With nearly 9 million educational, lifestyle, productivity, entertainment, and social media apps available through multiple stores, it’s easy to see that mobile applications truly run the world.
But while this trend is only set to grow, the competition for new developers about to launch a game in today’s crowded universe of mobile applications has never been fiercer.
That’s where a tailored, and well-crafted marketing strategy can help you stand out and grow your user base. Get started with the bulletproof promotion strategies below.
Know Your Target Audience – And Your Competition!
If you are wondering whether there is enough market room for your app to thrive, keep in mind that over 88% of mobile time is today spent on apps, and most smartphone users interact with an average of 10 apps per day and 30 per month.
But this doesn’t mean that the competition in this sector is something to be taken lightly. After all, the failure rate of mobile applications currently stands at over 99%!
So, how can you help yours succeed?
Once the inspiration for a great app has struck, the first step is to analyze the market, looking at both your target audience and your competitors. If you are unsure how to start, spend time crafting a customer persona for your application, and determine the pain points, desires, lifestyle, spending habits, and personality nuances of your ideal customer.
Once you have a better understanding of who you are trying to sell to, dive deep into the up-to-date market and industry insights. Some of the aspects you might review include:
- Number of apps similar to yours
- The average competitor user base
- Failed and successful marketing campaigns of your competitors
- Complaints and notes in customer reviews
Build a Presence From the Start
Even with an experienced team by your side, it can take between 7 and 12 months to conceptualize, design, develop, test, and pre-launch an app. And, one of the main mistakes developers make is not taking advantage of this timeline to get started with marketing efforts!
Starting your promotion strategy early can help you generate a buzz around the app launch and entice potential users to sign up for newsletters and updates. What’s more, early bird contests and incentives can build a user base before your app its life and gives you the chance to better understand your audience through surveys and polls.
Some pre-launch marketing strategies include releasing trailers, posting behind-the-scenes videos, and publishing snippets on social media.
- Pro tip – with users ready to download the app as soon as it’s launched, you’ll have to address bugs and problems beforehand. Make sure to be confident in your product before releasing it!
Grow Your User Base and Understand the Power of Reviews
While you’ll have plenty of opportunities to adjust your marketing strategy in due course, it’s crucial to have a clear idea of what your goals and objectives are before you invest in marketing services.
Are you looking to acquire thousands of users to monetize your app through ads? Or are you selling a service through your application and targeting a niche audience?
Answering these questions can help you define a user experience in accordance with your goals and implement monetization tools such as rewarded ads, limited-time offers, and sign-up discounts.
These strategies can also help you build your audience while your app is still new, which is key to collecting positive reviews and attracting new users over time.
Make Sure Your App Stands Out in the App Store
According to a Think With Google survey, around 51% of mobile users discover new apps through friends and family, while 48% find applications by browsing app stores, and 34% leverage the app store’s recommendations.
At a glance, these statistics show something very important: ensuring that your application is visible and discoverable on app stores is essential to its success. So, how can you help your new app stand out on Android’s Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store and boost your organic installation rate?
The secret is your App Store Optimization strategy. Some key aspects to focus on include:
- Create an effective title for your app
- Craft a simple but appealing and efficient short description
- Spend time crafting an informative long description
- Add clear screenshots and preview videos in your description
- Use the right keywords on your title and description (i.e.: “action game”, “productivity”, or “language learning”)
- Choose a memorable logo icon that can help you boost brand recognition
- Encourage current users to leave reviews
- Keep your app store profile up to date
Tap Into Social Media and Influencer Marketing
Social media marketing is a crucial piece of the puzzle for all brands, regardless of the industry you operate in. However, if you are promoting an app, it is likely for your target audience to already be present on a social media platform or more, which makes this strategy an unmissable one.
Once you have built a solid social media presence, consider using direct messages and comments to interact with your community, and ensure to tap into the new business features of Meta, which allow you to add a download link to your posts and stories.
Alongside social media marketing, partnering with influencers or key opinion leaders can help you promote your app in front of a robust, like-minded audience. Don’t forget that, as seen above, recommendations are the main factor influencing a user’s decision when downloading a new app!
Review Your KPIs and Marketing Goals
Without reviewing your key performance indicators and progress, it’s impossible to know if your marketing campaign is reeling in the expected results – or whether you are wasting your already-tight budget on inefficient strategies!
To avoid these common pitfalls, consistently monitor your marketing results and review metrics such as retention rate, monthly active users, daily active users, average session length, stickiness, cost per acquisition, and ROI.
If you can’t seem to find a balance or you are out of marketing ideas, working with mobile app marketing specialists such as upptic.com can help you identify your project’s specific needs, automate your marketing efforts, and access comprehensive insights.
Think Outside of the Box
When promoting an app in today’s highly competitive environment, it is crucial for your marketing strategy to be comprehensive and well-rounded. This means that you’ll have to focus on SEO, affiliate marketing, and paid ads as well as ASO, social media marketing, and influencer marketing.
But if all of your competitors are already using these tools (and are operating on a much greater budget), how can you give your marketing strategy a unique edge?
While there is no “one-size-fits-all” formula you can use, consider thinking outside the box and using alternative marketing strategies. Don’t forget that the founders of Reddit have built a multi-million-user platform starting with a $500 marketing budget spent on stickers!
