Before we start, lysol your phone please. 

In hard-hit areas that Coronavirus has widely spread, increasing people are confined to their homes. Employees will be working from home and students are taking classes via live streams. During the coronavirus outbreak last month, app usage in China has surged during the period when major cities were locked down. People are turning to games or socializing online for a sense of camaraderie and to help pass the time. Total game downloads on Apple’s app store in China increased 27.5% year over year and revenue rose by 12.1%, according to market research firm Sensor Tower. Douyin, China’s TikTok grew by 102% as bored teens went to cloud raves, created humorous videos about their isolation. Video games such as PUBG by Tencent saw a significant increase in playing time and in-app spend. 

While more people are stranded at home instead of traveling or socializing outside of the home, smartphones offer a way to connect with friends, alleviate boredom, or find crucial information on the Coronavirus outbreak. So what can your apps or games learn from Chinese apps’ success during the Coronavirus outbreak? AppMonet has put together a few key strategies to help you better engage your users and give them a peace of mind. 

• Make your app free or extend your promotions 

Many Chinese video game companies have responded to the coronavirus outbreak by extending or introducing new promotions. Some games even changed their business models to make the games free with the option to make in-game purchases, as noted by Omdia, a tech research service. Make your users happy, help them connect for a much-needed dose of human contact, your sales would be soaring as people locked up in quarantine would pounce on anything to keep the blues of isolation away.

• A friendly reminder conveys your company value

If you are a news or information related app, make sure you prioritize your information related to the Coronavirus virus so people would turn to your app to check the latest updates on Coronavirus. Even if you are not in the news/information category, a friendly reminder/push notification on following good respiratory hygiene shows you care about your users and reflects good company values. 

• It’s time to optimize your in-app advertising 

With increasing time spent in the app, it’s time to think about how you could maximize your ad serving. Mobile advertising has now overtaken in app purchases as the primary money maker for app publishers. In-app banners and video ads are great ways to monetize your app but you need to be smart about the mobile ad network you decide to partner with. In addition, think about the ad formats that best fit your apps. In-app ads don’t have to be intrusive or pushy — when ads are highly targeted and present the right offers to the right users, they can add value for both the advertiser and the user. The wide variety of ad formats allow apps to accommodate the user experience in a way that isn’t disruptive.

With unparalleled 3rd party verified viewability rates, unique video pre-caching technologies, rich media formats, and extensive SDK footprint in the top apps worldwide, AppMonet is dedicated to help you monetize your users without compromising on user experience. If you are interested in chatting more about your app monetization strategy, get in touch today!

Stay calm and wash your hands!