We’ve all been there. Going about our daily life and then having the brilliant epiphany that our phone should do this…or that. This was almost certainly the way that the majority of the most popular and most used apps came to fruition. Shazam was probably born from an overwhelming frustration with never knowing the songs playing on commercials or in stores. And the creator of Angry Birds was undoubtedly walking down the street one day thinking “I wish my phone could catapult angry birds at those pesky pigs that stole their eggs”. Okay, there may have been some sarcasm in that last one but there are countless ideas for new mobile apps and inspiration truly does strike anywhere. But, once you have that epiphany, how do you market your genius idea?
Step 1: Make it Different
The first thing to keep in mind when creating a marketing campaign for a mobile app is differentiation. There are a lot of mobile apps out there…what makes yours different? There are hundreds of map and GPS apps available but Waze distinguishes itself by integrating real-time traffic information from people who are actually driving the roads you are routed onto. Find out what makes your app different from every other one out there and use that as a main aspect of your marketing messaging.
Step 2: Awesome User Experience (UX)
After your point of differentiation is decided upon, the next step to mobile app marketing is actually something that is tied more to the development of the app itself. Marketing your brand new mobile app is made exponentially easier by intelligent design and development. Having an attractive and intuitive (but simple) user interface will go a long way towards getting your mobile app adopted by the masses. After all, if they can’t use it or they don’t enjoy using it, what good is it?
Step 3: Tell the Truth
Once you have a unique app that is expertly designed and developed, what’s next? Tell users what they want to hear. There are several pieces of information that mobile app users look for: functions/features, facts, reviews and privacy information. The key is to tell the truth.
Functions/Features
Users want to know exactly what your app does. Hit them in the face with its primary functions and awesome features and do it layman’s terms. Not all users are software engineers or techies. Try recording a demo video; people love to see the app in use.
Facts
Peer pressure is still alive and well. Hearing that your app got 3 million downloads in 2 weeks will make it easy to convince others to follow the trend, as long as those facts are true of course!
Reviews
Monitor feedback, encourage reviews and promote positive testimonials not only on the app store but also on the app’s website. Users like to know that the app is worth the download, especially if it is a paid app. This is important for a few reasons. Apps with a lot of positive reviews get high visibility but the reviews are also extremely helpful from a troubleshooting standpoint. Actual users are great at telling you where there are issues and where there needs to be improvements. Listen to them.
Privacy Information
A June 2013 report from McAfee published in the USA Today found that mobile apps are the number one source of malware on mobile devices. Consumers want their privacy protected and they want to make sure your mobile app won’t jeopardize that. Stress your app’s privacy protections, be transparent about your data practices, put privacy setting in a place that is easy for users to find and always get consent for collecting sensitive information. Keep your user’s privacy private and they will appreciate that.
Step 4: ASO
Once you have determined what your audience wants to hear, you should consider App Store Optimization (ASO). Yes. That is a thing. Apppli reports that an estimated 60% of mobile app downloads come from users who organically find the app on the app store. Much like search engine optimization, ASO integrates strong keywords in the app store description, the app title, the metadata and alt tags on images and screen shots on the app store. Of course, search engine optimization (SEO) also plays a role when you are looking to be found outside the app store so remember to integrate SEO best practices in your app’s website, press releases, blog posts and social media.
Step 5: Go Viral
The last step to marketing your shiny new mobile app is to go viral. I know, I know…easier said than done. According to Business Insider, the Pictionary-like iPhone app, Draw Something, had 1.2 million downloads just 10 days after it launched. How did they do it? Dan Porter, creator of Draw Something, said he did a little paid marketing to promote the launch which only resulted in 40,000 downloads. The rest came from word of mouth. Smashing Magazine says that a viral app must pass four tests:
- It needs to have something valuable that people will share.
- It has to be easy to share and join.
- It should reward users for sharing and offer incentives to return.
- The more the app is used, the more value that is created for the user.
As a final note on mobile app marketing, remember these couple of suggestions. Claim your app's social media accounts. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Put download buttons everywhere…several places on the website, on your blog, in your marketing emails, on your social media accounts, etc. This way, when your app goes viral it is easy for people to interact with your brand and to download the app of course!
