Creating an app opens an entirely new channel by which you can interact with your customers. A haven in which your dedicated audience always has access to you in one simple click. Your app is a space fully customizable to their needs. The problem in most cases isn’t the app itself. Rather, it is the crucial step so often missed after the app is created, promotion.
A general rule of thumb is to spend as much time promoting your product as you do to create them. For instance, if you spend 2 days writing a blog post, then spend the next 2 days sharing your blog post in as many outlets as possible.
The more you promote your content, the easier and faster the process becomes. We know small businesses don’t have a large budget to dedicate to marketing or promotional events. Even those who do have the money may find themselves only having a few channels to promote their content.
We have gathered 15 steps to guide you in marketing your app effectively. These steps will only cost you time, and we’re confident that if you follow them, you’ll have a notable increase in a number of followers and downloads.
LEVERAGE YOUR MOBILE WEBSITE
If you have an existing website which is fully functional and mobile-friendly, then it can be one of the greatest assets for promoting your app. At one point or another, all of your customers or anyone interested in your company will find their way to your website, and when they do, it’s important they all know you have an app.
Including your app in your site could mean sectioning off a part of your website exclusively for the app. Such as towards the middle of the webpage or the corner of the screen. While this method can bring in more downloads, I recommend taking an alternate approach. Instead of placing it solely on your website, have a pop-up page display whenever someone visits your site.
By this way, the app is the first thing the viewers see. The pop-up page is just a gentle reminder that you have an app and your customers are given either the option to continue to your mobile site or download the app.
FEATURE THE APP IN AN OFFICIAL BLOG
In addition to including your app on your website, including it in your regularly scheduled blog post is another marketing strategy you can leverage. You can do so by creating a comprehensive blog post entirely about your app or including a CTA (call to action) at the end of each blog post to invite your visitors to download the app.
When writing the blog post completely about the app, write a complete story about your app and let your viewers know the purpose behind it. Tell them how this app can help and make things easy for them. Include your app links, videos, and screenshots to help them get a good understanding.
FEATURE THE APP IN YOUR EMAILS
Your app needs to be engraved into every aspect of your marketing, which includes all of your emails. As a business, you’ll send out countless emails and not including your app in each of those is a missed opportunity.
Any email which is sent out, whether it be from your newsletter, your tech support or even the payment confirmation email should include a footer with one line advertising your app. Include details such as what can be achieved through the app and a link redirecting towards the download page.
CREATE A DEMO VIDEO
Demo videos are an easy way to showcase everything that your app has to offer. For the demo video, create a simple half a minute commercial with the principles of Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: Why, How, and What.
Assign a team to work on this video together. The collective minds of more than one will help you to finish projects faster and with fewer errors. Keep in mind that your demo video isn’t meant to stay the way it is now. Your videos, along with all your content, should be updated weekly or monthly.
APPLY FOR AWARDS
Participating in-app awards is the most recommended channel, and I would highly suggest you take advantage of it. It can give you tons of press, reviews, exposure, and plenty of downloads. Even though the chances of winning very much depend on your pitch and app idea, if you succeed to get things right the first time, you can enjoy a little stardom.
Here are some of the most famous app awards websites:
- Appy Awards
- Best App Ever Awards
- AppCircus competition
- Apple Design Awards
- Appsters Awards
- Ericsson Application Awards
- The Webby Awards
- Best Mobile App Awards
- OZApp
CREATE AN EYE-CATCHING APP ICON
With over 3.3 million apps in the Google Play Store and 2 million in the App Store, there is a lot of noise in any category you choose to have your app in. Due to that noise, many people choose to take an interest in apps, only when the app icon entices them.
To make your app icon stand out, it should:
- Have a unique shape that stands out
- Have a limited pallet of colors – 2 is enough to create contrast
- Avoid using a photo – it blends in too much!
- Avoid a lot of text, and it is barely readable anyways
- Be creative!
Testing your app icon out on a dozen different wallpapers also doesn’t hurt.
APP STORE OPTIMIZATION
App store optimization (ASO) is, at its core, search engine optimization (SEO) for the Google Play and App Store. Just like SEO, app store optimization focuses on search relevance, keyword relevance, and the keyword density in your description.
With almost half of iPhone users in the US are finding apps through search, your app description is one of the essential things that you can focus on in your app marketing efforts.
BUILD A GREAT APP LANDING PAGE
A great landing page is a must have for any business, even if you do not have a mobile app. Having a great landing page is like having a great business card, just in case you ever need it, it is good to have with you.
Breaking it down, while the page has multiple links out, the two most prominent links are the Google Play Store and App Store buttons. They are several times larger than the social sharing buttons, great to have for helping visitors to the site share the app, and they stand out just as much as the images to the right of them.
As you scroll down, each panel has a single call to action, which leads directly back to the primary call to action – to download the app.
GET FEATURED ON MOBILE APP REVIEW SITES
Getting on an App Review Site means you are going to have to send them a pitch which means you have to convince the website that your app is good enough to be reviewed by them and featured on their site. Most of these app review sites are looking for things such as:
- Beautiful graphical designs in high quality
- Original and unique content, mechanics, themes, and art
- Stable apps with no glitches, crashes, overwhelming loading times or poorly pieced together content
When you reach out, you’ll most likely have to provide supporting material for your app. It is usually done in the form of a document containing the following:
- A link to your app in the app store
- A summary paragraph describing your app and what makes your app stand out
- Screenshots of your title screen, app logo, and in-app content
- Links to videos of your app from Vimeo or YouTube
- A promo code that are keys giving access to download the app for free if it is a paid app,
PROMOTE YOUR APP THROUGH A PROMO VIDEO
Having a good promo video is a staple of any mobile app. It is a quick and easy way for anyone to understand the most common use case behind the app and how they can use it.
An additional benefit of a promo video is that you can take advantage of video SEO.
For instance, if people search for “the best list-making app” and your YouTube video title matches, then it will show up before the rest of the search results.
USE YOUR SOCIAL NETWORK
Social media, despite the heavy focus of most businesses, is still a very underutilized channel of promotion. Sending the message once is good, but sending it several times over a month or two is even better.
The typical Facebook page post reaches 16% of the page’s fan base. Now if you’re to send the same message, re-write it 4 or 5 times and send it out once a week for five weeks and you are apparently reaching 80% of your Facebook page audience.
REACH OUT TO INFLUENCERS
Marketing your app can also extend beyond your usual field of influence and often, these foreign connections are exactly what your company needs. Developing authentic, honest and mutually beneficial relationships with influencers will go a long way in helping to promote your app.
Influencers are people with the power to influence the buying and engagement decisions of a particular group of people. Business owners reaching out influencers should be careful to only present content that is truly relevant for the influencers and their audience. While some marketers often offer monetary compensation in exchange for influencer promotion, we recommend you instead find influencers that genuinely value your company.
Your viewers and theirs as well will quickly catch on that the influencer is being paid to act on your behalf. The last thing you want is customers’ feeling that you are “faking” how great your business is. Genuine sponsorships will aid your company much more and build a stronger following.
Let influencers know you’re building or have built an app. Ask if you can have some time with them to discuss the development of the app or to gather some feedback. If you want to have them on board, give them their section within the app or work towards building an app that provides to both parts needs. And if you decide to go with either of these choices, make sure your interests, values, and customers align.
JOIN DEVELOPERS & ENTREPRENEURS GROUPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Increase your visibility on social media groups, especially Linkedin, Google+ and Facebook, to become better known among entrepreneurs and app developers go.
Ask for their feedback about your app and give them a free promo code to try it out. Discuss current features, future updates, bug fixes, and value their opinion. You can build a great relationship with them which might present the opportunity to cross-promote each other’s apps without spending a cent.
BLOG COMMENTING
Have a look at blogs in the space which are relevant to your mobile app. Identify the opportunity to add value by commenting on relevant blogs that makes sense. Make sure to provide valuable insight and also link to your mobile app or your mobile app’s landing page. It can be used in mobile app marketing to drive high-quality, relevant links and traffic to your mobile app’s landing page or download link.
ROLL OUT NEW UPDATES CONSTANTLY
Your customers need to know you’re always making the app better for them. Apps that aren’t being cared for will be thrown away. Users will feel betrayed if you aren’t doing all you can to make the experience better for them. This is particularly true if you still have not addressed many of the issues that customers rage about in the review sections. Keep your app content fresh and let your customers know that you are always planning something more for them to enjoy.
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