Open your Apple app store or Google play store, and you will discover around 4 million applications. Have you ever wondered what makes you download a particular app from all the rest? Based on what metrics do you rate an app better than the other? What makes an app impactful?
If you are on the other side of the fence, these questions might wrinkle your forehead. Creating an app involves blood, sweat, and tears, and if your app fails to get desired love and affection from the audience, then it seems like all your efforts have gone in vain.
But every problem has a solution, and the solution for slumpy app downloads is proper marketing. A robust mobile app marketing plan targets your ideal users, tells them the merits of the app, compels them to install it, and helps you hold onto the users until the point of getting a conversion or a referral.
Listed below are 7 useful tips to perfectly market your app in order to get more downloads.
1. Create an eye-catching app icon
Your app’s icon is the first impression you cast on your audience. So, it better be interesting. A good thumb rule is to keep it simple, use vivid colors, and try to create a clean and clear identity. A big mistake people make that you should definitely avoid is using multiple elements to over-communicate with the icon. Remember the “KISS” design principle – Keep it simple, stupid.
A visually appealing icon drives the audience to open the app and check it out. If you fail on this, you might run the risk of losing a great chunk of the audience. Your app’s icon should represent your app, its values, and its functions. A quick glance at the icon should give the audience an idea of what the app is about.
2. Consider app store optimization
App store optimization goes a long way in facilitating more app downloads. App store optimization (ASO) works on the same principles as SEO does. It enhances the visibility of an app through several well-fabricated and implemented strategies. Few interesting strategies to note are (1) to make the description more scannable by adding relevant keywords in it, (2) enhancing the app images, and (3) replying to both positive and negative reviews in order to increase engagement count.
Just like SEO, ASO also requires keyword optimization. Find out relevant keywords using tools like keyword trackers or Google’s AdWords keyword tool and use them strategically in the title and description of your app. Plus, create a description suiting your demographics and their location.
Selecting the right category also has a role to play. Make sure you choose a relevant category. Reviews, the number of app downloads, and social proof also impact the ranking of the app. Remember that your app store optimization strategy should touch on all these aspects.
3. Create a website and a blog for your app
If you think creating a good app is all you need to do, think twice. Creating an app is not enough. Whether you want to build an app like a money transfer app or any other type of app, you need to create a website and a blog to amplify its reach. These tools not only help showcase your app but also attract more users and boost its visibility.
People tend to turn towards the web whenever they need assistance with anything, be it information, entertainment, or shopping. If you are visible on the search engine, you stand a better chance of leading your audience to your app. If you miss out on this front, you will allow a significant fraction of the audience to slip out of your hands.
So, create an SEO-optimized website and include blogs that speak about your app. By utilizing the Google Trends API, you can gather valuable insights into the latest search trends and popular topics related to your app’s niche. This can help you create content that aligns with the interests of your target audience and improves your website’s visibility in search engine results. Once you hook the attention of your audience, it will be easier for you to drive them to your app.
Additionally, implementing website visitor tracking tools can provide you with invaluable data on how users are interacting with your website and blog. These tools can offer insights into user behavior, such as which pages they visit the most, how long they stay on each page, and where they drop off in the conversion funnel. By understanding this user journey, you can fine-tune your website and content to cater to their preferences and address any pain points they might be experiencing. This data-driven approach not only enhances the user experience on your website but also enables you to make informed decisions to optimize the path from website visitor to app user. By combining SEO strategies, engaging content, and visitor tracking, you can create a powerful ecosystem that maximizes your app’s visibility and user base. Moreover, for a comprehensive approach, don’t forget to regularly check your rankings in Google to ensure consistent visibility
4. Use your social media profiles
No doubt, social media is one of the most powerful ways to get your voice heard. If your social media handles speak about your app, getting desired downloads will become easy.
But creating the right strategy is the key here. If your app deals with entertainment, promoting it on the platforms that speak business would be a waste of time. Therefore, start by selecting an apt platform to promote your app. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, LinkedIn, etc., are some leading social media websites that provide you with the right platform to promote your app to a wider audience base. However, if you are going to use more than one social media channel, make sure to use a tool to manage all social media in one place to maximize your social media marketing efforts.
Usually, Instagram targets younger audiences and is used by pictorial brands, while Facebook targets middle-aged to older generations, where there are more holistic brands. B2B brands employ LinkedIn, community-driven brands opt for Twitter, whereas content-driven brands focus on YouTube. In all cases, brands emphasize on showcasing their logo designs and other important visuals.
But do not restrict your promotions to sharing information regarding your app. Make the campaign interesting by fostering meaningful and engaging conversations with your fans, communicating the value of your app.
As social media platforms have become a common platform for brand promotion, they provide certain tools that catalyze the process. Use such tools to the optimum while promoting your app. For instance, create Instagram reels, team up with Youtubers or influencers, or use LinkedIn automated messages for a personalized approach.
5. Create a video
Creating video content is a robust strategy to gain the attention of your following. Apart from creating a long description and blogs revolving around your app, create a small demo video to enhance audience engagement.
A 30-second video communicating every functionality and aspect of your app in a way that answers all the ‘whats,’ ‘whys,’ and ‘hows’ will do the job. Describe the relevant features and talk about the usability of your app. Share it across all your social media channels. A small, engaging, and informative video will get you many downloads.
6. Utilize mobile communication channels
While it is natural for you to shift your primary focus on gathering more audience, forgetting your existing audience would be a big mistake. Connect with your existing users on mobile.
Mobile-specific channels, such as push notifications and in-app messaging, allow you to connect with your users through targeted messages. Use your current audience to further spread the word about your app. Urge them to share your app on social media or refer it to a friend. Encourage them to review your application on the app store.
7. Use in-app tracking
Enable in-app tracking to collect the data demonstrating the behavior and preferences of your existing audience and use it to optimize your app and marketing strategies to get more downloads.
In-app tracking allows you to understand the weak points of your app or strategy and give you an opportunity to work on them. Gather information using in-app tracking tools, and use the results to optimize your app to enhance the user experience and downloads.
Many shopping apps collect data like frequency of product checks and trigger either a coupon code to convert you or a “hurry, only 2 left!” message to push you to scare-buy falling into the trap of scarcity. They also use data like engagement time on a new feature to decide the success of it and then either roll it out or roll it back.
The bottom line
Creating an app takes you only halfway; marketing the app leads you to your goals. By having an end-to-end vision for the success of your app, you can hit a home run. Remember to create an eye-catching app icon, a video, website, and blog that state your presence. Then use your social and mobile channels to roll out the message to your audience, and finally optimize the app store and use the in-app data to make sure you juice every edge you can get. By sticking to these tips to market your app, we hope you can hit your desired download number.
Author Bio:
Stefan Smulders is a SaaS Entrepreneur | Bootstrapped to €3M ARR in just 1year | Founder of Worlds safest software for LinkedIn Automation Expandi.io | Vegan | Father
Stefan Smulders
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