Remember back in the day when we all were kids, we all were on tenterhooks during every commercial break?
I distinctly recall the McDonald’s happy meal ads that would come at least 3 times in a single ad break.
Well, here's something peculiar about those ads that our childhood brain couldn't comprehend. This was their way of becoming "Trendy".
Yup, back in the ancient times before smartphones ruled the earth, the main source of becoming a trend was through advertisements.
Marketers always wanted to touch that holy "7 views per viewer" benchmark. This was like a holy number that was supposed to compel the viewer to at least remember the product that was being sold.
And you know what? They were largely successful in this. These trends from old age would at least last a few months, if not a couple of weeks.
But in today's time, becoming trendy has become all the more, well... trendy. Every day there are new trends be it fashion or food. But there is one facet of the new digital world where trends last for a long time.
Apps have largely been untouched by the fast-moving trend. Whether we like it or not, those
application development companies know something we don’t. The apps that were trending last year still seem to be trendy enough.
So, what secret ingredients are the app development companies and their app developers using? Today's article is divided into two main types of apps and the lessons we learned from them:
1) Social Media Trending Apps
2) Gaming Trending Apps
Let's get started, shall we?
1) Trending App In Social Media:
Tiktok came and conquered the world. This is just one of the many facts of 2020 that will go down in history. It's safe to assume that TikTok outcompeted everyone last year. For any app developing company, this means they hit the jackpot every week!
But how did it do it? Instagram, Facebook, etc were the dominant players for a very long time. So how did this new app beat the market?
Your answer: It brought something new to the table.
Stop with your pitchforks and at least hear me out.
The most primal desire for human beings is to be connected and appreciated by others. Instagram and Facebook made it happen.
You could share where you were traveling, what you were watching, with whom you were hanging out. The more likes you had, the more dopamine you'd hit.
But with the lockdown, all this
hanging out, came to a standstill. Learning new skills and cooking was on the rise but there are only so many dish styles for mac 'n' cheese before you realize you'll go crazy if you keep on doing this.
It offered people a breath of fresh air and a much-needed dose of creativity. Non- judgmental, no-holds-barred creativity that saw us through the lockdown. A lot of it was utter garbage, but still, the world learned a new way of making short content interesting.
And those who pioneered this, be it influencers or App development companies or even single
mobile app developers, earned a ton of bucks.
And this is why you have a million more app development companies trying to replicate this app.
Lesson number 1: It is always to make sure you are working on providing a dopamine hit to your customers. But make sure it also serves everybody's purpose. So the customers are entertained as was intended, while the advertisers are also happy.
2) Trendy Gaming Apps
Until the last year, this section too had its fair share of kings. You had subway surfer, the king of time-pass games, temple run, its orphaned copycats, and some other hits like
PubG mobile app.
And from a small studio and a gaming app development company brought the world Among-us. Even if we ignore the sheer impact it had on our pop culture with those "Red is acting sus" and "There is an imposter among us" memes, Among Us stole our attention faster than we expected.
How is it that an app that only 10000 players a month played pre-covid outbreak, suddenly jumped to over a 300million userbase?
Here's your answer: They brought something new to the table.
With Among-us, you had to devote extra time and effort to solve the murders. The best part, a single game would never take more than 20 minutes. This meant that even if you lost, you still had a chance of winning the next round if you had more time.
And guess what did people have too much of on their hands? TIME!
This is how Among-us came at the top during the pandemic. Soon you had many app development companies that tried to replicate this success. But this is what led to its downfall as well.
A soon as the lockdown was lifted, people spent less and less time on the game. At the same time, the servers were full of trolls who always tried to worsen the game experience for everyone.
The OG games like Subway-surfer, Temple-Run, and PubG regained their top spots.
PubG too in many ways had the same pros that Among-us had. A short gaming time, constant tension, and a lot of suspense. But here's where PubG won.
By providing regular content, just like the other games, enticed the users to keep on playing.
Lesson number 2: If you want to keep your users hooked, then you need to give them regular good new content that brings them back again and again. Many
game app developers use these tactics to stay on that trending page.
Conclusion:
None of what we have discussed here today is easy. This is not one of your "Quick fixes for blah blah blah" Articles. Even big Mobile app development companies struggle with this.
But as well all know, it's a difficult path that's worth treading.
