App update campaign

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On Airship, you can also create in-app campaigns to encourage users to update the app. If you are interested in this marketing campaign, you can follow the process below.

Create a new message and select in-app automation message

We recommend using an in-app automation message rather than a push notification. In-app messages are more relevant in this context because in-app messages are more prominent to the user and displayed when the user is using the app. Moreover, they will be directly impacted by the message content and display.

 

Select a message style

For the best results, we recommend selecting the Modal or the Fullscreen style. These have a larger impact and are more visible. If the app update is mandatory for users, the Fullscreen style is the most prominent and will have the largest impact.

 

Configure your message settings

You can specify a start date and an end date for your in-app message. The start date can be, for example, the date that your latest app release is available on the store. Then, you can configure the maximum number of displays and the minimum time between displays according to your needs.

For example, if the app update is required, we recommend setting a high maximum number of displays with a very short delay between each display. The user will then find it more difficult to use the app without updating the application. If the update isn’t mandatory, you can set a low maximum number of displays and configure several days between each display.

 

Segmentation

For an app update campaign, you will want to segment your audience based on the app version. You will need to target specific users on a specific OS version or all OS versions lower than the expected one. You can target multiple OS, with a specific version for each of them.

If the update is only for one OS, you can add another condition to target only the corresponding platform.

 

Message content

Below is an example of some content that can be added to a modal-style in-app message.

 

Message actions

In this part, you will have to set up your in-app action. The objective is to facilitate the update for the user. Therefore, we suggest you redirect them to the appropriate app store page. To do this, you can configure the action “Opens to a web page in a browser” and define your app store URL. For example, here is the link to the store for our 1st Flight app. Even if the action is defined as a web page, the click will open the app store.

 

Message design

 

Message triggers

There are several trigger events: App Open, Custom Event, Screenview, and App Update. The App Update trigger occurs after the user has already updated the application. Therefore, this trigger is not an appropriate trigger for an update campaign. For an update campaign, we recommend displaying the in-app message as soon as the user opens the app. It can be useful to display the message several times.

Then you can apply additional conditions, such as viewing a specific app screen or when a certain amount of time has elapsed. These conditions are optional and not recommended for an app update campaign.

 

Message review

Your campaign is now set up, you just have to activate it by clicking on the finish button.

Best practices

• For an app update campaign, use in-app messages rather than push notifications.

• The full-screen message style has a larger impact and results in a higher update rate.

• Set the redirect link to your store page to make the update easy for the user.

• Launch your message as soon as the latest version of the app is available on the store.

• Increase the intensity of your updating campaign over time to convince the users that are most reluctant to update.

Please feel free to contact our Support team if you have any additional questions.