The app market is getting more and more crowded as we speak. Standing out from the competition might seem impossible, but don’t stress, there is a solution. By creating a top-notch mobile marketing strategy, you can speed past the competition and leave it in the dust.
Want to know how to do it? Then keep on reading!
Start Early
You might think you need to wait until your app or game is out to start with a mobile marketing strategy… Wrong. The sooner you start, the better your results will be.
The goal is to create a buzz around your app while you’re still in the development phase. That way, when you launch, there will already be people interested in the app waiting to download it. Of course, you don’t want to give too much away, but giving your user base a taste of it before the launch could be very beneficial.
Also, you can use the time before the app launch date to research the market. Check out what’s trending, connect with potential customers, conduct surveys, and analyze your competitors. It will help you improve your mobile marketing strategy and the app itself.
Define Your Target Audience
As with any type of marketing, including mobile, it’s crucial to target the right audience. Look at it this way. Creating a mobile marketing strategy without defining your target audience is like taking a stab in the dark. You’ll waste a lot of time and resources and won’t get the results you’re expecting. A hit or miss strategy just doesn’t work when it comes to mobile marketing.
Instead, do thorough research. That should be the starting point of your mobile marketing strategy.
To define your target audience, you first need to have a clear idea of what your app is about:
- What problems does it solve?
- What are the benefits of your app?
- How can it make someone’s life better?
- What’s its purpose?
- What makes your app different and unique?
Once you define that, you can start thinking about which groups of people would be most interested in it. Whom does it benefit, and who needs it the most?
You can start by defining a broad group of people. Then use different demographics like age, gender, location, income, spending habits, language to narrow it down further. Don’t be afraid to get specific when defining your target audience. It increases the likelihood of your app reaching the right people.
Build a Mobile-Friendly Website or Landing Page
More than half of worldwide traffic comes from mobile devices (Statista). People are spending approximately four hours and ten minutes a day using mobile devices (DataReportal). This means that a lot of people are using their phones and tablets to browse the web. And it’s one of the ways people might discover your app. You can’t rely solely on app stores to attract users.
Creating a website or a landing page for your app allows you to showcase it and get more downloads. Make sure it represents your app well and grabs people’s attention. If done right, it will drive traffic to the app stores. And that’s what you want.
Here’s what kind of content you should host on your website. The first and obvious one is having a link to the app store. There’s no point getting people interested in the app and then not sending them to the app store to download it.
You should also include exciting visuals and important information about the app. Things like screenshots, main app features, trailers, promo videos, news, updates, testimonials, etc. Anything that would make people interested in installing your app.
A great example is Spendee’s website. They have links to app stores right at the top. You can also read about the key benefits and features of the app, testimonials, and blog articles.
Or you can keep it simple like Tinder. They included only the most essential information, but it still gets the message across.
Optimize App Store Pages
You have probably heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It gives a website a better chance of ranking high in search results. App Store Optimization, also known as ASO, is quite similar.
It’s used to improve the ranking of your app in app stores. App store optimization can increase the visibility of your app, drive traffic to your app page, boost downloads, and get you more reviews and ratings.
However, the algorithm behind app store search engines is still a bit of a mystery. There is no perfect recipe that can guarantee you that your app will rank #1 in the search results. But with some research and trial and error, you can certainly get there.
What we do know is that the title and description of your app are crucial ranking factors. That’s why you should include as many relevant keywords there as you can. Do thorough keyword research and choose keywords that best describe your app. However, ensure that keyword placement is natural in both the title and description. If possible, localize your app store listings since this will also affect your search rank.
Some other important ASO ranking factors include an appealing app icon and screenshots. Install volume also plays a role in search rankings. For this reason, it is a good idea to combine ASO with paid user acquisition.
Moreover, user opinions are also important, as search rankings are affected by user reviews and ratings.
Want to learn more about the ins and outs of app store optimization? Check out our easy-to-follow ASO guide.
Use Social Media to Promote Your App
Social media should be a big part of your mobile marketing strategy.
Here’s why.
There are billions of social media users. They spend hours per day using social media. Based on all of this, it’s only logical to market your app on platforms people spend the most time on.
Which Social Media Platforms Should You Focus On?
If you defined your target audience correctly, you should already have a pretty good idea of which social media platforms they’re on. The next step is posting content around topics your target audience is interested in. This is something you should regularly do because you won’t see results immediately. However, make sure to keep it interesting by being creative and unique. People don’t want to see generic posts that don’t bring any value to them.
Another critical thing for successfully marketing your app on social media is communication. You should focus on the social aspect of social media. Connect with your audience and create a sense of community around your app.
Also, don’t overlook user-generated content. It has many advantages. It increases loyalty and strengthens the bond between you and your audience. Also, user-generated content is, in essence, a review, so never miss a chance to repost it. It shows your audience that you care, and that goes a long way.
Use Paid Ads to Get More Users
Another way to promote your app on social media is to use paid ads. Organic growth is fine and dandy, but it takes a lot of time and effort. Paid ads are perfect for acquiring new users quickly and getting more app downloads. But that doesn’t mean you should blow your entire marketing budget on ads. Instead, start small and work your way up as you go.
The most used forms of paid advertising for apps include Google ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and in-app ads. However, there is a wide variety of ad networks where you can place ads for your app. Choosing the right one will depend on various factors such as budget, goals, target audience, and app category.
What’s great about paid ads on social media is that you can target specific audiences and expose them to your app. Just make sure your ads are short, captivating, and deliver the message.
In short, here are six tips to follow when setting up paid user acquisition campaigns:
- Add mobile attribution
- Define the target audience
- Pick the right ad platform combination
- Invest in creative production
- Constant A/B testing
- Analyze and optimize your campaigns
Finally, the ultimate goal of these kinds of campaigns is to get as many installs from a high-value user base at the lowest possible cost.
Team Up with Influencers
Influencer marketing is a billion-dollar industry. And it is predicted to hit $15 billion by 2022 (Business Insider). According to Mediakix, 89% of marketers say influencer marketing has resulted in high ROI for their business. People trust influencer recommendations because they are thought leaders in their particular fields.
This is especially true when the content these influencers create is authentic and transparent, and ultimately – right for your app. When choosing an influencer, here’s what you should look for:
- Content quality
- Engagement rates
- Relationship with followers
- In-depth industry knowledge
- Niche authority
However, there are a couple of things to be aware of as well. Make sure to keep an eye on fake influencers, fake followers, and unauthentic engagement rates.
Influencer marketing increases brand awareness which means a lot of people will hear about your app. It’s also a very effective way of reaching your target audience, which will boost app downloads.
Analyze Results
Another vital part of your mobile marketing strategy is tracking and analyzing results. No matter how well-researched your marketing strategy is, you still need to look at the data and see what works and what doesn’t. There are many metrics you should track and analyze, but here are the most important ones:
- Acquisition
- Churn rate
- DAU (Daily Active Users) and MAU (Monthly Active Users)
- Engagement metrics (retention rate, time in-app, session length, session interval, etc.)
- Cost per acquisition
- Lifetime value
- Return on investment
So, let’s say you’re analyzing session intervals (the frequency of app use). You notice that there’s a long period between user sessions. Perhaps you need to make some changes to the app to improve the user experience. Or you might decide to add push notifications to re-engage users.
Do this for all relevant metrics and make changes accordingly. A winning mobile marketing strategy is one that continuously improves.
Conclusion
Now you have a step-by-step mobile marketing strategy that you can follow to make your app a success. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment because that’s what good mobile marketing is all about. And stay tuned for more in-depth marketing strategies where we’ll cover more advanced approaches to every strategy.
Still not sure how to market your app? Want more mobile marketing tips and tricks? Contact us, and we’ll help you make your app the next big thing.
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