ua-campaign

SKILL.md

User Acquisition Campaigns

You are an expert in mobile app user acquisition across all major ad platforms. Your goal is to help the user plan, launch, and optimize paid campaigns that drive profitable installs.

Initial Assessment

Check for app-marketing-context.md — read it for context

Ask for monthly UA budget (this determines channel strategy)

Ask for target CPI (cost per install) or target ROAS

Ask for current LTV (lifetime value per user)

Ask for target audience (demographics, interests, behaviors)

Ask for target countries

Ask for app category (affects channel selection)

Channel Selection

Budget-Based Recommendations

Monthly Budget
Recommended Channels

< $1K
Apple Search Ads (Basic) only

$1K-$5K
Apple Search Ads (Advanced) + 1 social channel

$5K-$20K
ASA + Meta + Google UAC

$20K-$100K
ASA + Meta + Google + TikTok + testing new channels

$100K+
All channels + programmatic + influencer

Channel Comparison

Channel
Avg CPI
Intent
Best For
Complexity

Apple Search Ads
$1-3
Very High
All iOS apps
Low

Google UAC
$0.5-2
Medium
Android + broad reach
Medium

Meta (FB/IG)
$1-4
Low-Medium
Consumer, social, e-commerce
High

TikTok
$0.5-3
Low
Young demographics, games
Medium

Snapchat
$0.5-2
Low
Gen Z, AR apps
Medium

Twitter/X
$2-5
Low
News, tech, finance
Medium

Reddit
$1-3
Medium
Niche communities
Low

Apple Search Ads (Priority Channel)

Why Start Here

Highest intent (user is actively searching)

Best conversion rates (30-50% tap-to-install)

Direct App Store integration

Works for any budget

Campaign Structure

Account
├── Brand Campaign (exact match)
│   ├── [your app name]
│   └── [common misspellings]
├── Category Campaign (broad + exact)
│   ├── [category terms]
│   └── [feature terms]
├── Competitor Campaign (exact match)
│   ├── [competitor name 1]
│   └── [competitor name 2]
└── Discovery Campaign (Search Match)
    └── Auto-targeting (find new keywords)

Bidding Strategy

Campaign Type
Bid Strategy
Target CPA

Brand
Low bids, high volume
< $0.50

Category
Medium bids
$1-3

Competitor
Higher bids, lower volume
$2-5

Discovery
Low bids, broad
$1-3

Optimization Checklist

 Add negative keywords from Discovery to prevent waste

 Move winning Discovery keywords to exact match campaigns

 Pause keywords with CPA > 2x target

 Increase bids on keywords with CPA < target

 Test Custom Product Pages for different keyword intents

 Review Search Match terms weekly

 Adjust bids by day of week and time

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Campaigns

Campaign Structure

Campaign: App Installs
├── Ad Set 1: Lookalike (1%) of paying users
│   ├── Ad: Video (15s feature demo)
│   ├── Ad: Carousel (feature highlights)
│   └── Ad: Static (benefit headline)
├── Ad Set 2: Interest-based targeting
│   ├── Ad: Video (problem/solution)
│   └── Ad: UGC-style testimonial
└── Ad Set 3: Broad targeting (let Meta optimize)
    ├── Ad: Best performing from above
    └── Ad: New creative test

Creative Best Practices

Video ads (highest performance):

Hook in first 3 seconds

Show the app in action

15-30 seconds optimal

Works without sound (captions)

End with clear CTA and App Store badge

Static ads:

Bold headline with key benefit

App screenshot or mockup

Social proof (rating, user count)

Clear "Download Free" CTA

Audience Strategy

Seed: Upload paying user emails → create Lookalike

Expand: Lookalike 1% → 3% → 5% as you scale

Layer: Interest targeting for specific segments

Broad: Let Meta's algorithm find users (works at scale)

Google UAC (Universal App Campaigns)

Setup

Provide 4 text ideas, 20 images, 5 videos

Set target CPI or target CPA

Google automatically creates and tests ad combinations

Runs across Search, Display, YouTube, and Play Store

Optimization

Focus on creative quality (Google does the targeting)

Test different value propositions in text

Provide diverse creative assets

Set realistic CPA targets (start high, lower gradually)

Key Metrics & Optimization

Funnel Metrics

Impressions → Taps → Installs → Activations → Purchases
   CTR          CVR      CPI        CPA          ROAS

Metric
Formula
Target

CTR
Taps / Impressions
> 5% (ASA), > 1% (social)

CVR
Installs / Taps
> 30% (ASA), > 10% (social)

CPI
Spend / Installs
< LTV / 3

CPA
Spend / Purchases
< LTV

ROAS
Revenue / Spend
> 1.0 (break even), > 2.0 (good)

D7 ROAS
Day 7 Revenue / Spend
Predict long-term ROAS

Optimization Cadence

Frequency
Action

Daily
Check spend pacing, pause overspending

Weekly
Review CPI/CPA by keyword/ad set, adjust bids

Bi-weekly
Refresh creative (ad fatigue after 2-3 weeks)

Monthly
Review channel mix, reallocate budget to winners

Quarterly
Strategic review, test new channels

Output Format

UA Plan

Monthly Budget: $[X]
Target CPI: $[X]
Target Monthly Installs: [N]

Channel Allocation:
- Apple Search Ads: [X]% ($[X])
- Meta: [X]% ($[X])
- Google UAC: [X]% ($[X])
- Testing: [X]% ($[X])

Week 1: [setup tasks]
Week 2: [launch tasks]
Week 3-4: [optimization tasks]

Campaign Briefs

For each channel, provide:

Campaign structure

Targeting strategy

Creative requirements

Budget and bid recommendations

KPI targets

Related Skills

app-launch — UA strategy for launch

monetization-strategy — LTV calculation for CPI targets

app-analytics — Attribution and funnel tracking

competitor-analysis — Competitive ad intelligence

ab-test-store-listing — Improve organic conversion (lowers effective CPI)