You may have developed the perfect app but, the real challenge compared to its development is for it to survive in the market loaded with similar apps. The best approach for the success of your mobile app is to let the world know about it and this is possible only through effective marketing.
Here are 8 steps to market your mobile app launch:
1. Decide your budget
Make decisions regarding the amount of money you are ready to spend on marketing your app launch. You can then build a marketing strategy accordingly.
2. Decide the app launch date
Plan the release date for your mobile app and let the people know about it. Throw light on some of the features of the app and what it can do. Use strategies to create excitement among the audience about the app’s release. At the same time, try to deliver what exactly you promised to the world if you want your app to stay longer in the market.
3. Start marketing way before launch date
It’s always better to start marketing an app when the development is still on. This gives you enough time to take it slow and steady and to prepare the users for your mobile app launch.
4. Know your audience
Use surveys and other similar methods to your advantage to understand who your potential customers are. Try to understand the common things that the audience share like their favourite feature of the app, their needs and language. This helps to ensure effective app localization. At the same time, keep an eye on your competitors in the market as well. Analyze the tactics they use to understand the approaches that work best with the audience.
5. Optimize App Store page
Before using the app, the first impression of your app store page is what makes the people decide whether to go forward with your app. Remember, an app store is where the normal audience turns into loyal customers. For that, you’ll have to look up relevant key words and add them to your product description, while posting good quality screen shots and videos simultaneously.
• App name: the best practice is to ensure that the app name reflects your brand and the most important feature of the app
• App description: Let your audience know more about your app. Use relevant keywords possible but remember not to overdo it
• Keyword optimization: Keywords keep changing and therefore, it is important for you to keep yourselves updated. The best way is to ask yourself what you’ll search for finding the app
• Visuals: Remember, looks matter. The visual elements like icons, screen shots, videos, etc. that you post must be interesting enough to keep the audience coming back to you. The screenshots and videos must convince the audience about how the app will make things easier for them
6. Rely on Beta users for feedback
It’s always best to test your app with real world users to ensure that it works the way it is meant to be. The Beta users help you to choose the features of your app that you actually need and gives feedbacks about the performance of your mobile app.
7. Do content marketing
There’s no effective way than content marketing to let the word spread about your app launch. Create a website and/or a blog and invite the audience to be a part of your community. Keep them engaged with content on a daily basis and you’ll soon find your potential customers amongst them.
• Build a website
A website helps you to easily connect to your potential customers. It should be attractive and must be loaded with rich and relevant information and images. You can also add a subscription form to your website that the audience can use to avail offers like being the first person to download the app. Also, ensure that the website is SEO friendly to maintain visibility in search engines.
• Create a blog
You can share your opinions and insights about the mobile app in your blog. Starting a blog doesn’t take much time. You can use Content Management Systems, like WordPress and Joomla!, to create a blog.
• Let your social presence be felt
When it comes to content marketing, you cannot ignore social media. It is where you get to connect directly to the audience. You can introduce your mobile app to the people and hold discussions to keep them engaged. Remember, the conversations must be two way. In case the users mention you in a comment, do not forget to acknowledge them.
• Hold email marketing campaigns
Email marketing helps you to present your app before your potential customers. Choose the people wisely to send the emails to, for effective promotion of the app. The people reading your mail must feel that you are talking particularly to them.
8. Remarketing
If you see people come back to your website/blog and spend some considerable amount of time there, chances are that they may be interested in your app. Retargeting or remarketing is the best way to keep them engaged for longer time and to eventually convert them into loyal customers. Create more content similar to what they are interested in before and use tools like Facebook ads to get back to them.
