The mobile application industry is becoming more competitive over the years. Presently, almost 3 million applications are available in the app store. Entrepreneurs are aware that a meticulous marketing strategy is the only way to stand out in today’s app market. Leveraging a holistic mobile app marketing strategy is indispensable for success. Such an approach can only guarantee success. And keep you ahead in this competitive landscape.
They’re many significant things to consider when planning a mobile app marketing. Here are some of the ideas for marketing that we have used for our apps.
Here are the ten steps for creating a pre-launch marketing strategy for your app:
There is no silver bullet that can manage your mobile app marketing woes, but considering the following steps sets you up with the right start.
Marketing does not start on the day of launch but way before it.Here are some of the things to take care off before your launch day.
At the beginning of your app marketing strategy, you need to understand the mindset of your users and competitors. Gathering demographic info on users can help you visualize who you are trying to reach. All different kinds of users have different needs and expectations from a particular application; this is your responsibility to identify the demand and address the needs precisely to meet what users are looking for.
Importantly, keep your eyes on your competitors to understand their marketing strategy as well. Take inspiration not only from your direct competitors but also from your indirect, less related competitors. See what is working for others and customize that idea and apply it on your own.
Tools like SEMRush can give you intelligent info on how particular websites are getting traffic as well as what keywords they are ranking on. You can use that info to create your own website as well.
Your mobile app will have competition. Make a list of your competitors, their activity, monetization model, application store ranking, pros and cons of user experience, and notable reviews. It’s a great source of information to build your own strategy. To stay ahead in this market, make sure your application does not repeat any poor features that users have reviewed negatively. Think about what can make your mobile app stand out in this ever-changing market. These are significant considerations that can make a positive impact on your app marketing approach.
The website is the place where you can mention your product and company activity to spread awareness among your target audience. Introducing a pre-launch landing page or a teaser video can be an advantageous step. To create hype around the application, having a website is a considerable way to attract an audience through SEO strategies. When you create a website, collect emails to keep your followers updated regarding the app launch as well as subsequent features launch. The site could also be used to engage new audiences through competitions, feature wikis, and so on.
Related Read: 15 Questions To Answer Before Building Your Website
If you want to promote your launch website, connect with publications, bloggers, and influencers to get backlinks and reviews that can help drag the attention of your audience. Reach out to those people who are relevant to your niche or interested in writing about your app and promote it on their website. You can outreach many people to inform about your app, and simultaneously create interest also.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other digital platforms allow you to expand your web presence and let you directly communicate with all your target audiences. If your application targets a specific age group, identify the social sites that are popular among all the people in this demographic and use them effectively. Here are a few of the frequently used channels by app marketers. Decide the right channel based on your target audience.
Start writing blogs/articles well in advance of your app launch date. This way, when it’s time to introduce your app, you will already have enough followers. Here are several advantages of content marketing for your mobile app:
Your posts should not only talk about your app but also the industry as a whole, the need for your app, and other related topics.
You can select a specific group of people as beta testers, and they explore your application for a stipulated period. Mainly, they give you the right review and development direction, which you may have missed by looking at it every day. Apart from the detection of bugs and quality, this can be an excellent source for building product awareness as well.
Well, surveys have shown that most of the users discover applications directly searching by them or using relevant keywords in the mobile app store. Data indicates that application discovery through keyword search accounts for 58% of Android and 63% for IOS, which gives the apparent fact that search is one of the essential methods for app discovery.
That being said, companies and marketers who have their apps in either the App Store or Google Play must pay attention to the specific words that are more likely to be searched by users, and optimize their app accordingly. Additionally, one should optimize the app screenshots, descriptions, and reviews.
This is the plan for action during the launch and the first 3 months
Here, we will highlight the preferable acquisition channels that can help you drag the attention of your target audience. It is significant to make use of different methods; it can refine your strategy frequently and let you be creative.
Here are the top ten acquisition channels that you need to know:
App stores are the one-stop place for app discovery. ASO is one of the best practices of attracting targeted users to download an application based on the keywords, title, ratings, and additional ranking factors. App store optimization can help you get high-quality traffic to your application.
And the leading advantages of App store optimization includes:
Well, organic channels can manage mobile application user acquisition by effective and cost-efficient ways. Developing a website, managing different social sites, funneling traffic to your application store page are the best processes that can drive organic growth.
The concept of paid advertisement can put your mobile application in front of a huge number of audience. How can you promote your businesses? Use social sites to reach people, pay-per-click campaigns through Google Adwords, cross-promotions, and native and interstitial ads are the ways that can help you to achieve maximum audience in a single click. You can give your product advertisement on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, and other social sites to get the best response.
One of my favorites is paid search. If your app solves a problem or provides a service, people are already searching for help. Be there when they search for an offer to DOWNLOAD.
It is tough to gain the trust of your targeted audience, especially when you are new in the market. In the meantime, it can be the best way to promote your company name and product through the influencers, who already have a good bonding with your target audience. Furthermore, it increases your brand credibility and awareness hugely.
Bloggers, Journalists, and Product Hunt like websites can increase your product awareness, generate buzz, and drag the attention of users before app launch.
With up to 71% of mobile marketers express they prefer to use video options for user acquisition. As we all know, Youtube is more famous among people of all ages than any other network. Digital videos can attract the audience quickly, and people love to share an informative or useful video with their group of friends that can increase your presence. You can create and edit a video using an online professional video editor.
Nearly 70% of people open their email on their mobile phones; it is an excellent chance to drive customers and notify them about your product and service. Through email marketing, promote brand content, share product/service updates, upcoming hype events, and offer discounts.
Also, email is a great way to maintain good relations with your target audience in a personal way, whether it is a birthday email, offers/discounts, or a personalized content recommendation.
A referral program adds a viral component to the user acquisition model and it also reduces the customer acquisition costs. It offers benefits to the users to share or refer your application to their channel. Indirectly, your app gets a chance to reach maximum people at a minimum cost.
App demo is a great way to engage your customers. If you have a subscription service or paid app, allow the first users to use it or experience it free of cost. Through this trial period, you can highlight your app features and inform users after the trial period, which features they will miss. Show subscription or purchase messages frequently to remind them how many days left to end the free trials.
Once the initial concentrated marketing effort is over, you need to change your marketing focus from user acquisition to user retention and product-market fit. In this third phase, you need to focus on three key areas.
Ask your users for feedback: Do you have enough app users? If yes, then it’s excellent news. It is a sign that people start loving your app. Share with them a popup invitation to get a review. It helps you understand your application position in this market.
Well burst campaign is the most popular technique used by mobile application marketers who want to get a considerable app store rank. This campaign aims to boost app ranking and increase the quality of organic installs in this competitive landscape.
You should offer your users a bonus when they promote your mobile app online is a surefire way. For example, Uber started back in 2009 and has since spread to around 45 countries and cities. It can be said that it is one of the top-ranking ridesharing services of all time. Back in the day, Uber used a small ($10) double-sided incentive to get new riders attracted. Now they have upped their ante and now offer a $20 dual-sided reward. The cool thing is, that usually means a ‘free ride’, which is how the referral program is typically advertised for existing riders.
User data is your best friend now. See from which channels your most important users are coming and invest more on those channels.
Marketing today isn’t all about big budgets. It’s about being interesting and relevant. There are many ways for founders to create buzz and understand their market.
Join communities, attend local meetups, and engage on platforms like LinkedIn. Connect with influencers, explore barter collaborations, and attend events relevant to your audience. Real learning comes from conversations, not just online ads. Share openly, aim for your first five paying customers, and build from there.
Plan large “blast campaigns” using mobile search targeting to increase your app’s rank in the iOS store. Remember to actively respond to user’s comments and reviews on the App store using key keywords. Measure the effectiveness of these campaigns with the number of installs, improvement in app store ranking, and organic growth vs. subscription and retention metrics.
The mobile application industry is continually growing, and entrepreneurs should stay vigilant if they want to set up their identity in this marketplace. There are no secret tools or KPIs that guarantee your mobile application success.
And you should be able to discover new opportunities and challenges and have the flexibility to keep testing and applying newer ways. Always keep your users and their feelings about your mobile app. When you are dealing with mobile app marketing, every element is essential.
Importantly, keep in mind that each method for mobile app promotion should be mixed with others. For instance, you can associate App Store optimization with Facebook advertisements. None of these app marketing strategies will give your users a satisfactory result on their own. No matter which method you choose, it’s essential to understand what you can expect as a result and what benchmarks you should aim for.
Now you know the best ways to create awareness regarding your app, and you can confidently take action to promote your mobile app.
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