Re-Engagement Events for Your App Vertical

In mobile analytics parlance, measurable user interactions within your app are known as events. Measuring events is fundamental to mobile marketing as it enables you to establish meaningful goals, understand your campaign performance, and optimize future marketing efforts.

In certain types of campaigns, the goals and related events are easy to identify. But when it comes to re-engagement campaigns, the correlation between re-engagement goals and re-engagement events is not always evident. Encouraging users to open your app after an extended absence is the obvious first step, but effective re-engagement campaigns are designed with tactical objectives that go beyond just getting users back in the app.

As you implement re-engagement campaigns, focusing on the relationship between your goals and the events you measure will enable you to design more effective strategies. The following sections provide a high-level overview of common measurable events, and outline specific examples for several of the most popular app verticals.

What Types of Re-Engagement Events Can Be Measured?

The specific names and descriptions of measurable events varies based on your analytics provider. To give you an idea of the possibilities, outlined here are some predefined events:

• Open: Any time a user opens the app.
• Login: Any time a user logs into the app.
• Registration: Any time a user creates or registers an account.
• Add to Cart: Any time a user adds an item (product) to their shopping cart.
• Add to Wishlist: Any time a user adds an item (product) to their wishlist (to buy in the future).
• Added Payment Info: Any time a user saves their payment information.
• Checkout Initiated: Any time a user initiates the checkout process (prior to purchase).
• Purchase: Any time a user completes the checkout process.
• Reservation: Any time a user makes a reservation (e.g. in a travel app).
• Spent Credits: Any time a user spends credit within an app.
• Achievement Unlocked: When a user receives access to a new achievement (e.g. in a gaming app).
• Level Achieved: When a user completes one level and proceeds to the next (e.g. in a gaming app).
• Tutorial Complete: Any time a user completes a tutorial.
• Content Viewed: Any time a user views a specific piece of content.
• Invite: Any time a user invites others to the app via a social network.
• Rated: Any time a user submits a rating for page content.
• Share: Any time a user shares content via email or social network.
• Custom Events: A MAT-created ID or reference string for a custom event.

Event Measurement by Vertical

Gaming Events

Re-engagement Examples:
Contact a user announcing a new way for in-app characters to power up, and encourage the user to come back into the game and complete a challenging level using the new power-up feature.
Possible events: Open, Login, Level Achieved, Achievement Unlocked

Contact a user with a refer-a-friend promotion offering in-app credit for every referral. The message could also feature desirable in-app items or resources (e.g. a new weapon, extra lives, etc.), enticing the user to make a purchase using the referral credit.
Possible events: Open, Login, Purchase, Spent Credits, Achievement Unlocked, Level Achieved, Invite

Travel Events

Re-engagement Examples:
An app that facilitates flight purchases might contact a user announcing a fare decrease if a trip is booked during a certain date range.
Possible events: Open, Login, Add to Cart, Checkout Initiated, Purchase, Reservation, Content Viewed

A travel magazine app might send a user an alert showcasing a new destination relevant to the user’s taste and encourage the user to share the article for a chance to win a free trip.
Possible events: Open, Login, Share, Content Viewed

Lifestyle Events

Re-engagement Examples:
A retail app might send a coupon for 10% off the next purchase or an alert for an upcoming sale. The message might also encourage the user to browse products and make a purchase or add favorite items to a wishlist.
Possible events: Open, Login, Add to Cart, Add to Wishlist, Added Payment Info, Checkout Initiated, Purchase, Search

A real estate app might send a message encouraging users to register for in-app alerts for new properties that match the user’s interests.
Possible events: Open, Login, Registration, Content Viewed

Business & Finance Events

Re-engagement Examples:
A tax preparation app might send a message notifying the user that tax season has started and encourage the user to select a tax filing plan.
Possible events: Open, Login, Registration, Added Payment Info, Checkout Initiated, Content Viewed, Purchase, Search

A credit monitoring app might send an alert informing the user of a credit score change and encourage the user to register for advanced monitoring protection.
Possible events: Open, Login, Registration

A personal finance app might send an alert when a user is over budget in a certain spending category and invite the user to view a new article discussing budgeting best practices.
Possible events: Open, Login, Content Viewed

Education & Learning Events

Re-engagement Examples:
A foreign language instruction app might send a message reminding a user of progress towards a badge or certificate and encourage the user to return to the app and complete any remaining lessons.
Possible events: Open, Login, Content Viewed, Achievement Unlocked, Level Achieved

A cognitive skills app might send a message alerting a user that the free trial period is about to expire and encourage the user to unlock additional content by signing up for a paid plan.
Possible events: Open, Login, Registration, Add to Cart, Added Payment Info, Checkout Initiated, Purchase

Re-Engagement Events Summary

Effective re-engagement campaigns are designed with clear goals that go beyond just getting users back in your app. As you define your re-engagement goals, it’s essential to ensure your analytics are capable of measuring the events that are most relevant to your app. Mapping goals and events dramatically improves your ability to understand and optimize your re-engagement campaigns, and ultimately leads to a more active and engaged user base.

This article is part of the Mobile Marketing Essentials series.

Author

Becky is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at TUNE. Before TUNE, she handled content strategy and marketing communications at several tech startups in the Bay Area. Becky received her bachelor's degree in English from Wake Forest University. After a decade in San Francisco and Seattle, she has returned home to Charleston, SC, where you can find her strolling through Hampton Park with her pup and enjoying the simple things between adventures with friends and family.