An app you can’t forget: a guide to user retention

How can you tell if an app has captured users’ hearts and gained fans? The User return metric, or Retention, shows how engaging your app is.

Bringing users back helps improve metrics, build a loyal community around the app, boost monetization and increase time spent. We also recommend planning mechanics and features during the idea description stage that will encourage users to remember your product more often.

So how does an app become memorable to users? Let’s look at examples of what can be implemented in a VK game or mini app.

Notifications

An app included in the catalog can send notifications as push messages. They appear on a smartphone from the VK mobile app and in the bell icon on vk.com. In games, they also appear on the user activity page. The key is to get permission first.

There are three types of notifications for different needs:

 • Automatic, sent to inactive users on the first, seventh and thirtieth day after their first launch

• One-time for special events

• Mass notifications during major updates

Notifications are a powerful tool that should be used carefully. Users are annoyed by messages that are too frequent (more than once a day) or irrelevant messages that aren’t connected to current events in the app.

How to convince users that notifications are useful

• Ask the user to allow notifications after a key action. For example, a business community connects your mini app that tracks statistics. Offer the administrator to set up notifications about changes in statistics or to receive weekly reports after the basic settings in the service are configured.

• Explain the value the user will get: “Enable notifications to be the first to know about new levels.” This motivates more than a suddenly appearing modal window with the request.

• You can offer a bonus for subscribing to notifications.

Common mistake: asking for notification permissions but then not sending any. You need to remind users about the app periodically, otherwise the magic will not work and users will not return.

How to set up notifications is covered in one of the video tutorials.

For more details about notifications, see the documentation: games, mini apps.

Community followers

If users come back to your app, that is already a good sign. If they also follow your community, congratulations, you have a real fan club! This gives you two additional entry points: posts in the news feed and a link inside the community.

If your app still does not have a community, it is time to create one, plan a content strategy and start building a user community around your project. Yes, this isn’t about development. Still, a community is a very powerful tool that supports retention, loyalty and even user acquisition.

Tip
You can offer a bonus for following a community. We allow this mechanic for the app’s official community and for one partner community, which you can change over time, but not often. Artificially inflating community subscriptions is prohibited, and we will definitely notice it.

Subtle but important detail

If you ask users to subscribe to a community, it must be active. Publish posts and stories, run live streams and engage with users in the comments.

How to implement: VKWebAppJoinGroup

Messages from community

Request permission to send messages on behalf of the community, even if the app isn’t published in the catalog. This lets you remind users about your project more often.

The message appears in the user’s dialog with the community. This format works well for announcing updates and promotions for virtual goods. You can also communicate via a chatbot. For example, ask the user to choose a favorite color and, based on the response, suggest starting a level in the game.

Tip

If you use both notifications and community messages, make sure the content does not duplicate and does not overlap in time.

Learn more in the documentation.

Adding to Favorites

If a user adds a game or a mini app to Favorites, consider it a Michelin star in the VK apps world!

This feature gives you an extra entry point. A button with your app will appear in the rightmost menu on vk.com, and favorited mini apps will be shown in a separate catalog collection. Try offering a one-time virtual bonus for adding to Favorites. Users will appreciate it, and your app will become more visible.

How to implement: VKWebAppAddToFavorites

Home screen shortcut

If adding the app to Favorites isn’t enough, there is another way to make it memorable. A shortcut works well for users on Android devices.

On the first launch, an automatic window can appear suggesting adding a shortcut to the device’s home screen. If the user declines, you can show the prompt again later. To increase the chances, offer a small virtual bonus.

How to implement: VKWebAppAddToHomeScreen

User achievements: badges and progress

Virtual badges are a source of pride for players. Trophies often serve as a checklist for completing the game, motivating users to visit more often and level up their characters. Later, users can show off their achievements in stories!

We recommend displaying progress on achievements or even creating collectible badges that users can unlock only with virtual currency.

Game developers should also consider implementing levels and points with notifications in the friends’ activity feed.

Daily bonuses

Users just open the app and are already greeted with a nice bonus. This encourages them to spend more time in the app. Such a mechanic motivates daily visits and longer play sessions.

If the bonus must be used within a limited time, it increases the motivation to stay in the app right away. This trick can also encourage the first in-game purchase if the bonus is your currency, such as coins or gems. How to implement it is up to your imagination ✨

Missions

Миссия — серия заданий с конкретным результатом. Например, нужно выиграть три A mission is a series of tasks with a specific goal. For example, a user might need to win three times in a row to earn virtual points or bonuses. In games, missions can be set up in the admin panel so that completion is shown in the activity feed. This encourages other players to try their skills as well.

Retention + acquisition = app growth! This mechanic also makes the user experience more varied.

User rankings

Competition can also drive user retention. Users enjoy seeing themselves at the top among friends or even all app users. To climb the rankings, they need to return to your project regularly and keep leveling up. Competition also motivates purchasing boosters to reach the top faster.

In mobile apps, you can connect tournament tables to games. For a ranking example, check the demo mini app Dish of the Day from the VK Mini Apps Development course. You can use the frontend and backend code accordingly.

Idea
You can create seasonal rankings or rankings tied to specific events.

Seasonal updates

Encourage users to return to the app with a limited-time seasonal update.

Choose a theme and support it with design, animation, extra levels, temporary character costumes and challenges. Create a full event experience using mechanics that your users already love.

Important: make sure to announce the update in notifications or community messages so users can fully appreciate your efforts.

Remember: user retention and loyalty depend on a combination of mechanics. To find the ideal mix, focus on your audience’s preferences and experiment. We recommend starting with 2 to 3 mechanics from our list at the app launch and gradually replacing the least effective ones with new ideas.

Have more ideas for keeping users engaged? Share them in the comments under the post and we’ll add your suggestions to the guide!