How people manage their finances forever changed thanks to the pandemic and the rise in technology adoption. With such disruption to finances, consumers have different needs now relating to how they bank, invest, and save. And they’ve discovered there’s an app for that. For fintech apps to capitalize on this shifting dynamic, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve retooled your user acquisition (UA) strategy to keep up.
What Are the Trends Shaping Personal Finance Management Changes?
To consider how your app can keep up with consumer demands, you’ll need to understand the trends motivating their changes. Here are some of the most prominent ones for the year ahead.
Digital Banking Adoption Continues to Soar
According to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, consumers have transitioned to digital banking. A record 41% are now digital-only customers, meaning they don’t conduct transactions in branches. That’s a significant shift and one that aligns with higher usage and the need for fintech apps.
A study from Oracle revealed that 60% of consumers want to open accounts digitally, and 86% want to make payments and transfers via digital channels.
Investment Apps Gain More Users by Making Investment Accessible
This past year also saw new adoption to investment apps that made investing more accessible. Robinhood, E-Trade, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and others increased their userbases. The Game Stop stock run was a wild ride in 2021. The world learned that you don’t have to be a financial whiz to play the stock market.
Apps that made investing “fun” and easy to understand brought a whole new generation to the trading table.
Crypto Is Back, Backed by Famous Faces
Then there was the cryptocurrency craze that had apps like Coinbase, Crypto.com, Binance, and others gaining popularity. Crypto became mainstream with help from famous faces, including Tom Brady, Matt Damon, and Kim Kardashian.
The infamous Elon Musk tweet made Bitcoin soar. While some consumers still don’t know what crypto is exactly, that didn’t stop many from testing it out. The first half of 2021 saw a 100% growth in exchanges and the highest level of crypto trading ever.
In 2021, there were over 68 million blockchain wallet users in the world. Currently, Bitcoin is by far the most used, with a 42.53% market share, followed by Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Cardano.
Digital Payment Apps Lead the Category
As consumers are banking and investing online, they also use digital payment apps. In 2021, the top free finance apps for iOS were Cash App, PayPal, and Venmo. CashApp and PayPal were also the top two on Android.
It’s unlikely this trend will reverse as more consumers feel comfortable about being cashless.
So, what do all these trends mean for fintech apps and their UA strategies for 2022?
Top Strategies to Keep Up with Consumer Demands
Based on these insights, it’s time to look at your UA strategy for your finance app. Here are some ideas to ensure your app gets the notice it deserves and the quality users it seeks.
Registration Are a Signal of Engagement, So Reward Your Users for Doing It Early
Installation is the goal of UA, but not where it ends. Just because a user downloads your app doesn’t mean they’ll use it, which is why registration is so important. In the State of Finance App 2021 report, only 50-60% of users register on the first day. That indicates some friction in the registration funnel. Ideally, you want to increase that because registration often leads to high engagement and usage.
What we know from our data and experience is that you want to get a user registered as soon as possible. To achieve this, we’ve had great success with early funnel CPE (cost per engagement) campaigns that reward the user within the first 24 hours if they register.
Registered users make an “investment” in your app and are more likely to make it part of their daily lives. That means more engagement and greater revenue. The reward for fast registration should align with that event. It could be a free trial, access to a new feature for a short period of time, or anything else that gets them more involved with the app.
It’s a Good Time to Expand Geos
The demand for financial apps is global. In fact, it’s peaking in several countries that have a high number of unbanked or underbanked users, including South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Other more mature markets, including the U.S., Australia, Germany, and the U.K., saw demand surges.
To capitalize on a global community of users, you’ll need to partner with a reward network that can help you access these geos across both iOS and Android. Not every rewarded advertising platform can do this.
Depending on what subcategory your finance app falls into, it may better meet certain markets’ needs. For example, Latin America has a high rate of unbanked citizens. As a result, finance app downloads have tripled since 2019. New apps did well in this area, with a 55% increase in new apps available that racked up at least 10,000 installs a month. If your app fits this description, it could perform very well.
The Investment App Flurry Isn’t Decreasing
Investment apps are one of the fastest-growing segments of financial apps. Now that the barrier to entry is so low, everyone feels they can invest without incurring too much risk. New investors can start small, and younger generations who are already digital natives are much more likely to go to an app than a financial advisor.
To attract the average Joe investor for your app, you should consider keyword campaigns that highlight this. Use terms they may search for—first-time investors, dollar stocks, easy investing, etc.
You could see a surge in quality downloads because you’ve segmented the keywords to attract a specific user type. Additionally, if you receive paid installs, it could boost your app store ranking and deliver some additional organic downloads.
Diversify Your Marketing Mix to Find Unique Users
Consumers see financial advertising everywhere they go. The key is to diversify your app spend so that you increase app visibility while not over-saturating. While leading crypto apps are taking on celebrity partners, your app may not have the budget for that, and that’s okay! It’s likely that highly engaged users aren’t swayed by spokespeople but rather by the quality of the app.
Thus, to find these unique users, you’ll want to work with a mobile app marketing partner to expose you to a diverse group that needs a financial app. From there, your creative needs to be on point to speak to that user. Updating your app store profiles is also critical to match the narrative in your ads. Building a convincing story for real-life users will be more impactful than a smiling celebrity.
Ready to Boost Your FinTech App in 2022?
The personal finance ecosystem evolved tremendously in the past two years, and that’s good news for finance apps. Technology to manage, budget, invest, pay, and save is now the norm. Understanding the changes to consumer behavior and pivoting your UA strategy can help you acquire more users in 2022. You’ll be able to do it at scale without compromising quality with AdAction. Contact our fintech app advertising experts today.
