TJ Tee's talk at The New Media Asia 2011 conference

1. Anatomy of an iPhone app
TJ Tee
Partner, Alphapod

2. Hello there :)
How many of you
• Own/have used an iPhone/smartphone
• Are developing a mobile strategy for your
clients
• Build apps

3. What is an app?
• A small software that carries out a specific set
of functions.
• A user experience
• An opportunity to engage with a highly
targeted audience

4. Characteristics of an app
• Dependent on the native device operating
system (OS)
• Leverages on the native OS’ user experience
• Often has a simplified/distilled featureset (e.g.
a subset of the full website)
• Doesn’t necessarily require an Internet
connection to work

5. Avg iPhone user has 48 apps

6. iPhone apps most sticky

7. Are apps the next Website?
No. Why?
• Not everyone needs an app
• Barrier of entry is generally quite high
(consumers, brands, developers)
• A reasonably good app requires a specific set
of expertise to develop

8. Native vs Web-based
Web-based apps
• Works across all/most platforms
• Requires a mobile browser
• Build once, run everywhere approach

9. Native vs Web-based
Native apps
• High definition graphics
• Slick, cool effects
• Take advantage of allocated computing power
• Leverage device’s internal features e.g.
camera, accelerometer, gyroscope
• Immediate response

10. It’s the UX, baby!
The mobile user experience is unique
• Limited screen real-estate
• Users are mobile (duh!), in unusual places
• Personal – entertainment, news, time-
wasters, utility, social, etc.
• Pure opt-in. User chooses what app she
wants on her phone

11. KILLER iOS FEATURES

12. Top 5 killer features
#1 Push alerts
• Any interaction with your app can trigger an
alert
• App doesn’t have to be on for alerts to work!
• Makes apps super sticky (repeat interactions,
multiple engagement opportunities)

13. Top 5 killer features
#2 In-app purchasing
• Highly engaged users can be persuaded to
pay for virtual goods/currency
• “1-click” payment is now a reality
• High perceived value + emotional investment
(e.g. $0.99 for 1000 gold) justifies spending
• Revenue share (Dev:Apple, 70:30)

14. Image source: Kotaku.com

15. The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Go read
• http://kotaku.com/5787095/the-science-
behind-people-wasting-money-on-farmville
• http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/03/25/the-
sunk-cost-fallacy

16. Top 5 killer features
#3 Geolocation
• App can know a user’s location at all times
• Location + social provides very useful context
for personalization
• Geo metadata (in images, etc.) can further
verify user’s location
• Region monitoring/geofencing – a viable
alternative to checking in

17. Top 5 killer features
#4 3rd party APIs
• The “unglamorous” side of apps, little gnomes
that make the magic happen
• Examples of APIs: Facebook Graph API,
Google Maps, Foursquare, SimpleGeo,
Instagram, etc.
• APIs return highly valuable context and
enable “crossing-over” of communities

18. Top 5 killer features
#5 Facebook Connect
• Every Web page becomes social instantly
• Portable social graph opens up new
opportunities – increased trust, higher
conversion rates, personalization, etc.
• “1-click” sign-up is now a reality
• Death of the high-friction, proprietary Sign-
up?

19. MARKETING + LAUNCH

20. Marketing your app
Start marketing as early as possible
• The product (app) is often the best form of
marketing
– Create something unique or a spin to an existing
category
• Develop a strategy to be visible and sticky
– Be highly shareable (FB News Feed, Twitter, etc.)
• Start with people you know

21. Free marketing (pre-launch)
• Tease
– Create a viral “launching soon” page, use
LaunchRock
• Website
– Screenshots, video, newsletter
• Time your launch
– Coincide with live event or trend to boost
popularity

22. Free marketing (post-launch)
• Apple – Top charts, New & Noteworthy, User
reviews
• Telcos – need cool apps to sell devices
• SEO
• Social media
• Blogs and review sites – get featured, give
freebies or guest post on authoritative sites
• Events – Webcamp, Digital Wed, TNMA

23. Paid marketing
Multiple entry points, track effectiveness
• Advertising
– Facebook Ads, SEM, in-app, display (selective)
• Sponsorship
– Events, contests
• Free/cheap for a limited time only
– EA are pros, find a reason to drive hype

24. Pre-launch: Things to know
• Keyword optimization
– Observe what keywords competitors are/aren’t
using, don’t try to game the system
• Ranking/search criteria
– Old: High weightage on download count
– New: Apple is testing out a new algorithm which
places high weightage on app usage

25. MEASUREMENT

26. Why is it important?
Provides a clear indication of
• Usage patterns
• Feature efficacy
• App navigation
• Emerging behaviors (useful for future
iterations)

27. App metrics
Must-have basics
• App downloads
• Sign-ups (create account, FB Connect, etc.)
• Active users
• App launch
• Custom actions (vote, submit, share, etc.)

28. App metrics
Advanced
• Frequency of use
• Average time + depth of engagement
• Behavioral patterns (map navigation paths)
• Funnel analysis (for conversion tracking)
• Correlating all the above with usage context,
e.g. location, time

29. Tools for measurement
Analytics
• Mixpanel
• App Annie
• iTunes Connect
• GoSquared
• Google Analytics
• Bit.ly

30. Optimization: Why?
Continuous improvement
• User experience (UI, code, features, etc.) for
improved engagement
• User conversion – shortening the distance
between initial download and set goals
• Monetization – increasing average yield per
user
• Cost management – (+) efficiency, (-) $

31. What to expect
• Mostly gradual improvements
– Be patient
• Be ready to
– Discard certain features, discover new ones
If things are going south
• Going back to the drawing board
– Airbnb failed twice before getting it right

32. MONETIZATION
STRATEGIES

33. Free
• User pays $0 for an app that works 100%
• Monetary value is derived from indirect
monetization
– User base
– Downloads
– Content
– User activity
– Overall brand/company valuation

34. Paid
• User pays upfront for the app – a fee that
justifies/exceeds the perceived lifetime
value to the user
• Dec 2010 stats (source: Apple)
– 67% of all apps on App Store are Paid
– 50% of all apps are $0.99-$2.99
– Average price of a Paid app is $2.43

35. Freemium
• Basic app is free (e.g. Angry Birds Lite)
• Users pay for “pro” or full version of the app
(e.g. Angry Birds)
• Basic versions either
– Have entire basic or limited featureset
• While
– “Pro” versions have extra useful features
– Full versions unlock entire featureset

36. Ad-supported
• App is often free, user sees ads (e.g. AdMob,
iAds, etc.)
• App owner earns from ad-generated revenue

37. Acquisition/action basis
• Lead generation
– Sign-up
– Download
– Enquiry
• User-driven action rewards e.g. TapJoy

38. In-app purchase
• Direct integration with iTunes account for “1-
click” purchase. All that’s required is user’s
iTunes password
• Game developers are making a killing with
this

39. Subscription
• Subscription workarounds
– User pays on the website, activates account
– Users account to login on app
– Apple gets $0
• Apple will soon introduce in-app
subscriptions at $0 revenue sharing

40. THAT’S ALL, FOLKS!

41. Get in touch
TJ Tee
tj@alphapod.com
@tjtee | about.me/tjtee