Don’t worry there are only 2.47 million apps on the Google Playstore, second only to the Apple App store that offers 1.8 million apps to choose from. So yes, as far as competition goes, you have your work cut out.
App marketing, unlike traditional unidirectional advertising, needs to be approached as a full-fledged Tele-show whose touchpoints with consumers need to be multi-dimensional. In fact, the majority of mobile app marketing agencies today are laying additional emphasis on being multi-dimensional and offer promising prospects to clients.
So we took to the task of preparing a checklist of to-dos you should consider, and include in your mobile app marketing strategy.
But before we move on to our mobile app marketing guide, let’s take a look at the basics, for instance, the definition of mobile app marketing.
What Exactly is Mobile App Marketing?
First thing first, mobile marketing and mobile app marketing are two very different approaches. For instance, mobile marketing can be described as a marketing or promotion activity that takes place on a mobile device. This also includes everything i.e. from mobile-only email marketing to display ads on web pages.
On the other hand, the term mobile app marketing can be defined as promotional marketing campaigns whose primary objective is to communicate with the targeted user base throughout the lifecycle of the service or product that is being promoted through the campaigns. This life cycle consists of various stages that appropriately capture the journey of a regular user converting into a strong advocate for your brand.
What Do You Mean By Mobile App Marketing Funnel?
Now that we have shed light on the definition of mobile app marketing, it's time we move on to the topic of the mobile app marketing funnel. Speaking of the mobile app marketing funnel, it can be categorized as a model or an illustration to guide the audience through the different stages of the entire marketing process i.e. straight from generating brand awareness about the brand to generating significant retention.
To break it down for you, we’ve further simplified the checklist by dividing it as per the life-cycle of an app i.e.,
- Pre-Launch Mobile App Marketing
- Post-Launch Mobile App Marketing
- Retention Stage Mobile App Marketing
You’ll find several pointers to execute as part of your app marketing plan that requires next-to-nothing investment. On the other hand, there are some alternatives where the more money you put in, the better results they yield. In the end, we hope you find the answer to that gnawing question in your heart “how to market your app?”.
Pre-Launch Mobile App Marketing
Foundational and hence crucial, falter here and your first impressions are ruined. Pre-launch app initiatives are something that entrepreneurs can begin with singlehandedly. Yet, if you needed a signpost for the starters, then begin with the simplest thing you could do, research. As mentioned earlier, we’ll list the free to-dos first and the ones requiring money in the bank later.
1. Set Your Mark
When you are scratching your heads to find out how to launch an app, begin by profiling the user. Creating your buyer persona is tantamount to laying the foundational block of a building. Create an archetype of your consumer. This will help you in aligning the development objectives for your engineers.
2. Keep Friends Close, Competitors Closer
Knowing your competitors just as well is equally important. It lends differentiation to your product and enhances the value add that would ultimately turn out to be your universal selling point. Identify in the current iteration of your app what is it that you are doing better, the scope of improvement and further opportunities to innovate and overpower competitive forces with your app marketing strategy.
3. Break the News
Your family, friends, relatives should receive advanced heads up about your gig. This is not to brag but to rather gauge their first impressions. Of course, we don’t suggest you to divulge if there is an objection or two. But you’ve got to start somewhere, as part of your journey to figure out how to market an app before launch.
4. Begin Social Promotion
Creating a business profile on social media doesn’t cost a dime. Neither does share a few well-designed posts on the upcoming launch of your app. Pick the groups that closely associated with your target audience and seek to join them as part of your mobile application marketing plan.
5. Snooping on Competitors
Deep dive into every nook and corner of the app store you wish to monetize and scrape through all those apps which are even remotely connected to your revenue model. Keep a track of your list. If it is a long one, then you’re better off sitting on the outskirts and pursue a different idea.
If your final tally is a mild estimate, then probably your best chance lies with app differentiation.
6. Build Content around Search Queries
It is all a trickle-down effect. The moment people find out about your app, search engine queries would spike in a hockey stick curve. The more prepared you are in advance targeting the relevant search terms, the more traffic you can cash on. This is when the website and app store optimization you had stitched together comes into autopilot mode directing users from homepage/landing pages to your app store account. Lest we forget, while content optimization is paramount, so is a website design and interface. If your theme is not well-illustrated or leaves questions unanswered, netizens probably would assume that the app would be alike and may not bother to download.
Post Launch Mobile App Marketing
Running an app-business is not a sprint, but a marathon. Consider the activities till now a warm-up. It’s subsequent to your launch that the marketing ought to be streamlined. We begin by doing something old school, mend your brand image.
1. Encourage Positive Reviews
Consumers need constant reminding to rate their customer experience on the app store because they are either forgetful or more often than not ignorant. So when you’ve stashed an app with functionalities you’re sure are second to none, then urge users to share their experiences with others. Developers often deploy this trick where they first ask an objective question, “Are you satisfied with the app?”.
If you click Yes, only then are you directed to the app store, or else the interface presents an emoji-based rating card with additional questions inquiring about your issue in detail which brings us to our next point.
2. Give Love To Your Critics
Reputation management is enveloping an entire set of services that include performing a balancing act online. Be it Google reviews or the play store, you should allocate human resources that proactively respond to negative reviews online. A continuous follow-up on individual complaints first, calms the customer who thinks they’ve been hard done by, and second establish you as a customer-centric brand in the market.
3. Running Ads
Put on the after-burners and go full throttle on paid advertising to lift your mobile app marketing. Monetize every channel available to you. Purchase ad-space in relevant apps to promote yourself through In-app ads.
Spend money on social ads and search engine ads. You can create a multi-network advertising portfolio by directly buying ad space through an ad exchange. Over time, you’ll begin optimizing investment basis audience engagement rates.
Retention Stage Mobile App Marketing
Here are some of the top free initiatives that marketers can opt for when it comes to retention stage mobile app marketing:
1. Analyzing Campaigns
Numbers cannot reveal insights unless you learn to decipher their underlying meaning. For the same reason no matter the objective of the campaign, add the lessons learned to your mobile app marketing playbook and try not to repeat the same mistakes costing the business a cash burn. Sync your campaigns to broadcast uniform messages.
2. Focus on the First-Timers
Research shows that an average app has a churn rate of 77% for first time users within 3-days of usage. Contributing to this could be factors ranging from misplaced buttons on the interface, tiresome signup and verification checks, or over-promising to users leading to unrealistic expectations from the app. Such blockages to a market mass appeal are mendable by app developers and so should be attended to preemptively. A mobile app strategy will only go so far without a robust mobile backend.
3. Offer Rewards
Discount Coupons, loyalty points, and referral bonuses are key metrics around which user retention and acquisition now revolve. The governing principle is straightforward and well accounted for, once the users find out how easy it is to earn and redeem points on future purchases they’ll be hooked to the app.
4. Encourage Referrals
Mobile app marketing could be self-sustaining provided you could convince the users to work for you. Word of mouth is traditionally an organic tool fast garbing an inorganic robe, as companies push users to refer and earn specialty points. You work the same way as HR does to recruit new customers only that it is much easier for you to reach out with the click of a share button. But you can manage to score high on net promoter ratings provided everything is fine and dandy on the operations/service front.
Final Thoughts
Gone are the days when marketing used to be “smart”. Today it’s an open conundrum best solved by those who know how to extract the best of both worlds i.e., free and paid. Likewise, you need to keep tabs on the latest trends affecting your industry vertical in particular. While there are no guarantees in life you can be assured of this, if you miss out on any of these postulates, your competitors sure won’t. Yet, if you hang on to this checklist, you’re outreach matrices would pose a handsome picture than otherwise.
Originally Published On - https://www.mobileappdaily.com/mobile-app-marketing-guide