There is a misconception that the work on a mobile app ends when it appears in the AppStore and Google Play. In fact, when creating a mobile app, in addition to development, there is another time-consuming work: promoting the product. It will help to outrun competitors in app stores and attract the attention of potential users.
In this article, we’ll talk about the best strategies to use before, during, and after the app launch.
Promotion strategies for announcing the app
The sooner you start promoting the app, the better your chances are of making it widespread. You can start promoting it as soon as you order the development of a mobile app.
Email marketing
Despite the popularity of various messengers, e-mail still retains its popularity at a high level. With the right approach, email promotion can become one of the main elements of an advertising strategy.
The preparation period for the launch of a mobile app is the best time to engage in promotional mailings. It is ideal if you already have a ready-made newsletter and regularly send subscribers some news, promo notifications, etc. If not, you should prepare a mailing list database. Do not buy ready-made e-mail bases, because spam mailing will be of no use.
We recommend adding a subscription form to your company’s website and, if available, your application’s website. Be sure to let users know what they will receive in exchange for their email addresses: no “water,” only important news and special offers once a week.
Your subscribers will be the main source of feedback about the app’s features and performance. You will inform all interested parties about the development and launch of the product with the help of the mailing list.
In addition to the mailing list, spread the word about the work on the application through the company’s social networks. This allows you to reach a larger audience and more volunteers for testing the app later if outside help is needed.
Referral campaigns
Yes, we offer referral campaigns as a promotion strategy. By connecting a referral program, you can attract new clients who are invited by existing clients and users who read your newsletter and/or news on social networks.
Users are much more likely to trust referrals that come from someone they know than they are to trust regular advertising. The main thing is to make sure that the rewards for referrers are attractive, otherwise the campaign will not work to its full potential.
An example of an effective and widely known referral campaign in the history of mobile apps is Dropbpox: for each invited user, a person receives additional storage space. Such a referral program helped Dropbox gather a huge user base and save significantly on advertising.
Exclusive access to the app for popular bloggers
Creating a buzz around the app is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Give exclusive access to the demo app to industry experts, opinion leaders, and popular bloggers with topics close to your heart. Opinion leaders can be found on different platforms: Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebokk, VK. If these people find your application interesting and useful, they will talk about it on their platforms, thereby promoting your brand among their audience.
Promotional video
When it comes to influencing your audience, video is far superior to text. A promotional video that demonstrates an app’s capabilities is a great way to introduce consumers to your product and show its strengths and functionality. Videos can be used everywhere from advertising companies to app stores.
Important: The video doesn’t have to show happy users with their smartphones on screen. Show users the product! People need to see and understand what exactly is offered to them. Be sure to tell them the value of the app, what tasks it solves.
Publications in the media (mass media)
Before creating your app, you must have studied your competitors, looked at their products, considered all their shortcomings and strengths, and now you can easily tell why your app is worth choosing.
The knowledge you gained from the market analysis will help you write a story about the usefulness of your app, its importance and necessity. This story should meet the requirements of the media where you plan to publish an article. It is also important for the story to be emotional, making it clear how your product improves users’ lives. You can talk about the lessons you learned while developing the app, why you decided to create it (not to make money, but to solve certain human needs).
Publications in the press and on websites are best done in parallel with the development of the app, so that you already have an interested audience by the time the product is launched.
Content Marketing
Quality content is the key to the successful promotion of any product. Blogging can attract a fantastic amount of organic incoming traffic to your site, increasing your visibility and awareness of app development. Fresh, unique and relevant content will take you to the first pages of search results, which in turn will attract potential users.
Content (it can be infographics, blog articles, e-books, etc.) that talks about the specific issues your target audience is facing helps build a good brand reputation, show expertise, and build trust with users.
Promotion strategies for the application launch period
The more you promote the app, the larger the audience you will attract and the sooner the app will start generating the expected revenue. The launch period is a time when promotion is especially important.
Contests or prize draws
Contests and giveaways are a great way to get attention. Hold several contests in your social networks, timed to coincide with the launch of the app, in which you can get useful and enjoyable prizes for your target audience, too.
Special tools will help you keep track of how many people shared the app launch announcement, which posts were shared more often than others. This information will help you create content that will promote your product without extra cost on your part. You can also ask users to use a special hashtag when publishing images or posts about your product and periodically hold giveaways among the authors of such posts.
Feedback
Don’t be shy about asking for feedback: it’s a pretty effective way to promote any product. You can use a blog, social networking pages, or an email newsletter to solicit comments from users.
Positive feedback will attract the attention of other users and encourage them to install the application. Negative and complimentary feedback is a great way to learn how to improve your app. Try not to leave user comments unattended: this will improve your image and show your interest in the needs of your customers.
Paid advertising
Paid advertising is one of the traditional marketing strategies, which has repeatedly proved its effectiveness in different areas of business. The big advantage of this promotion option is that you can choose the way that suits you best. You can promote the app in Google, Yandex, Facebook, VKontakte, or Instagram, use traditional media, or rent billboards. Yes, billboards are expensive, but the costs can more than pay off.
More effective works advertising, which is remembered, and it is either advertising-mystery (usually consists of several stages: advertising is updated on the billboards in stages, with a certain periodicity), or advertising with humor.
If your budget allows, try a few options, see which works best for your product and eventually focus on it.
Souvenirs
T-shirts, pens, key chains, and caps still work; they are especially relevant for presentations and exhibitions. Quality products with a minimalistic design (just your logo or brand name) will have a better chance of regular use than products with bright advertising images. The more people who wear your merchandise, the more visible your brand will become.
Another effective way to spread the word is through stickers. Many people enjoy putting stickers on their belongings, especially laptops. Since laptops are used not only at home, but also in the office, parks, cafes, and co-working spaces, an image mentioning your product or brand will often be in plain sight.
Strategies for promoting a mobile app after its launch
After launching the application it is important not to send it to free float, and in every way to support, continue to attract attention to him.
Interested customers
People always share something that gave them strong emotions. If we like a product, we will definitely recommend it to our friends and relatives, and if something caused negative emotions, did not meet our expectations, we tell them that this product or service is not worth using. 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
You can use this to your advantage. Encourage your best customers to share the app on social media and talk about your brand. The most loyal customers can be made brand ambassadors. These people will create a positive brand image and promote brand awareness. All you have to do is comply with their recommendations and correct any mistakes in time.
Deep links
Using deep links in conjunction with SEO and web search can draw users to your app. A deep link is a link that leads not to the app, but to some specific content within it. Deep links help improve customer experience and engagement with the app. Clicking on an ad in the app or a link in search takes the user straight to the page with the content they’re interested in.
If a user clicks on a deep link and doesn’t have your app installed yet, he’ll get an offer to download and install it. In this way, deep links bring you a double benefit.
Mobile App Awards and more
Winning an industry award is certainly one of the best ways to measure the work you’ve done. Submit your app to a mobile developer competition. Even if your product doesn’t win, it will get a lot of attention. If you win, you will not only get recognition for the team’s work, but also additional advertising in various media, which will significantly increase the app’s visibility.
App reviews sites
There are many YouTube sites and channels whose main content consists of reviews of various apps. A good review from someone who has authority in front of a large audience will increase interest in your app.
