What Are In-App Events?
In-app events (IAE) are live events that happen inside iOS apps. There are plenty of options available to you: game competitions, movie premiers, livestream experiences—you name it.
Most developers are familiar with in-app events. Many have been hosting them for their users for quite some time. But with iOS 15, developers are able to promote their in-app events to people who haven’t yet downloaded their apps, expanding their reach in the process.
In-app events appear in the Apple App store as event cards. Each card contains the name of the event, an image or video, and a short description of the planned festivities.
If an App Store user taps on the event card, they’ll be shown additional information, like whether or not the event requires an in-app purchase or subscription to attend. They’ll also be able to “opt-in” to the event and share it with their friends via text, social media, etc.
Users can find in-app event cards on product pages, in search results, and in recommendation sections in the App Store’s Today, Games, and Apps tabs.
Why Are In-App Events Important?
In-app events have the potential to supercharge your app marketing efforts. They can help you increase awareness, boost installs, and better engage your current users:
- Increase Awareness: As mentioned above, in-app events appear in search results and in recommendation sections. This gives developers like you the chance to reach more people. When users search for related apps, your event card could appear. And when they’re perusing Apple’s Today tab, for instance, they could see your event.
- Boost Installs: The more eyeballs you get on your in-app events, the more installs you’ll generate. Why? Because anyone who’s interested in attending your event will have to download your app to do so. It’s content marketing at its finest. You just have to create high quality content for your target audience in the form of in-app events.
- Better Engagement: You definitely want to generate new users for your app. But don’t forget about the people who have already installed it. You need to engage these people so that they continue to use your solution / play your game. In-app events are a great way to keep your app top-of-mind and your users coming back for more.
