Top business benefits of adding a mobile app Stories
It’s not practical or cost-effective for a business to do something just for the sake of it, out of curiosity or for fun. Everything should have a good reason: new partnerships, staff expansion, marketing experiments, etc. The same goes for making changes to digital assets.
InAppStory offers a way for businesses to transform their apps by adding a section with content in Stories format. It’s similar to what everyone is used to in social networks, but is much more functional and therefore effective for business. In this post, we will tell you why businesses need Stories, and what it will give them.
1. Turn sales into content
Digital tools have made sales much more user-friendly, but a mobile app showcase can do more than just demonstrate a product. With Stories, in a matter of seconds you can not only demonstrate a product and its features, but also immerse your viewers in the specifics of the offer. The convenience is that this tool allows you to take advantage of all the best advertising practices within one format. A single product message can include an animated video, a game, a poll and a button, and still offer a smooth user experience. This covers the interests of not only the business, but also the client, which, in the end, again benefits the seller. The demand for such an approach is confirmed by the numbers: according to this study, from 2016 to 2018, worldwide spendings for native advertising increased from $17 billion to $35 billion.
2. Communicate with users directly
The shorter the distance between a business and its customers, the more trust the customers have. That’s why it’s difficult these days to find an online service that doesn’t have a built-in support chat window, or a company that doesn’t have a presence on social networks. Stories allow you to take one step forward in this direction. Platform widgets allow you to collect feedback through a chat window, let your users evaluate a new feature or product using a vote or a slider, request an app evaluation in the store, and conduct polls — plus, combine all these capabilities within one story. All this will make your mobile app a convenient place for interaction, and your users’ trust will increase.
3. Become a platform for user entertainment
Stories have some awesome gamification opportunities. Imagine your users’ reaction when you introduce a real web game in your app. It can be Tetris, Pac-Man, Mario, Snake, Memory or any other relatively simple mechanic. Analysis shows that the duration of sessions after the launch of such projects increases several times, by an average of 3 minutes while the project is active. The game will be opened directly in the story with no need to leave the app, and the InAppStory team can fully cover its development, with a turnkey approach.
There are also simpler gamification tools in Stories: narrative games. In them, the user answers questions, and the scenario develops in response to their choices. Combined with a reward system, game mechanics deliver amazing results in user engagement.
4. Create content fast and easy
Launching new media can be a huge challenge. The average price of a blog post from a good professional author is about $200-300, plus you need to pay for site design, management, etc., so costs can quickly inflate beyond your expectations. Stories allow you to make everything as simple as possible. The amount of text for a story is 600-800 characters on average, which is ten times less than a blog post. Story design can be either really complex and ingenious, or extremely simple, for example by using many design templates. Some of our clients use just one content manager to create all the content for their Stories section.
The platform is provided on a subscription basis, and features a very affordable price. It’s probably the most cost-effective way on the market to launch your own media. You can combine lifestyle, animated tutorials, product and informational content in one place, and it's incredibly convenient to do it in the platform editor.
5. Boost in-app engagement and session duration
The Stories platform makes it possible for an app to become a new gathering point for users. First of all, they’ll be able to find everything they need right away in one place: information about services, announcements of promotions and discounts, games and prizes, information on a relevant topic, and useful tutorials. Obviously, that’s all very convenient, but it’s not only about that.
With games, lifestyle and interactive content, the Stories section can become a place where customers want to return, sometimes even without using the main features of the app. When the right content is delivered via the Stories channel, you can see a dramatic increase in user engagement and brand loyalty.
6. Boost your marketing from different angles
Stories is a content tool (or even a set of tools), so it’s a way to influence your company’s marketing strategies and practices. For example, app onboarding will help you instantly introduce new users, and according to the scenario that you think is right. Animated stories will make the presentation of products and services as clear and engaging as possible. Various interactive widgets (tests, polls, feedback forms) will help you to get acquainted with your audience much better; buttons with a transition to a product will increase sales conversions; personalization allows you to contact each client personally and send an individual offer. Isn't that the kind of opportunity every marketer needs?
7. Make your app understandable
One of the main advantages of Stories is the ability to explain complex things in an accessible way. This is possible because of the combination of visual and textual content, together with narrative development. You can implement all these elements in the form of instructions (aka tutorials) either in a static format or an animated one. They can help your users easily understand how to register for a promotion, demonstrate the complex mechanics of using a service, and explain the benefits of updating the app.
In addition, you can effectively use video, which allows you to do unboxings or demonstrate products in an extremely natural way.
Also, with the help of Stories tools, you can train employees, save a story with useful information, or provide important information to staff.
In conclusion
Adding a Stories section to your company’s app is an opportunity that can greatly improve your users’ loyalty and engagement. The toolkit is designed to make everything convenient for your users, and by providing them with new content and opportunities to interact with your brand, you will give your business more avenues to grow and prosper.
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