When it comes to mobile app development, most of the emphasis is on the idea, core functions, features, and UI. But even if you manage to create an outstanding app, it won’t go anywhere without a strong marketing strategy. One of the biggest mobile app success factors is the actual marketing. There are plenty of real-world examples where the best app isn’t necessarily the most popular in the app stores.
If you are launching a new app or in the process of creating one, here are some strong reasons why marketing is absolutely essential:
You’re Up Against Heavy Competition
In the first quarter of 2018, over 6,000 Android apps were created per day. This figure doesn’t represent the number of apps created on Apple’s App Store. In addition, there are around three million apps in the Google Play store. The bottom line is that you’re up against a lot of competition.
You need to have a marketing strategy to stand out among the crowd. A good way to build a marketing strategy is to conduct research. Look for mobile apps that are similar to yours or targeting the same demographic of users. Find out what the popular apps are doing right and what the unpopular apps are doing wrong. This should give you some helpful information to work with.
Targeting the Right Users and Search Words is Critical
When it comes to getting your mobile app downloaded, ranking your listing on the top positions of specific search keywords is critical. You need to utilize the title and description to their maximum potential. You should be playing with the name of your app, use the right keywords, and create helpful descriptions that will make the user want to download the app.
It helps to be strategic about your ranking strategy. For example, a keyword like document scanner may be very competitive. But alternative keywords like mobile scanner, photo scanner, and photo to PDF may be less competitive. It can help you get the momentum you need to generate downloads and reviews, which contributes to your overall rankings.
Users Won’t Download Your App Even If It Has a High Ranking
Getting your app listed at the top of the app search results is important, but it isn’t everything. You have to convince users to actually download it. While creating a good description is a big part of the process, you often need to go beyond it. Adding images and videos can give users a better idea of what to expect with your app.
Try to add images with captions to show and explain how the app works. Images are also a great way to show off the different features of the app. Of course, nothing is as convincing as a video. A short video trailer that shows the value of your app and demonstrates your app in action can often make all the difference.
Engagement is a Big Part of the Marketing Process
Many apps get downloaded to smartphones and tablets only to be used a couple of times and forgotten about. If you want to avoid the same thing happening to your mobile app, you have to do things a little differently. You want to be reaching out to your users on a regular basis with push button notifications.
Educate your users about all the different features that are available in your app. Show off the unique ways that people are using your app. Inform them of the latest updates. Ask users what they’d like to see improved in your app. You want users to have a reason to keep coming back to your app so that using your app becomes habitual rather than a novelty.
Listening to Your Users is Very Important
If you want to keep your users, grow your brand, and bring in new users through word of mouth, you’ll want to listen to what your users say. Users will be the first to report bugs, compatibility issues, and problems with usability. You want to pay attention to what they’re saying and provide them with fixes and updates so that they continue using your app.
You also want to see what users would like in terms of upgrades. Figure out what functions and features they’d like to see. Get your team to work on these functions and features. The next time you release an update, let them know that you listened to them with a new version of your app. You’ll increase user loyalty, generate word of mouth, and grow your brand equity.
Digital Marketing Can Help
One of the biggest mistakes that mobile app developers make is focusing solely on rankings. They put an immense amount of effort into attaining high rankings in the Play Store and App Store. But you need to go beyond that if you want your app to succeed. Digital marketing can be one of the most effective ways to get people to discover and download your app.
There are many different digital marketing channels you can use. The list includes Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, blog sponsorships, and more. You want to figure out the best way to target your audience. This may mean buying a sponsorship spot on a keto diet blog for your weight loss app or building a site around your app to rank for relevant Google search queries.
Test Different Pricing
It can be difficult to get people to download an app if it’s not free. There are so many great free apps out there. If you’re going to charge for your app, you have to justify it. A low-risk way to market a premium app is to reach out to influencers and content creators to promote your app. Through the Google Play affiliate program, they’ll be able to earn a small commission when somebody purchases the app through their link.
If you’re having trouble selling your paid app, you should try the freemium model. With this model, users will be able to download your app for free. But if they want to make use of the advanced functions and features, they’ll have to upgrade to a premium version. This approach helps overcome the issues of users being reluctant to pay for apps. Plus, you can still monetize free apps with ads.
Get Your Onboarding Right
You need to realize that it’s unrealistic to assume that users will figure out how to use your mobile app on their own. If you want users to actually get value out of your app, you need to have a good onboarding process. This is what’s going to get users to put your app to use. It’s also what’s going to get users to discover how to use all of the different features in your app.
Even if you have a well-designed UI and have optimized the user experience, you still need to onboard new users. Utilizing pop-ups, graphical indicators, help icons, and linking to a tutorial section can get users familiar with your app quickly. Remember, there are many competing apps. If the user can’t figure out how to use your app, there’s a similar one that they can download a few finger taps away.
In conclusion, you need to utilize many different marketing strategies and tactics if you want your app to succeed. A good idea, a bunch of cool features, and a well-designed UI will not be enough. You need a marketing strategy that helps the right audience discover and download your app. Then you need a strategy to get them coming back to use the app so that they become regular users.