Channel Experimentation and the Tiktokification of Video Ads — Ryan Watson, onX

On the podcast I talk with Ryan about the TikTokification of video ads, how partnerships help increase the value of premium subscription tiers, and why you should be thinking about retention, not just downloads, when working with influencers.

Top Takeaways
🗣️ User acquisition can be more challenging for apps with niche audiences, which is why you should focus on channels where you can target by interest and search.
🎯 SEO feeds the retargeting funnel more than it drives direct conversions — but keyword data is valuable for product positioning.
🤗 Influencer marketing is extremely effective across the whole marketing funnel — from acquisition to retention — helping to build trust and authenticity.
🦾 Marketing automation is essential for educating users how the product will improve their life once they've gotten into it — especially for more complex products.
🖥️ Apps make more money from web subscriptions, so retarget users to drive them to sign up on the web rather than mobile.

About Ryan Watson
👨‍💻 Director of Growth Marketing at onX
💡 “Our motto is: ‘We want to awaken the adventurer in everyone.’ It’s very focused on the experience that they're having, and not just how the tool operates.”
👋  LinkedIn | Twitter

Links & Resources
‣ Work at onX
‣ onX on LinkedIn
‣ onX on Twitter
‣ onX on YouTube

Follow us on Twitter
‣ David Barnard
‣ Jacob Eiting
‣ RevenueCat
‣ Sub Club

Episode Highlights

[1:47] Hunting origins: Ryan takes listeners through the background of onXmaps, Inc., the market-dominating subscription app you might not have heard of if you’re not a hunter.
[7:03] Find the product fit: If you’re looking to build a business, look at underserved niches.
[13:34] Easy and hard: Narrow niches come with their own challenges.
[18:00] Channel selection: Targeting via interest is crucial to marketing to a niche audience.
[19:34] SEOperation: SEO does convert, but more importantly feeds the retargeting funnel.
[21:18] Secret channels: Ryan shares some of the more successful channels that might not be considered at first.
[22:41] TikTokification: Short form video is on the rise — how do you leverage that “escape-style content”? There’s still a market for long form podcasting too.
[27:08] Influencer culture: Working with a large number of the right influencers is important for authenticity, but sometimes in-house video works better. What’s crucial is a constant flow of video.
[29:17] Retention: People don’t think about retention as much as they should, Ryan says. Ads can actually be a retention strategy.
[31:39] Howdy, partner: Elite members get special deals. For onX, it’s about “provid[ing] true value of what matters to your audience,” Ryan explains.
[36:23] End-to-end: It’s all about figuring out your creative door-opener for getting people interested in your product.
[40:03] Personnel balance: Having a strong in-house creative team versus hiring from outside is a personal preference, and depends on the product.
[40:44] MMP: Ryan talks all things experimentation on ATT, SKAdNetwork, organic lift, and directing traffic between the web and the app stores.
[45:13] Bundling: onX believes in specific concept-based apps for specific users. Sometimes there’s cross-conversion.