How PropellerAds’ Social Traffic Boosted a VPN Campaign to $100K Growth in 30 Days
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Finding the right traffic source in the digital advertising space can be challenging, but it can make all the difference in revenue generation. For a mobile app developer focused on promoting his VPN service, searching for the best led them to PropellerAd’s, and namely – our new Social Traffic feature.
The results? A six-figure growth (over $100,000) within a month! Yes, you read that right. There’s no doubt you want to learn how this advertiser achieved massive growth within this short period.
This case study peers into the strategies he employed and the results achieved. Ultimately, you’ll discover why Social Traffic could be that game changer you need for your campaign. Let’s get started!
About Our Partner
Before diving into the strategy’s details, let’s introduce our partner. This is our direct advertiser, a mobile app developer with a keen focus on VPN (Virtual Private Network) services. His product, tailored for iOS users, is a top performer on the market.
Our partner has been with PropellerAds for a long time, always getting high results. Notably, he has tried various ad formats, which turned out to be efficient. However, he needed more.
With a new campaign on the horizon, our advertiser wanted to push the boundaries of profitability. So, he explored a traffic type that can offer higher conversion rates and enhanced earnings per click. Guess what the choice was? Yes, you got it — Social Traffic.
Why Social Traffic?
Social Traffic by PropellerAds is a unique feature that targets social media users. This traffic type bypasses the strict rules imposed by social networks on ads. Thus, our advertisers have a direct line to engage users without the usual restrictions.
In addition, it has a potential to boost user engagement rates and the ability to reach a broader audience seamlessly. For our partner, this was an attractive proposition, so he allocated a significant portion of its budget to Social Traffic. The goal was to see if it could bring even better results to already profitable campaigns.
Campaign Overview
This campaign targeted iOS users worldwide, but the US stood out as a lucrative market. This is due to the country’s huge number of iOS users and its citizens’ high purchasing power. Also, there’s a greater awareness of online security issues among Americans, which made this campaign more effective. Here’s an overview:
- Product: VPN for iOS
- Targeting: iOS 15, 16, and 17
- Traffic source: PropellerAds
- Ad format: Popunder
- Traffic type: Social Traffic
- GEO: Worldwide
- Total spent on traffic: $250,000
- Amount spent on Social Traffic: $114,000
- Campaign Period: June 23 – July 23, 2024
- Conversion: purchase of a paid app version*
*Users downloaded and installed the application, still the final goal of this campaign was a sale (aka paid subscription to a VPN). It is worth mentioning that our partner also considered install/trial ratio as a crucial metric to evaluate performance.
Execution and Strategy
Our partner also leveraged PropellerAds’ in-house server-to-server (S2S) Tracker and Singular for conversion tracking and performance analysis. As such, he could monitor the campaign’s progress in real-time and make data-driven decisions.
Our partner’s main optimization efforts were aimed at zone optimization. He blacklisted those that didn’t bring desired results, which helped him not to waste the budget in vain.
Creatives and Pre-Landers
Our partner used his own pre-lander with classic elements associated with VPN: mobile phones, shields, locks, and other security-related icons— clear visuals that users resonate with. Since we cannot show the landing page of our partner for confidentiality reasons, we provide a samelike example:
Results: Social Traffic and Regular Popunder Traffic
One crucial aspect of this campaign was comparing the performance of Social Traffic to other traffic types and formats (in this case, regular Popunder traffic). As we already mentioned, our partner considered the install/trial ratio, not only sales. Interestingly, this ratio was almost identical across all formats.
However, Social Traffic edged others in terms of conversion rate (CR), and effective cost per mille (eCPM).
| Metric | Social Traffic | Popunder Traffic |
| Average CPM | $19.5 | $1.2 |
| Average CR | 2.36% | 0.3% |
Social Traffic can boast of:
- Really High Engagement Level
Social Traffic taps into users already engaged with content on social media platforms. These users are more likely to interact with ads, which leads to higher conversion rates. As a result, the client’s campaign saw significantly higher conversion rates.
- Volume of Impressions
Based on the result, Popunder traffic delivered a larger number of impressions, which is the main peculiarity of this format.
However, Social Traffic was more efficient in turning those impressions into conversions. This effectiveness is reflected in the higher eCPM rates. This means that the budget spent on Social Traffic brought back value.
- Quality of Traffic
Social Traffic is often aligned with intentional traffic. For this campaign, we can suggest that attracted users were tech-savvy and security-conscious. This demographic aligns well with the VPN’s target audience, resulting in more meaningful interactions and higher trial sign-ups.
Key Takeaways
The success of this campaign offers several important lessons for potential clients looking to maximize their ROI:
- Social Traffic Can Drive Massive Growth
With the right targeting and creative strategy, Social Traffic works great as a stand-alone high-quality traffic, plus – it’s great for scaling, especially in competitive markets like the United States. The ability to bypass social media restrictions while reaching highly engaged users is a significant advantage.
- Data-Driven Decisions are Crucial
The use of advanced tracking tools allowed the organization to make informed decisions that directly impacted campaign’s success. Monitoring performance in real-time enabled our partners to continuously optimize the campaign for better results.
- A High-Quality Product is Important
Even with the best traffic source, the quality of a product remains paramount. Our partners’ VPN service was well-suited to the needs of its target audience, which made the high conversion rates possible.
Final Thoughts
In just 30 days, PropellerAds’ Social Traffic helped this VPN service grow by over $100,000. The campaign’s success is a testament to the power of Social Traffic as a high-conversion tool. This traffic type offers a compelling alternative to traditional methods for clients in competitive sectors.
It combines the best of social media engagement with the freedom to operate without restrictions. As this case study shows, the best way to scale higher is to think Social—just not in the way you might expect. So try Social Traffic for your business today, and don’t forget to check our blog for additional resources. Cheers!
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