The social networking category has exploded on the app stores with each app catering to different purposes - be it for dating, maintaining professional acquaintances, sharing posts anonymously or even just keeping for keeping different aspects of your life separate. Across the globe, developers are exploring unique monetization models which allow them to grow beyond the traditional paid downloads or subscription methods.

1. WEBINAR:
DECODING MONETIZATION METHODS
FOR SOCIAL/MESSAGING APPS

2. PRESENTERS
TANVI KAPOOR
Global Lead – Native Advertising Solutions, Product Marketing
7 Years of experience in the Mobile Industry
Tanvi.kapoor@inmobi.com
SANDEEP JAIN
Director – Business Development, North America
14+ Years of experience in Products and Technology
Sandeep.jain@inmobi.com

3. WHAT WILL YOU LEARN FROM THIS WEBINAR
Ø Holistic view of the social and messaging app ecosystem
Ø Basic understanding of the principles to keep in mind when designing social
and messaging apps
Ø Comprehensive view of monetization methods for social and messaging apps
Ø Some details on getting advertising right for social and messaging apps

4. GROWTH OF SOCIAL
MESSAGING APPS

5. GROWTH OF SOCIAL/MESSAGING APPS
7% Shopping
7% Local Search
11% E-mail
11%
General Info
(Search, Sports, News
etc.)
22%
Play Games
18%
Entertainment
(music, videos etc.)
17%
Social Media
(e.g. Facebook, Twitter
etc.)
6% Bill Payments
Ø 46% of mobile usage is purely on
communication and entertainment
Ø General talking and messaging has
been replaced with images, emojis and
video calls
Ø Social and messaging apps are the
preferred channel for distribution of
content such as stories, videos, images,
etc.

6. 2014 – CHANGE IN “SOCIAL” BEHAVIOR
This picture is so going on Instagram!

7. BUILDING A SOCIAL
MESSAGING APP

8. TYPES OF SOCIAL/MESSAGING APPS
ONE TO ONE
• Direct
Messaging
• 2-Way
Communication
• Example:
Whatsapp,
Viber, IMO (All
messaging
apps)
MANY TO MANY
• Group Chats
• 2-Way
Communication
• Example: All
messaging apps
MANY TO ONE
• Social Feed
• 2-Way
Communication
• Private or Public
• Example: FB,
TW, Path, Tango
ONE TO MANY
• Broadcast
Messaging
• 1-Way
Communication
• Example: SMS
Broadcasts, RSS
Feeds
ONE TO MANY
TO MANY
• Channels
• Discussion and
Awareness
• Example:
Official accounts
and Brand
Channels
PRIVATE PUBLIC

9. WHAT MAKES A GOOD SOCIAL MESSAGING APP?

10. 1. KEY VALUE PROPOSITION
Audience Segment + Nature of Usage
Identify your niche audience and what drives their social behavior

11. KEY VALUE PROPOSITION - EXAMPLE
à Caters to Comic Fans
à Share information
on comics, books;
Roleplay;
Discussions on
upcoming releases,
etc.

12. 2. ENGAGEMENT
à Introduce guided interaction to make usage
clear
à Create a network to begin with – based on
email id, phone number
Keep the principles of engagement simple and elegant

13. 3. EXPRESSION
Focus on the modes of expression preferred by the key customer segment

14. 4. DYNAMIC CONTENT
Give your users reasons to keep coming back to the app.
Repeatedly.
à Humans are slave to notifications
à Updates – user generated + app generated

15. 5. LOCAL FLAVOR & CUSTOMIZATION
Provide local flavors and audience specific features to create
context and delight

16. 6. OPENNESS
Take inspiration from the connected world
à Create an open system which links to other
popular apps used by your audience
segment
à Facilitate sharing of information from these
apps

17. 7. EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS
à Grow into a platform
à Recommendations for
your users
à Apps, Games, Music,
Merchandize, etc.

18. MONETIZATION METHODS

19. 1. SUBSCRIPTION
Ø Time Based
Example: Whatsapp
Ø Feature Based
Example: LinkedIn Premium,
Tinder Plus, Skype Calling
Credit

20. 2. PERSONALIZATION
Ø Payments from personalized
items like emojis, stickers and
themes
Ø Either directly through money
or through virtual currency
Ø Example: Path, Line

21. 3. PURCHASES (AUXILLARY)
Ø Extended app features – IAP
from Games, Music
Purchases, Merchandize
Ø Example: Line, Tango, WeChat

22. 4. PAYMENTS FOR OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS
Ø Official accounts or channels
– paid for by the brand
Ø Useful for increasing
engagement

23. 5. TRANSACTION FEES
Ø Transaction fees from
payments to verified
merchants
Ø Example: WeChat

24. 6. ADVERTISING
Ø In-Line Ads in:
Ø Social feed
Ø Conversation History /
Contact List
Ø Photo Gallery
Example: FB, Tango, Kakao
Ø Rewarded Video Ads in
exchange for virtual
currency
Example: Kik

25. BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVERTISING IN SOCIAL APPS
Ø Easy Discoverability: Place the ad on the main page, within the first 2 tiles
Ø Immediately Noticeable: Prominent, large ad units perform better. For
compact layouts, highlight the ad in a slightly different color to improve
performance
Ø Clear Identification: Clearly mark the unit as an advertisement with a tag
such as “Sponsored” or “Ad”
Ø Respect User Privacy: Steer clear of private spaces such as conversation
windows to avoid intrusion

26. “Partnering with InMobi for advertising was an easy
choice, given the strength and flexibility of the InMobi
platform and ability to seamlessly integrate native
advertising in the BBM feed.”
Matthew Talbot
SVP Emerging Solutions
BlackBerry
INMOBI IS THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT SOCIAL
MONETIZATION PLATFORM GLOBALLY
InMobi Social Partners

27. CONTACT US
If you are interested in monetizing through ads, you can reach us
at developer@inmobi.com

28. Questions