up and try this feature!