The document outlines strategies employed by SoundCloud's growth team to enhance mobile user acquisition, retention, and international growth through a structured mobile growth stack. It emphasizes an experiment-driven approach, utilizing multivariate tests, onboarding processes, and adaptive messaging to engage users effectively. Additionally, it highlights the importance of localization in app store optimization, demonstrating significant growth in various regions following these strategies.

1. ASCENDING SCALE:
THE MOBILE GROWTH STACK
ANDY CARVELL
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER, GROWTH, SOUNDCLOUD
MORITZ DAAN
PRODUCT MANAGER INTERNATIONAL, SOUNDCLOUD

2. Mobile Growth Stack
Andy Carvell
PM Retention
Moritz Daan
PM International

3. Agenda
1. Growth Team
2. Mobile Growth Stack
3. Executing the Stack

4. SoundCloud’s Growth Team
Acquisition Activation Retention International
“Growth Umbrella” -­ Product Org, Berlin

5. Growth

6. Mobile Growth Stack
1
Andy Carvell
www.mobilegrowthstack.com

7. Cross-sell
Cross-sell users from web or mobile web to our native apps
Acq

8. App Store Optimization
Last year: our “own” App Store Now: Google Play
Acq

9. App (Store) Optimization
Increase reviews + improve ratings + get feedback+ measure NPS
Acq
Todo: ask promoters to actually invite friends & send ‘personal’ push notifications when we
launched the feature detractors were asking for

10. Facebook App invites
Test out new integrations: trying to tap into more referrals with FB App Invites
Acq

11. RetentionRet
● Experiment-­Driven Approach:
○ Multivariate Tests (optimize for key metrics)
○ CONTROL GROUPS to prove impact vs all other activity
○ Scale what works (based on data)
○ Iterate regularly.
○ Retention has slow cycle times: look for early indicators of impact
New User
Cohorts
‘Growth Machines’
● Onboarding Flows
● Activity Notifications
● Drip Campaigns
● Loyalty Scheme*
Acquire Users Retain Users (prevent churn)
Re-­Activate Users
● Re-­activation Campaigns
● Re-­targeting

12. Drip Campaigns
Adaptive In-App Messaging to drive desired (engaging) behavior
Act

13. Activity Notifications
Drive retention & engagement with push notifications
Ret
Todo: use optimized timing, channel delivery, rich push,
personalized push based on earlier click behaviour

14. Deeplinking
Create a seamless UX and drive installs with deeplinking
Ret
Installed Not installedMobile Web
Todo: automatically bounce people into the app & intelligent deferred deeplinking
+ Leverage App Indexing

15. Localization: ASO
Testing with a dummy app for which localized keywords you rank (Apple)
Int

16. Localization: ASO
Driving installs with localization of App Store metadata
Int
MoM growth after localization
Russia +376%
South Korea +264%
Turkey +157%
Italy +136%
Brazil +98%
Belgium +47%
Mexico +36%
Spain +33%
France +28%
Germany +23%
Netherlands +21%
Canada +12%
Japan -­6%
China -­15%

17. Thank you!
(Psst. We’re hiring)
www.soundcloud.com/jobs
www.mobilegrowthstack.com