Mobile App Marketing Strategy

On a daily basis, people are glued to their phones. More often than not, they have one or two games on their phone (I love Angry Birds 2). And unless you’re using a premium or ad-free version, you’ve definitely been shown some mobile app marketing for the “hottest new XYZ”.

As soon as you’ve reached the stage when you’re debating whether to release an app for your company, in the end, you may be surprised and delighted. The thing is, you may not need it.

Although a mobile-friendly version of your website or app is a fantastic (and recommended) idea, it isn’t necessary until your Web presence is well-established. (If your brand’s product is the app, ignore this)

There are over eighty thousand apps released each month according to Statista. And each one of them has to accumulate users to start monetizing your app! So how do you do that? With Mobile App Marketing!

What’s Mobile App Marketing?

Mobile app marketing is a marketing strategy used to promote an app, engage users and increase the number of app downloads. It refers to the tactics used to attract users and build an interest in your app.

Most developers mess up thinking that once someone has become a paying user of your app, the game stops. Nope, sorry.

From reducing churn to upselling existing users, mobile app marketing strategy is a more extensive and delicate process than most expect — most opt to hire a marketing expert in the end. Not doing anything at all is worse!

Why Should I Market My App?

Your stroke of genius led to the idea to create your app. Then you took the time to learn and develop your idea into a working mobile application.

The only way to get a return on the time and effort you invested is to monetize your app!

Marketing your app to an audience of engaged users who need the solution your app provides is a surefire way to get new paid users to your app. Without it, you’ll be reliant on organic downloads and word of mouth.

While both of those are important to your overall success, they don’t cut the cake on their own. Nor can you just throw yourself at it and hope for the best.

To be a successful mobile app developer (turned mobile app marketer), you have to prepare for your campaign.

Preparing A Marketing Plan For A Mobile App

Market Research

Conducting market research is a cornerstone of any successful marketing campaign. More importantly, ongoing research is the key to an ongoing successful marketing campaign.

Ask yourself questions like: How’ll our solution solve the problem our avatar is having? And, “How does our solution work better or differently than the alternative?” Will help you dial in more.

Who Do You Help? Defining Client Avatars

Once you have established the impact you have on your audience. Who are they? Establishing this in terms of demographics, psychographics, and behavioral triggers will help you talk to their pains and grievances in your sales copy.

Developing A Brand

There are 10 steps in our brand strategy process. At the bare minimum, you need to develop: a vision, mission, supported causes, client persona, brand design elements, and brand identity.

Not having this information in your messaging will make it far less effective than content that incorporates these elements and ideas.

Marketing Channels

After you have determined all of this information, you’re ready to start crafting your mobile app marketing strategy for your app.

Where should you start promoting your app using the information in your avatar and market research?

What’s The Best Way To Promote My App?

Make A Website

I always suggest starting with a website. Even a simple website can be a catalyst for growing the rate of paid user acquisition!

Use website best practices and website analytics to track campaign performance. Make sure you have reliable hosting and a valid SSL certificate to establish trust with your visitors.

When creating a website, we suggest using a trusted hosting service like Bluehost or iFastNet, which includes lots of freebies and a one-click WordPress installation. (Our website is hosted on iFastNet)

Create Your Landing Page

Secondary to the website is the landing page, where you’ll make a case for why cold traffic needs the solution your mobile app solves!

For a successful landing page, use persuasive sales copy, timers, and other “incentives” to push users on the fence in the right direction. Stick to the conversion principles of landing pages to be successful.

Through Using Email Marketing

As I’ve mentioned, the mobile app marketing game never stops, not even when the user becomes a paying client!

Email marketing is a time-tested and proven way to engage, nurture, and upsell subscribers over time. Email marketing is challenging, but sticking to a tested playbook for email marketing will save your skin.

Social Media

Most people have a social media account of some sort. Whether it’s Facebook or an ancient platform like Apsense, most have SOMETHING.

Social media is all about spreading the word and building brand awareness for your brand and, by extension, your app.

For app marketing, I suggest using Facebook and Twitter in all cases. Other platforms may be a good fit alongside , or in place of, those two, but for most apps, these two social media platforms are a great place to start.

Public Relations (PR)

Engaging virality and viral media to get new users has worked multiple times. Think about some mobile gaming apps that have become popular over the last few years. How many of those started as a trend on social media?

This brand awareness loses steam when you don’t know how to keep the coverage and attention from stopping. As a general rule of thumb, hire a professional to run PR campaigns, especially if you haven’t done one before.

Organic Ranking For Search Engines And App Stores

Search rankings are essential no matter what (or where) your content is being posted or shared.

App store optimization (ASO) is the equivalent of SEO for the mobile, and app stores. So all the same rules apply — including its importance to your app marketing strategy!

Make sure your descriptions have keyword-rich descriptions and that you follow all the steps to complete your profile on the app store.

For your website, use content marketing and blogging to drive cold traffic down your funnel and turn them into word-of-mouth promoters.

Blogging

Blogging or content marketing is a cornerstone of any brand looking to engage in discovery commerce.

Discovery commerce is the consumers become aware of your product or service and decide they need it. Discovery commerce is inbound marketing at full tilt.

Paid Ads Acquisition

Paid advertising is a great way to build quick awareness of your app and drive traffic, downloads and engagement.

Using the social media platforms you’ve established, start by targeting your followers and work your way out from there.

Conclusion

Marketing a mobile app is the first step to your success as an application software developer.