Building an app is just the tip of the iceberg. Real work starts when you try to actually take it out to market. Here lies the real acid test.
As vital as old-schools app promotion tactics are, they need constant uplift and sometimes complete makeovers. Even if your app is at the top of the game, you need a handful of useful tips to exploit its full potential.
Let’s take a look at 5 sure-shot ways to improve app downloads.
Know your App Users
You cannot run an awesome mobile app marketing strategy unless you know who it is for. Plan a relevant social media promotion strategy. Carefully select the channel which can work best with your product. Make sure, to regularly post fresh app updates, versions and content.
Get on Hootsuite or Buffer to easily manage all your social media engagements at one place. Spice things up by letting loyal users become moderators or group facilitators. Ask them what improvements they would like to see in the app? Don’t forget, to reward them for all their suggestions and ideas showered on your product.
Push Timely Updates
Yet, with bigger screens and enhanced resolutions, an average user is downloading fewer apps. Just, three a month according to ComScore. Why? Users are looking for better app engagements. Else, your app may get downloaded, stay in their phone for some time and gets deleted later.
According to a study conducted by Localytics on app engagements; the purpose of it is to throw light on the fact that time spent in apps – the session length and number of app launches, are metrics that matter.
This can be a nail-biting scenario for app-designers. Therefore, it becomes all the more important for them to keep their users informed of timely updates. You may use newsletters or periodically update them about your app via a blog, website, or a mix of the two, to keep them glued.
‘Show’ them the Product
This one is my favourite app marketing tactic. Apple has started letting its developers, place a cool App Preview video, right in its App Store, since 17th of September, this year. Preview videos can be placed above the screenshots, at the top of the product page.
Apple states, the goal of these videos is to boost app downloads and enhance user satisfaction. Moreover, preview videos are more likely to be shared than just links of the apps, confirms SimplyMeasured (a social media analytics firm).
Optimize Smartly
Instead of just playing around the key-words.
- Refresh your app-icon
- Re-work the screenshots
- Initiate promotional price-changes
The idea is to rejuvenate the interest of your existing users and pull in new ones. By adding fresh text, designs and colours you appear to be actively engaged in dishing out up-to-date content to users.
Shuffle the keywords in your title to make it appear much enticing and note-worthy. Add exclusivity to your product. Run a limited edition price-change campaign to gain improved engagements, across market segments. Tell users not to miss the promotional price changes to get more out of their app.
For instance, Chefkoch, an app on the German App Store, on May 26, 2014 revised its name, created particularly impressive screenshots, description and icon. They stood at #118 at the Top Free iPhone Apps chart across all categories. After changes they jumped to #32. Before the change, they found it tough to break in the #100.
Embrace Virality, with Caution
An upcoming trend in the app marketing world is growth hacking. It sounds simple, offers instant results and boost app promotions. However, before you go for it, work on a unique, fail-proof strategy. Then submit your app links, videos, landing page to community of entrepreneurs and developers, to get genuine feedback.
For instance, when CEO of Prime, Tyler Hayes, sent a link of his landing page for submission on Product hunt, it earned him more than 50 sign-ups and 900 visitors.
Practice growth-hacking with caution. When you get a sustainable conversion rate and you find that product is able to use the network, think out-of-the-box to implement new hacks.
Try It to See
Unless, you try out any of these or a mix of the app promotional tips, you may never know, what works and what not?
Keep an open eye and create your list of interesting methods to push your product across shelves.
