6 Ways a Progressive Web App Can Boost Mobile Marketing

A progressive web app (PWA) is a tool that can help boost your marketing. PWAs can increase brand awareness, improve user engagement, and deliver exclusive, brand-specific content and functionality.

A PWA improves the brand experience for users who might otherwise skip the website or mobile app due to connectivity or storage space issues. Because PWAs are easier to access, they make your brand more widely available, too.

Let’s take a look at six ways a progressive web app can improve your mobile marketing.

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What is a Progressive Web App?

A progressive web app is a web-based application that is built with web development languages such as HTML and CSS. It’s not a mobile website or a mobile app, though it could be considered a type of website. But, it’s built to function through a web browser on a mobile device with capabilities similar to a mobile app.

PWAs are similar to mobile sites and apps, but they’re lighter, faster, and don’t take up the space on a device that an app normally would. They’re able to function offline and allow users to receive push notifications and install an icon on their home screen. They’re built to function across mobile browsers.

In addition, PWAs don’t have to be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the App Store. That means there’s no need for distribution–users can just navigate to the site via their browser to get all the functionality. A progressive web app can, however, be installed to a browser or desktop via the browser itself.

Another perk of PWAs is that they work on both mobile and desktop browsers. This is especially useful for people who prefer to use their desktop browsers but want to access the same functionality as the PWA.

Some familiar examples of progressive web apps include:

• Twitter Lite
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Starbucks
• Forbes
• BMW
• Spotify
• Trivago
• AliExpress
• Uber

How Can Progressive Web Apps Boost Mobile Marketing?

Progressive web apps can deliver a mobile app experience to mobile device users, without the data usage or storage issues. This means you can get your brand’s message out to more users. Beyond the broad implications of what a PWA can do, let’s look into specifics.

1. PWAs expand brand interactions beyond a website or one-time purchase.

PWAs allow you to create unique and delightful brand interactions outside of a periodic website visit or a one-time purchase of a particular product. You can use your PWA to share content, interact with your audience, tell users about discounts and special events, and more.

A PWA keeps your users in the loop and helps you ensure more ongoing interaction with them. This keeps them aware of your brand’s presence in their everyday lives. Therefore, they’re more likely to interact or shop with you.

2. The brand experience goes with you everywhere.

When one of your users accesses a progressive web app on their smartphone, they’re essentially choosing to take your brand experience with them everywhere. Your PWA becomes an ever-present feature in their lives, and they’ll have access to it when they’re on the go.

Own a retail store? Your customers can check their app for specials while they’re out and about. Distribute content through your PWA? Users can read or view your content wherever they are.

3. PWAs raise and maintain brand awareness.

The simple act of accessing or installing a PWA gives users a heightened awareness of your brand. Enabling push notifications and placing an icon on their home screen allows you to keep in touch with them–which maintains that brand awareness. As they begin to utilize your PWA in their everyday lives, your ongoing contact with them will make it easier to get top-of-mind with them when you have something to offer.

4. A progressive web app is an immersive hub for your brand that you can tailor to fit your brand voice and audience’s needs.

Rather than simply communicating with your users through a third-party social media platform, a PWA gives you the chance to immerse your audience into your brand voice. You can also tweak the PWA’s offerings to fit your audience’s needs and interests. Essentially, the PWA is your space, and you get to tailor it however you like, in a way that’s consistent with your brand.

5. PWAs attract both loyal, long-time fans and new users.

When you create a PWA, many users who have followed your product or your content long-term are likely to jump right in. Beyond that, you’ll attract new users, too. You’re making your brand more generally accessible by adding the PWA as an option.

A PWA is an excellent opportunity to give your audience access to exclusive content and special offers that only app users can receive. The chance to get the first look (and sometimes, the only look) at special content can be a powerful draw for a conversational marketing tool like a PWA.

6. Progressive web apps can help you nurture fans that have slowed their engagement.

Every brand has to re-engage parts of their audience from time to time. Warming up an audience that has gone cold is easier if you can reach them directly.

A PWA can help you do this because you have access to those users’ phones through push notifications. Try offering a special discount to bring them back into interaction with your brand, or offer them some actionable content they can put to use right away.

Wrapping Up

A progressive web application is a tool that can help boost your marketing efforts. It’s web-based, faster, and lighter than a mobile app or a full website, but it has many of the core capabilities of a standard app.

Let’s have a quick recap. PWAs can boost your marketing by:

• Expanding brand interactions beyond a regular desktop website
• Going everywhere with your users via mobile devices
• Raising and maintaining brand awareness
• Immersing users more deeply into your brand
• Attracting established and new fans
• Re-engaging your audience

Have you used a PWA for your marketing? Are you considering it? Let us know what you think! Drop us a comment below.

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