mobile growth hacking w/ branch metrics

MOBILE GROWTH HACKINGAnny HsuCocoaheads TaipeiSep. 15th, 2015

with

Growth Hacking

A marketing technique developed by

technology startups which uses creativity,

analytical thinking, and social metrics

to sell products and gain exposure.

-Wikipedia

What is a Growth Hacker ?

A person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is scrutinized by its potential impact on scalable growth.

-Sean EllisA hybrid of marketer and coder, one

who looks at the traditional question of

‘How do I get customers of my product?’

-Andrew ChenA growth hacker lives at the intersection of data, product, and marketing.

-Aaron Ginn

App Growth Cycle

Awareness

Activation

Download

Share

But, driving awareness is challenging…

And, making users actively STAY with your app is even more challenging…

Universal Links for Mobile Apps

▶ Deep link

Deep Link

A deep link is a hyperlink that instead of

linking to a homepage is linking to a specific website or piece of content.

Deep links go deeper than just to the homepage because they contain all the information to direct you to a specific place.

App Stores are a barrier for information and analytics.

Digital Fingerprint

• IP address

• OS

• OS version

• Timestamp

• Device model

• Screen size …and other parameters

How does Branch matching work?

Matching Mechanisms

• Device fingerprintingMatch browser fingerprint and device fingerprint.

• Memory-Based Match TechniqueSave a record of historically matched pairs & IDFA/GAID.

• Facebook App Links and Match API Facebook App Links protocol. POST IDFA/GAID and get App Link data.

• Google Play INSTALL_REFERRER BroadcastCustom referrer query parameter at the end of Google Play store URL. ex. market://details?id=com.myapp&referrer=deferred_deeplink_stuff

Contextual Deeplink

So how can I use mobile deep links?

• Content sharingIncrease app sessions and reach new users

• Rewarded referrals Let existing users be your marketing team

• Smart banners Convert web users to mobile

• Deep linked ads Track installs and reduce steps to conversion

• Deepviews Experience content before install

Deepview n. [deep-vyoo]

Definition A browser-based rendition (splash page) that is visible on desktop or mobile web, of content that resides within a native app, accompanied by a deep link that routes the user to the

Origin First Known Use: New product naming brainstorm session, Branch offices, Palo Alto, July 2015.

Case Studies

• Hotel tonight

Case Studies

Implementation

• Set up URI scheme & keys (Dashboard->Settings) in Info.plist

• Start Branch session

• Handle deep link

Link Creation

• Mobile SDKs

• Append query parameters

https://bnc.lt/a/key_live_jbgnjxvlhSb6PGH23BhO4hiflcp3y7ky?has_app=yes&channel=facebook&stage=level4&feature=affiliate&og_title=Cocoaheads$mykey=hello_world

• Web SDK Web link, Smart banner, SMS link

• HTTP API URL endpoint, Bulk link endpoint

• Dashboard

curl -X POST \-H "Content-Type: application/json" \-d '{"branch_key":"key_live_jfdweptNITtAY5HVY3mBSojopgfGf8qQ", "campaign":"announcement","feature":"invite","channel":"email","tags":["4"],"data":"{\"name\":\"Alex\",\"email\":\"alex@branch.io\",\"$desktop_url\":\"https://branch.io\"}"}' \https://api.branch.io/v1/url

{'url’ : ‘https://bnc.lt/ADaEf23-0’}

FAQ

Do I need to pay $$ ?Nope.

FAQ

How accurate is the matching ?Pretty accurate but…it sometimes fails

However, things change in

SFSafariViewController

• Approach: 1. In the iOS app, create a URL pointing to Branch servers and including a unique identifier for the device, like IDFA. 2. Open the SFSafariViewController and point it to that URL 3. Server-side, the API endpoint receives the IDFA and parses the cookie (if any) sent up with the request. Branch sends down a new cookie if it didn’t exist previously. We now have a link between the user in the browser (cookie) and the user in the app IDFA.

▶ 100% matching

Resources

• Andrew Chen’s Blog

• Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising

• Branch Blog

• Branch PodcastSoundcloud: #MobileFirst by Branch

Thanks for listening :)