Mobile App marketing tips
Last month, I was in a cafe with one of the local developers, who has good skills and has developed amazing successful local apps ranging from utilities to games. With all the excitement and warm greetings he receives from mobile vendors or tech communities, he still feels restless regarding the reach and spread-ability of his apps to get more people to use them and ultimately more business.
This is a normal maker pain, they all want their stuff to be promoted and wide-spread like fire, but Is that an easy thing to do? Absolutely not…
Developing an app is a rigorous process of discipline and commitment to try and fail, over and over again, but frankly speaking it is a lucrative business.. Yes it is and you can be a millionaire yes just like that..but what is the trick that not many developers get it right?
I will describe a best case scenario after the app has reached a mature level of ideation to concept validation from experts or whomever is supposed to help in that. The app will be developed in whatever platform IOS , Android, or Windows Phone..then the developer usually tests and tries the alpha then the beta editions with a close network of friends and colleagues or simply volunteering testers. This is to make sure that things are working and it is OK to release final. I believe this is the most common sense to follow everywhere..and is a straight forward process..
Now comes the fun part,which makes developers follow and watch each and every hit on their app link in the Apps store..till they cross their first 10 or even 100 users/installs and the excitement begins.. But what if it is only 1000 users and that’s it no more! The app is not even showing with the top 100 apps or not even featured as new and rising title !
Here are ideas to implement to BEST PROMOTE for your App:
1- My-sexy-app.com , yes you need a dedicated website for your app. Because this will ensure more authoritative power and credibility of the App and users will see and understand more about it. Tell us what is your story , how did this app come to existence, and what problem it is trying to solve..
Blog about it regularly, and make sure you have interesting topics and ideas around the utility it offers and how it can be maximized..news, updates, tips, testimonials, and more..
2-Socialize , is your app social enough! Do you have social channels talking about it and discussing ideas with users and consumers,,, it needs to be human voice that talks to people and responds to their concerns and questions.. It feels more cozy if we talk to the app developer directly over social networks, the human face needs to show up for people to feel ease..and engage more,..
3-Listen, it is a great deal to listen whatever is being said about your app good or bad and you need to welcome that and take it into consideration as this is the source of inspiration that you need to move forward.
4- Share sneak peaks to future features and updates, build list of influencers and enthusiasts and reach out to share early betas with them to generate more buzz and exposure..
5-Insightful, the app is your window to a blue ocean of users and consumers insights, you just need to know how to read it and utilize it. Of course
there are tools that you need to link to your app to promote(mobile marketing txt&banners), monitor installs, usage, reviews, traffic sources, demographics and more.. Web mobile analytic systems , apps stores’ analytic systems, and performance and revenue tracking systems too are must have and use tools to understand more and keep optimizing along the way.
6- A cool tip, if you are starting something new and introducing it for the first time, it would be better if you seek help from apps ecosystems that offer added value for developers by free marketing kits and some windows for exposure that is for free or co-marketed. With that being said I would always look for the emerging mobile platforms like Windows Phone.Because they will be always hungry for quality apps to enrich their offering and ready to promote them and give them the right exposure, versus big and saturated platforms like Android and IOS that will not give enough attention to new comers and you have to scream out your app title by yourself!
Finally these are the basics at you need to have implemented to make sure you win in this game. I am saying this and assuming that you are already following the best tips to have an amazing best app experience for users. As without that, all what I have mentioned above is in vain and will be a waste of time and money. Apps have to be monitored, retested, showcased and promoted in different venues of the same industry they play in. My friend has developed a famous the card game App “Ibaloot” for Nokia Lumia, and he is telling me some tips on how he maintains the levels of satisfaction of users and game addicts so high by listening to their feedback and responding to them one by one and that is a very amazing example of how you too should act…
*thanks for the IBaloot Game guys for sharing some of their analytics screenies..