Many apps add social as a mechanism to spread the word but this doesn't always fly too well with the users as it's regarded as shameless promotion. However, there are social additions that have boosted apps enormously by providing convenience, interaction or expression. It all boils down to creating value for the users, Here's how...

1. MANY APPS ADD SOCIAL AS A MECHANISM TO SPREAD THE WORD BUT THIS
DOESN’T ALWAYS FLY TOO WELL WITH THE USERS AS IT'S REGARDED AS
SHAMELESS PROMOTION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOCIAL ADDITIONS THAT HAVE
BOOSTED APPS ENORMOUSLY BY PROVIDING CONVENIENCE, INTERACTION OR
EXPRESSION. IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO CREATING VALUE FOR THE USERS.
HERE'S HOW...
GOLDEN GEKKO IS A LEADING MOBILE SOLUTION PROVIDER OF NATIVE APPS, HTML5, MOBILE WEB AND BACKEND
PLATFORMS. OUR 150+ CLIENTS INCLUDE BUDWEISER, TELEFONICA, SAMSUNG, JAGUAR, HEATHROW AIRPORT,
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SOURCES: Mashable, Benedict Evans, CNN International Edition, The Washington Post, Fast Co.Create, Wave.5, Mobithinking and Marketingpower.com
ways to
shake up social
in your app6
of the top 15 apps had some
sort of social or
local dynamic.
80%
1
4
3
6
One of the main benefits of social integration into
mobile applications is the on-the-go information
provided.
Yelp! saved you from a bad
restaurant.
Sunrise lets you connect your
calendar with different social
networks to display event invites.
Waze has 50 million users,
including your Facebook friends,
sharing real-time road travel
information.
COMPLEMENT
THE USER
JOURNEY
MOTIVATE OR
ENCOURAGE
DON’T
MAKE IT TOO
INTRUSIVE
The new surge of mobile fitness apps are
good examples of mobile communities where
app users encourage and motivate each other
to get
Nike+ Running uses social interaction
as motivation to exercise, turning every
like into sounds of a cheering audience.
CodyFitocracy
2
Create friendly competition, bragging rights or
mutual benefits for users through socializing.
SOCIAL
INTERACTION
WITH A CLEAR
PURPOSE
500million
plays
per day
in Hong Kong
are playing
Need to
cooperate with
their Facebook
friends to
improve their
score in the
game.
Candy Crush Saga
5
Let the users get acquainted with your app first.
When the users realize the app is awesome it
will make more sense to create an account or
link the app with a social network.
app
63%
recommended
others to join
66%
felt more
loyal to the
brand
72%
thought more
positively of
the brand
as a result
Of the people
that join a brand
community...
Allow users to manifest their thoughts into
existence. Social media can be a channel for
your users to express their feelings, preferences
and make recommendations to their friends.
PROVIDE AN
OUTLET FOR
USERS TO
EXPRESS
THEMSELVES
+ +
Facebook Spotify
A study by MarketingPower.com shows that if
social elements in digital platforms provide
feelings of human interaction users will feel
more emotionally satisfied.
comments
stream
weekly poll
reviews
section
like
or rating
button
GIVE USERS A
SENSE OF
INVOLVEMENT
6 million paying
subscribers and a total
of 24 million users
(25% of users pay)
$ $ $ $ $
+1billion
shares on Facebook
40million
110million
each day
of app users express
concern over personal
data collection73%