SensorTowerSocial Apps Need 260,000 Downloads to Rank at No. 1 in Europe, Down 30% from 2019
Summary
According to Sensor Tower's State of Social Apps in Europe report, the number of daily downloads needed to rank No.1 in Europe has decreased 30% compared to Q3 2019, and 53% from the pandemic peak in Q2 2020. European consumer spending on social apps reached a record $830 million in the first 10 months of 2022, an 86% increase year-over-year. TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitch accounted for 77% of all social app revenue from in-app purchases.
TikTok's revenue surged but slowed to 3% Q/Q growth in Q3 2022 vs 46% in Q3 2021. The rise of BeReal's dual-camera feature and time-sensitive notifications has influenced competitors, indicating a key trend for 2023.
You Might Also Like
AppsFlyerHow to use ChatGPT to market your app [50+ prompts]
ChatGPT transforms marketing by accelerating research, ideation, and content creation. It aids in market analysis, competitor research, feature brainstorming, and ASO optimization. Marketers can leverage it for efficiency while maintaining strategic oversight.
TikTokTikTok Advertising Blog: Find Product Updates, Insights & Tips
This TikTok for Business landing page promotes a limited-period new-advertiser incentive program offering up to USD 6,000 in matched ad credits. Three self-serve tiers are presented: 50% off first 30-day spend (up to $200), dollar-for-dollar match up to $500, and match up to $6,000. A separate headline offer advertises Spend $100/Get $100, Spend $500/Get $500, and Spend $1,500/Get $1,500 plus 1-to-1 expert onboarding support. Registration requires email or phone sign-up with 2-step verification. Eligibility is restricted to new SMB self-serve accounts, excluding agency, Business Center, and TikTok Shop accounts; credits post within 7 days of hitting the highest threshold or after the 30-day window.
TikTokTikTok Advertising Blog: Find Product Updates, Insights & Tips
TikTok for Business is promoting tiered first-30-day ad credit incentives for new self-serve SMB advertisers: spend $100 get $100, $500 get $500, or $1,500 get $1,500 plus 1-to-1 expert onboarding support, with a headline entry offer of 50% off first-month spend up to $200 and matching credits up to $6,000. Credits are applied within 7 days of hitting the highest threshold or after the 30-day accumulation window. Eligibility excludes agency, Business Center, and TikTok Shop accounts, and limits one ad account per new TikTok For Business account. For ad ops teams, these terms dictate budget pacing, account structure, and credit-expiry planning.
TikTokMost businesses underestimate how ready they are for TikTok | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok's UK/Europe scale (30M+ UK, 200M+ EU) and content graph make category objections obsolete. For ad ops, success comes from relevance, not trends: proof-led demos, explainers, reviews, and problem-solving content can reach high-intent audiences without a large follower base. Case studies show material performance: Toyota CPA -38%, BCP 10x registrations, Randstad 2.81% CTR/17M impressions, Prep Kitchen +44% conversion and +374% orders with Smart+, PureGym CPA -77%, HydroClean cost per conversation -74%. Action: test utility/creator content, use Smart+ for scaled creative testing, layer TopView on trusted content, and target niche communities rather than broad reach.
TikTokIntroduction to Branding | TikTok for Business | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok connects users with immersive, bite-sized content, reducing time spent on other media. Its ads build brand love and memory effectively, with In-Feed Ads, TopView, Top Feed, Branded Mission, and Spark Ads as key solutions.
TikTokIntroducing TikTok Creator Marketplace | TikTok World 2022 | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok updates its Creator Marketplace with enhanced search and matching tools, open campaign applications, and improved analytics to streamline brand-creator collaborations.
TikTokMost businesses underestimate how ready they are for TikTok | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok's Lorenzo Bierhuys argues that equating performance marketing with bottom-of-funnel capture is outdated; performance should instead mean data-driven, measurable marketing applied across the entire journey. TikTok frames discovery as the start of an infinite purchase loop, citing that 61% of users purchase after seeing an ad, 83% after using TikTok for inspiration, and 41% after a 'where to buy' search. Case evidence backs the full-funnel case: Mejuri +11% ROAS with 88% more efficient CPA, Tatti Lashes 13x ROAS, Conforama 239% CTR lift, and Ooh & Aah Cookies 8.81 total ROAS. Takeaway for ad ops: plan around intent signals first, then select capture routes — TikTok Shop, Pixel, App Events API, or Lead Generation ads.
AppsFlyerCreative optimization: Why your best video ad fails as a static image
AppsFlyer’s 2026 creative data shows video and static image ads reward opposite creative qualities, so ad ops teams should plan, budget, and test them separately. Video spend is concentrating: gaming’s top 2% of video creatives captured 60.7% of spend, up from 53.5%, while image spend spread out. Top spenders are testing far more variations, widening the testing gap. Action/Strategy and Puzzle/Lifestyle show format-specific tone and social-proof reversals; Finance is the exception. Teams should use AI-assisted variation, analyze video winners deeply, keep broad image testing, and measure performance at attribute level.
More from SensorTower
State of Automotive & Mobility 2026: Chinese Automakers Accelerate Global Expansion as Digital Customer Acquisition Emerges as a New Growth Driver
Automotive advertisers are shifting budgets toward localized digital acquisition as domestic growth slows. In China, pre...
Indie and New IP Break Out, Without Denting AAA
Breakout game launches are increasing, driven almost entirely by indie studios. 76 titles sold 500k+ paid units in their...
State of Game Advertising 2026: Three Trends to Know
Sensor Tower’s 2026 game ad report shows ad ops must manage more creative volume, not just bigger budgets. Top US mobile...
Show and Tell: Inside Target's Back-to-School Retail Media Campaign
Target’s 2026 back-to-school retail media campaign became more concentrated: impressions fell 66% YoY to 781M and partic...
Holiday Campaigns: What We Can Learn From Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, & Hershey's
The holiday retrospective shows three distinct ad ops plays. Coca-Cola doubled spend (+110%) and impressions rose 91%, c...
Cash In! Finance Spotlight Report 2026
Mobile finance is outpacing broader app trends: global finance app downloads are projected at 8.9B in 2026 (+6% YoY), wi...