You finally managed to bring your exciting app idea to life, the final version of your mobile product is up and running, and you’re about to breathe a sigh of relief. But stop, that is not the end of the story.
Given this intensely competitive market, even the most beautiful and helpful app has scarce chances to survive if it isn’t properly marketed. The good news is there are many ways to effectively promote your app, and we’re eager to share some with you. Let’s dive in!
What Is Mobile App Promotion?
We aren’t here to overwhelm you with sophisticated marketing terms, but let’s make sure we’re on the same page. So what is mobile app promotion? Mobile app promotion, or, if you wish, mobile app marketing, is the process of creating campaigns to motivate your target users to download your app as well as retain active users.
Mobile app promotion is about connecting with your target audience when they are at the top of the marketing funnel – the moment they first come across your app – and guiding them down the funnel to install it. That’s it!
Best Ways To Promote an App
You’ll be surprised by the vast variety of app promotion methods, especially some straightforward ones that you couldn’t even suspect can come in handy. Still, remember that not all of them will work well for your app. When drawing up your mobile app marketing strategy, it’s best to focus on your target audiences – they should determine the directions of app promotion.
So, here are twenty answers to how to promote an app – hopefully, you’ll find something for yourself.
#1: Craft an Engaging App Icon
Let’s face the truth: have you ever noticed that your choice of an app depends on the icon? If it’s dull and confusing, you skip it and make your choice in favor of a brighter, engaging pic, right? The conclusion behind this is clear: don’t let your app go live until you’re sure the icon is appealing enough to grab the attention of your potential users. Of course, there arises a question: what should the perfect app icon look like? There’s no one-size-fits-all recipe, however, some simple steps are worth following if you want to come up with a 256×256-pixel masterpiece:
- make sure the icon contains a letter or a few;
- it’s best when it has no more than two objects;
- avoid tiny details;
- incorporate a limited color palette – two or three suffice to create contrast;
- use plain or gradient background;
- decide on a unique, memorable shape to occupy most of the space, such as Instagram’s camera or TikTok’s note.
#2: Leverage Your Network
Your friends and family will definitely be happy to help. Ask them to try out your app. There are high chances they will recommend the app to their other friends and acquaintances, and so on, and so forth. This way, step by step, you’ll create a loyal tribe of your early adopters who’ll make up the solid foundation of your user base.
#3: Use the Potential of Social Media Channels
Today, an effective app marketing strategy is impossible to imagine without social media promotion – with so many people having social media accounts, you have fair chances to convert them into potential customers with the right approach. There are two ways to promote app on social media: paid and organic.
Organic social media promotion means setting up pages on social platforms to gather your potential users. To engage them and drive them to download your app, you should have a robust content plan up your sleeve. Make sure your posts are interesting for your audience and use high-quality, relevant visuals that folks will want to share.
In addition, Facebook and Instagram are renowned as truly effective advertising platforms due to their great targeting opportunities. Investing in social media advertising will put your app right in front of your potential users – who wouldn’t want that? In addition, you can stop your ads if you aren’t satisfied with the results or set a limited budget to make sure you don’t splash out on a single channel.
#4: Partner with Influencers
Influencer marketing can be particularly effective in mobile app promotion, with the main secret lying in finding relevant influencers. For this, do research to identify influencers who align with your target audience and discuss how they can promote your app.
Is influencer marketing that effective? It is, since people are likely to trust other people more than an advertisement.
#5: Take Advantage of App Store Optimization
App store optimization is practically the same as search engine optimization but within Google Play Store or Apple App Store. In a nutshell, it’s a way to help your target users find your app through organic search. Here’s a checklist you can use to app-store-optimize your application:
- make sure your app has a unique name;
- craft an appealing app description, and don’t forget to update it as new app updates are released;
- use relevant keywords in the title and app store description;
- include three to five screenshots or a video featuring the key app functions.
#6: Invest in Google Ads
If you want to accelerate the process of driving folks to install your app, there’s no faster way than through Google Ads. How does it work? Things are really simple: you create a search campaign, target it at specific audiences and locations, and people looking for related things on Google will see your ad.
Still, that’s half of success. To make users click on the ad (that will direct them to one of the app stores, depending on their platform), you should craft engaging ad copies about how your app can solve users’ pain points.
#7: Build a Landing Page
Wherever you paid-advertise your app, it’s always a good idea to elaborate on a landing page. Make sure it’s elegant and easy to navigate as well as features the same color scheme and font style as your application.
A landing page is an awesome way to get your message across to your target audience – use it to describe your app’s current features, communicate its benefits, and answer any questions your potential users might have.
#8: Run App Store Ads
One of the sure-fire ways to acquire new app users is to run paid promotions in app stores. By purchasing a promotion in the Apple App Store or Google Play, you can elevate your app and thus make it visible to more users, including those who search for similar apps. As soon as you’ve built a decent user base, you can stop paid promotion, focusing more on user retention and enhancing the app experience.
#9: Consider Offline Advertising
City lights, billboards, bus wraps, and posters can also go a long way toward promoting your app, especially if they are placed in locations where your target audiences flock. Remember that this type of advertising calls for an eye-catching, memorable design so folks can quickly read and get the message you want to deliver. And don’t forget to add a QR code to make downloading your app zero fuss.
If you’re a retail brand with a physical location, advertise your app in your brick-and-mortar store. It’s also worth running a promotion to encourage users to download your app, for instance, by offering a special discount.
#10: Make Some Noise on App Review Sites
Many app developers turn to app review sites to promote their products, and they couldn’t be more right. Getting featured on reputable sites is a great way to let people know about your application.
App review sites generally pay the most attention to appealing design, unique app content, and a smooth user experience. To get your app featured, you need to get in touch with one or several review websites and provide them with a pitch. Your pitch should convince the website that your application is good enough to be reviewed and featured, and include:
- a link to your application in the app store;
- a paragraph describing your app and its value proposition;
- screenshots of the key app components (logo, title screen, content);
- links to videos of your app if they exist.
#11: Go Blogging
A well-thought-out content marketing strategy can work wonders in making your app noticeable and driving whopping downloads. The best way to supply people with useful, relevant content is blogging, without any doubt.
For starters, you have to decide on the topic of your blog. Of course, it has to be closely connected with your app and the pain points it can solve. Then, draw up a content plan and move to craft blog posts. Don’t forget to mention your app where it sounds relevant.
#12: Try Guest Blogging
Besides posting useful content on your blog to promote your app, you can also take advantage of guest blogging to let a wider audience know about your blog and, consequently, about your app.
Guest blogging, aka guest posting, refers to writing content for another company’s blog and adding relevant links to content on your website. Apart from attracting traffic back to your blog, guest blogging is helpful for boosting your domain authority and growing brand awareness.
For best results, get in touch with the owners of high-authority blogs with broader audiences and discuss your ideas for guest blogging.
#13: Make the Most of Email Marketing
Email marketing is still thriving, so it would be a waste not to use this channel. Email marketing campaigns are an effective way to regularly reach users, making them feel valued for their loyalty and thus keep them engaged. Email marketing calls for a strategic approach and involves some critical steps to follow:
- Build your subscriber list. The most common way to encourage users to sign up is by placing subscription forms on every page of your app’s website. You can even go further and offer something in exchange for a user’s email, like a useful eBook or a discount coupon for in-app purchases.
- Elaborate on targeting. To secure the best results of your email campaign, it’s crucial to send the right message into the inbox of the user that can get value from your marketing. For this, you need to segment your subscribers into different groups based on the data available to you.
- Make your emails personal. Instead of sending generalized emails addressing all subscribers, use recipients’ names – thanks to current emailing software, it can be done with a click.
- Optimize your messages for desktop and mobile. Just a gentle reminder: your emails should be easy to read on both desktop and mobile.
- Include a CTA. There is no sense in sending emails if you don’t tell readers what you want them to do. A call to action can ask users to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, fill out a survey form, or click on a link to your new blog post.
- Add an email signature. Make your emails stand out by adding an email signature with your company branding. Including the link to your app page is welcome, too!
#14: Apply for App Awards
Plenty of organizations award prizes to new, innovative apps for their outstanding design, exciting functionality, etc. Getting such an award is an excellent way to get featured. Conduct online research and apply to contests you think you’re a likely contender for.
#15: Make a Promo Video
A high-quality, engaging promo video can also assist you in attracting new app users. It’s a fast and easy way to help your prospects understand the most common use case behind your app and how it can solve their pain points. You can post your video on your social media pages or use it for paid advertising on video hosting websites like YouTube.
#16: Ask Users for Reviews
It’s a no-brainer that positive reviews will motivate people to make a decision in favor of your app, so don’t shy away from asking your users to leave some feedback. In addition, positive reviews have a direct impact on the app store algorithms – they enhance your credibility and app store ranking.
You can ask users for their opinion with the help of a popup. However, be careful with popups – it’s easy to seem overly intrusive. On the other hand, a strategically written and placed popup multiplies your chances for a positive review.
#17: Reap the Marketing Benefits of Freemium
If you’ve decided to charge users for downloading your app, keep in mind that people are likely to be skeptical about paying upfront without knowing what kind of value the app can bring to them. This is where freemium comes to save the day. A free version of your app is the best way to encourage users to purchase more advanced paid features.
#18: Let Your Users Promote Your App
There’s a pretty straightforward method to motivate your users to invite their friends to download your app. Everything you need is to add a “tell a friend” feature to your app so that your current users can share it with their friends, family, and colleagues. You can give rewards to your users for sharing, for instance, offer credits or discounts for every new subscriber they bring onboard.
#19: Make Use of Public Relations
Media mentions can be very helpful in terms of creating some noise about your app. With a plethora of ways to tap into public relations, here are some ideas you can use to promote iOS app or Android app:
- publishing a press release;
- arranging a launch party with the local media and tech influencers invited;
- giving interviews to local newspapers and tech bloggers.
#20: Host a Giveaway
Last but not least, here come giveaways. They’re not only fun and engaging – hosting a giveaway is a tremendous opportunity to promote Android app or iOS app. Firstly, they are relatively cost-effective, and second, they can considerably extend your social reach.
But let’s get back to your mobile app. If you focus exclusively on gaining more downloads, you can raffle off prizes among those who share your app.
Final Thoughts
As you see, there are plenty of ways to promote your app that allow you to drive users without breaking the bank. You can successfully combine several of them to achieve the desired result, still, when planning your app promotion strategy, make sure your efforts align with your target audience.
