Seeking to improve your app retention rate? The following post will give you insights on how & when to grab user attention. Following these simple guidelines will make your users come back more often and increase their engagement.

1. Boredom
Makes for a
Great App
Retention Tool

2. Boredom Makes
for a Great App
Retention Tool
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Everyone in marketing, especially mobile marketing, knows attention is
scarce. With attention spans getting shorter, the challenge of boosting
retention and engagement rates grows increasingly difficult. Every push
notification competes with screens, reminders and information coming from
all directions.
The $1 million question: When are people most receptive to marketing
content? The answer is when they aren't focusing on anything in particular. In
other words, when they’re bored.
The first step to understanding the connection between mobile phone usage
and boredom is by listening to what users themselves have to say in the
matter. Some 42% of mobile users in a Pew Research study do so to fight
boredom. The numbers were even higher, reaching 70%, when examining
those between 18 and 29 years old.

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Following up on that data, a user behavior study from Telefonica Research
collected more than 40 million user logs to create a machine-learning model
representing boredom. The research identified bored users based on their
mobile phone usage, finding that users who were bored tended to check
Instagram and email more than others.
Users also checked social media repeatedly, despite knowing not much had
changed since they last time they visited. Another interesting thing users did
was fiddle with their mobile device settings.
The researchers popped up push notifications to users who, based on their
mobile usage data, appeared to be bored, informing them about interesting
content that specifically aims to kill time. They discovered that those users
were significantly more receptive. Although there is still a long way to go in
research in this field, this is still an extremely valuable piece of information for
app marketers looking to boost retention and engagement among users.
Boredom Makes
for a Great App
Retention Tool
02

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When it comes to apps in the fields of dating, gaming, news and other types
of content, the time between when a push notification is received to when
the user taps it and revisits the app is critical. If too much time goes by, users
will be less likely to visit the app and more likely to ignore the notification.
Therefore, it is detrimental to the effectiveness of push notification that the
user is more receptive when the notification is sent out.
How can we determine when users are bored? Data.
The first thing that comes to mind is during waiting times, such as before a
doctor’s appointment, at the bus or train station or during public
transportation commutes. Many marketers send out push notifications before
work hours, based on the assumption that users are on their morning
commute. But why not use location technologies to geofence bus stations
and train stations? The first thing users do when they get to one is pull out
their phones.
03
Boredom Makes
for a Great App
Retention Tool

5. 08
Marketers can also identify these times based on app usage and advertise on
public transportation apps, based on the clever assumption that users are
waiting for their train at the moment.
A company that does this amazingly well is KLM. The Dutch airline created a
mobile app that lets users fly a paper jet over a virtual version of the city of
Amsterdam. The game acts as an entertaining pastime for users during one
of the most hated and boring waiting times: before boarding a flight.
The coolest feature about the game is that, using geolocation technologies, it
can tell when users are at the flight gate – they are immediately granted cool
rewards and extra points to advance quickly in the game and make it more
exciting. The promise of prizes and awards inspires users to keep coming
back to the app.
The KLM brand recognized an amazing opportunity to avoid obnoxiously
bombarding consumers with marketing messages and instead give back to
users in a thoughtful manner, taking into account consumers’ wants and
needs.
04
Boredom Makes
for a Great App
Retention Tool

6. 08
When you disseminate branded messages while the user is having fun and
isn’t completely frustrated about lengthy waiting times, the message is
absorbed more effectively.
In today’s hectic reality, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to grab
consumer attention and retain it. In order to make the cut, marketers must
change their perspective and shift focus from what it is that they wish to say
to what users will actually listen to. Creating the most interesting message is
great, but only if this message is delivered during users’ least interesting
moment. A brilliantly creative message combined with clever timing will win
users’ attention and loyalty.
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Boredom Makes
for a Great App
Retention Tool

7. About us
Moburst is a full service, global mobile marketing agency that helps
companies grow their mobile business. After redefining hundreds of apps
and A/B testing every possible feature in every vertical, our team knows
what works for each product, and how to deliver the most relevant
experiences for each user. We love solving clients’ tough mobile challenges
and believe that the combination of creative thinking, advanced technology,
and data drives success at scale.
Hundreds of companies, from local startups to large global brands such as:
Microsoft Accelerator, Get-Taxi, Conduit, Sony Music and Nielsen Innovation,
have leveraged our product refinement, app store optimization (ASO), user
acquisition, and mobile consulting services to enhance their product and
maximize their KPIs.
Every day, our team’s mission is to innovate creative solutions that connect
brands with highly targeted audiences that convert into loyal users.
Moburst has offices in New York City, Israel and San Francisco.
To learn more, visit www.moburst.com or contact us at hello@moburst.com.
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