Process Flow
Animated overview of the full workflow
TL;DR
App install campaigns on Meta drive users to download your mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Choose the 'App Promotion' objective, register your app in Meta's developer platform, set up the Meta SDK for in-app event tracking, target your audience, and create video or image ads with an 'Install Now' CTA. Optimise for installs initially, then switch to optimising for in-app events (purchases, registrations) once you have enough data.
Prerequisites
Register your app in the Meta Developer portal (developers.facebook.com). Integrate the Meta SDK into your app for tracking installs and in-app events. Register your app's store listing.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these 3 steps to complete this guide
- 1
Campaign Setup
Create campaign > App Promotion objective > select your app > choose optimisation goal (App installs or App events) > configure targeting > create ad with direct install CTA.
- 2
Creative Best Practices
Show the app in use — screen recordings, feature demonstrations, and user testimonials work well. For games, show gameplay. Video ads outperform static images for app installs. Keep videos under 30 seconds with the value proposition clear in the first 5 seconds.
- 3
Optimisation
Start with optimising for installs. Once you accumulate enough in-app event data (50+ events per week), switch to optimising for valuable in-app actions. This helps Meta find users who will actually use the app, not just install and abandon.
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