Smartphones changed our lives considerably since they became popular. You wouldn’t be wrong in saying that they are the defining technology of the past decade. Just like the automobile, the computer, and then the internet defined their respective eras. Smartphones are a digital marvel, immensely powerful computers that can fit in your hand and do just about anything.
Recognizing the opportunity, app developers sprang into motion. Today there are millions of app on the Google Play Store and millions more on Apple’s App Store. In fact, there are so many apps, that it can be challenging to get visibility for a new app. But don’t worry, this blog will give you some helpful tips on how you can market your app for more visibility and downloads.
Ways to Market Your Mobile Application
We know that there are millions of apps on a given platform. That makes it all the more unlikely that customers will migrate to your app of their own accord. Even on app stores, competition for visibility is intense. This is why many businesses spend significant time and effort into developing an app user acquisition strategy. You can usually source talented ASO or App Store Optimization professionals from a marketing staffing agency to do the heavy lifting. But for the most part, it pays to know the different channels that they will use for promoting your app.
Here are several ways you or your ASO’s can promote your business’ mobile application:
- Leverage Your Website Traffic
- Organic and Paid Promotions on Social Media
- Working On ASO For More In-Store Visibility
- Endorsements From Influencers or Celebrities
- Running Paid Search Ads in App Store
- Encourage Users to Recommend the App
Let’s take a closer look at these below.
Leverage Your Website Traffic
Your business website is an invaluable tool when it comes to promoting your business’s app. For one thing, your online presence adds legitimacy to the app. Users get the impression that you are a bona fide business and the app is not just another generic tap-trap. Brands also need to focus on displaying their app across their website. And by displaying, we mean ensuring its always visible to the user. It should not be a footnote or an afterthought. Many enterprise brands make a point of promoting how their app is available on Google Play or App Store or both. This also gets impressions from all website visitors. So if your website sees a lot of traffic, you can be sure they’re all finding out that you have an app.
Organic and Paid Promotions on Social Media
Social media represents one of the best ways to reach out to a large audience. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow brands to connect to audiences, whether organically or via paid promotion. You can use both of these methods to promote your app on social media. Organic promotion depends on you maintaining an online presence. That means you create accounts, follow people in your industry or niche, and produce content.
Of course, you need to be careful about not being overly promotional. The idea is to strike a chord with your audience, by sharing meaningful content or information. This will prompt them to take the action you desire, whether its following your account or downloading your app.
Paid promotions allow you to advertise your product (or app) to segmented audiences. That means by spending on paid promotions you can ensure your ad is visible to the right people. This will result in more downloads in a shorter period.
Working on ASO for More In-Store Visibility
For mobile app stores, ASO, or App Store Optimization, is key for visibility. In principle, it is very similar to search engine optimization for search engines. The purpose is to make your app one of the top organic results for a given search query on a mobile app store. ASOs pay a lot of attention to factors like unique app names, keywords, screenshots, videos, descriptions, and app ratings.
Running Paid Search Ads in App Store
People often search for specific apps or types of apps in a mobile app store. Apple allows you to run paid search ads to get more visibility and clicks. It follows the same method of bidding on keywords as in search engine marketing. When a user enters a search term with the keywords you bid on, your app is the first on the results page.
Encourage Users to Recommend the App
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that generates buzz. And nobody is better qualified to recommend your app than someone who already uses it. Look into ways to encourage users to recommend your app to other people. You can add incentives like exclusive content for users who recommend the app to several people. You can also design the app in a way that it unlocks more functionality when a user recommends it.
App developers are some of the most in-demand professionals with most IT staffing firms. But even if you have the best developers on your payroll, unless you promote your app, their efforts are wasted. It’s not just about developing a great app, but also about getting people to download and use it. Hopefully, these tips will have given you a better idea of how to go about promoting your app. If you have any questions, sound off in the comments below.