Top 8 mistakes in paid user acquisition, with Replug’s Lorenzo Rossi

Fed up with the BS in the app growth world? So is Lorenzo Rossi, the co-founder and head of growth at Replug, a Berlin-based app growth consultancy. So we sat down and chatted about the top 8 mistakes people make in paid user acquisition.

And we pulled as few punches as possible.

Check it out: hit play and keep scrolling. (Oh, and don’t forget to sign up for Growth Masterminds wherever you like to get your podcasts or subscribe to our YouTube channel.)

Top 8 mistakes in paid user acquisition

Everyone’s always trying to be so nice.

That’s wonderful, but sometimes we need to know what NOT to do as well as what TO do. So what are the top 8 mistakes in paid user acquisition?

Let’s dive right in …

1. No MMP (and not setting your MMP up properly

Hey, I didn’t feed him any talking points! 

But he’s not wrong.

 

 

Especially when starting out, many advertisers still operate without an MMP or don’t set it up properly. That’s a big problem even when you start to scale, especially thanks to the complexities on iOS under SKAdNetwork. 

“People forget to set up SKAN 4, people forget to connect channels, people forget to send events back to Facebook, to Google, to all the platforms that they’re using,” Rossi says. “Many marketers still believe that Firebase is an MMP … I hope that the Google people won’t hate me, but Firebase is not enough.”

Without an MMP, tracking and analysis suffer, leading to poor decision-making. And that, not shockingly, leads to underperformance, wasted ad spend, and stunted growth.

Rossi notes that even after the introduction of iOS 14, many have yet to understand why an MMP remains crucial for effective tracking.

2. Sloppy targeting, especially on Meta

When an ad network gives you a big fat easy button, put your hands behind your back.

Do not press it!

Targeting can make or break your paid ad campaigns, and being lazy about it has severe consequences. Lorenzo emphasizes that platforms like Meta have introduced features like Advantage+, that promise “better ad performance via AI.” And Google, of course, has something similar with UAC, now Google App Campaigns.

But there’s a downside …

 

 

“We had a case a couple of months ago with a client … they wanted to target only 45+ users,” Rossi says. “However, there was Expand Audience, targeting Spanish or something like that. And all the budget was going to young kids: 17+, 18+.”

In other words, sometimes the easy button makes setting up ad campaigns too easy, leading to common pitfalls like targeting the wrong audience. Accurate targeting, excluding irrelevant users, and avoiding automated options can significantly improve your paid user acquisition performance.

And help you stop wasting money.

3. Over-reliance on Apple Search Ads

Hey, Apple Search Ads can be fairly awesome. You can get a lot of scale, there’s trackability, more data availability … a lot of good stuff. And ASA always ranks pretty well in Singular’s ROI Index.

But … there’s a but.

 

 

Relying solely on Apple Search Ads is a frequent mistake, Rossi says. While Apple users might be more valuable than Android users, scaling only on Apple Search Ads just because you’re getting easier tracking data isn’t cost-efficient. 

Also, there’s another big problem with Apple Search Ads, used incorrectly:

“Like … why cannibalize all the organic traffic?” says Rossi

A balanced strategy including other channels like Meta and TikTok is essential for greater overall awareness and effectiveness. And for not paying for what you in some cases would have gotten for free.

4. Ignoring iOS in favor of Android

It’s shocking, but some app publishers and marketers are STILL staying away from iOS due to App Tracking Transparency.

“We have seen on several occasions that the developer wanted to focus only on Android, because as you mentioned, it’s more granular in terms of data they can analyze at the creative level, all these types of things,” Rossi says. “But what about your most valuable users?

 

 

Of course, this strategy of focusing entirely on Android because of easier trackability neglects the potential value of iOS users, who are often more profitable. iOS is actually accurately measurable now with SKAN, even without IDFA: the key is to ensure you’re properly set up for success.

(And yeah, we can help.)

5. Using a 1-size-fits-all creative strategy

Everyone knows you can’t just use images from Google Ads in TikTok. Or, hopefully everyone knows.

But many still think you can use the same videos for reels on Instagram and Facebook on TikTok as well, without thinking that the IG/Facebook experience is volume off, and the TikTok experience is volume on … and that significantly changes how you need to present your creative.

(Even if you end up using the same base video.)

Plus, the audiences are different ages.

 

 

Using the same creative across different platforms is like using one brush to paint an entire mural—ineffective. And uncool. Also (and worse) unprofitable.

“If you have the wrong targeting, with good creative, it can work,” Rossi says. “If you have the perfect targeting with bad creative, it doesn’t work.”

And it doesn’t end with channel. Each channel has specific placements that offer specific benefits but also demand tailored creative. Without investing thousands of hours of learning time yourself, the only way to absolutely maximize your ad spend, therefore, is to get an expert who knows all this stuff.

And, of course, constantly stays up to date with the latest changes.

6. Lack of a holistic marketing strategy

Repeat after me: growth is not just about paid ads.

Again: growth is not just about paid ads.

(For more color on this, check out my recent chat with Hannah Parvaz on why growth marketing is a mindset, not a set of activities.)

 

 

Focusing solely on paid UA without integrating other marketing aspects is a significant oversight. 

“What’s the point of spending money on paid user acquisition if all the other things don’t work at the same time?’ Rossi says. “You don’t have a mobile CRM in place, so you don’t send push notifications. You don’t send emails, you don’t activate the users, you don’t keep the users active …”

App store optimization, onboarding, and CRM all play crucial roles in a successful user acquisition strategy. Plus, building a seamless flow from your ad to the app’s first user experience ensures higher retention and user satisfaction.

All of it matters. Only some of it is about paid ads.

(Even when paid user acquisition is the fastest way to grow.)

7. Focusing on the wrong KPIs

Hard to believe, but vanity metrics still trap many marketers. Especially in paid user acquisition.

“As a paid UA team, we look at all the metrics because they’re important,” says Rossi. “We optimize everything from the impression, sure, from the click through rate, CPI, cost per registration. But it’s important to have the final goal in mind.”

And yeah: that’s profitability.

 

 

Metrics like CPI and CPA are important but not sufficient. 

Rather, marketers — and CEOs — need to also focus on understanding the lifetime value of users and measuring final profitability rather than just upper funnel metrics. And the complete flow of how people onboard, engage, monetize, and retain.

8. Sticking to the basic basics of paid user acquisition

Starting with the basics is fine. Sticking with the basics will massively devalue your paid user acquisition efforts over time.

And, yeah, just using the same old same old big marketing channels and platforms that everyone else uses too is sticking with the basics.

“Back in the day there was the duopoly, Facebook and Google,” Rossi says. “You had an app, put the money there, scale, boom. “I mean, now the possibilities that we have in 2024 are endless and it’s not possible anymore to scale Meta for everyone or to scale TikTok for everyone.”

 

 

Sticking to a basic paid UA strategy without exploring multiple channels is a common mistake. There are other channels that also offer significant potential and sometimes unlock different sets of potential users or customers at a better price.

By the way, exploring OEM traffic is another often overlooked avenue that can yield great results for Android apps. (Check out our recent UA via OEM post and Growth Masterminds.)

So. Much. More (in the full episode)

Hey. 

Paid user acquisition isn’t easy. There’s a lot of complexity (like, really a lot) and there’s high stakes, because mistakes cost real money.

However, avoiding these 8 common mistakes can at least start you on the path of saving some time, some money, and some frustration. By focusing on proper setup, accurate targeting, creative customization, a holistic strategy, meaningful KPIs, and diversified channels, you can dramatically improve your campaigns’ effectiveness. 

Check out the full episode on whatever channels you prefer, and subscribe to get new insights every week on how the best in growth marketing think and act.