App Marketing – Why You Need it And How to Do it

Did you know that mobile applications revenue is estimated to be over $935 billion by 2023?

Today, if you have a business website, you must have an app. But only having one is of no use. You must know how to make it reach your audience. For that, you need app marketing.

A few years ago, we saw the boom of mobile apps emerge. And as always, all the companies jumped into the trend. Today, the Apple app store and the Android app store are brimming with millions of apps.

However, most apps are launched without any app marketing strategy. That is why they fail to mark their presence and go unnoticed.

This article will tell you everything on why you need app marketing and how to launch your app with a professional app marketing approach.

Building a house starts from the foundations. So, first, you need to understand –

What is App Marketing?

Currently, there are millions of applications for all kinds of devices and all kinds of audiences. All companies want their mobile application to stand out among all the Apps that compete for the consumer’s attention.

To get to the top of the list of similar apps in the app store and get the most attention for your app, you need to implement a number of creative marketing strategies like App Store Optimization, Social Media Campaigns, etc. This process is called app marketing.

In simple words, app marketing is putting efforts into promoting your application so that it reaches a maximum number of people and they download it.

Why Do You Need App Marketing Strategies?

We use apps in our day-to-day lives – for booking a cab, ordering food, groceries, and chit-chatting with friends. So have you ever wondered why apps like WhatsApp have become a part of our daily lives? In addition to its awesome functionalities and innovation, the application has a solid app marketing strategy.

Of course, marketing strategies for mobile applications are important. Without it, your target audience will never be aware of your application and the benefits it offers. So, no matter how good your application is, it will never yield the results you want without implementing app marketing strategies.

How to Market Your Application?

Today, applications are everywhere. They are so much in use that the app development market is growing by leaps and bounds. By the end of 2022, daily time spent in mobile apps is predicted to increase to 227 minutes a day, which is 12 minutes more than in 2020.

When we think of marketing strategies for apps, we imagine ads, slogans, and big campaigns, right? But it is important to understand that there is a whole process. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to develop an app marketing approach:

Step 1 Analysis And Planning

Marketing planning for apps starts long before they are released, right after the idea for the app is developed. This happens because it is necessary to know the target audience, carry out a market study and understand the scenario that surrounds the central idea.

Approach your audience and understand what really catches their attention. Remember, you are creating an application to assist people in solving a problem. For example, Zomato offers the solution to avoid the hassle of going to your favorite restaurant to enjoy the food you love.

Also, remember that you will be competing with many apps in the same category. Therefore, a valuable tip for setting direction in-app marketing planning is to study the following questions:

• How many competitors will you have to face?
• What are the biggest mistakes and successes of these companies?
• How do users rate these competitors?

With all this information in hand, you will have enough background and data to put your action plan on paper.

Step 2 Create a Persona

With the data collected in the previous step, we can develop the ideal client persona for the application. The idea is to create a persona that is exactly the user your brand needs, with such precise details as name, location, age, preferences, etc.

Keep this tip in mind: the persona is based on real data, not guesswork.

Knowing exactly who this customer is will give you a clearer signal of where you should be targeting app marketing. In fact, this step is of great importance in all the other steps. After all, the focus of your application is the users, right?

Step 3 Set the Stage for the Launch

However, it is worth mentioning that marketing planning for apps can vary depending on the audience and niche of the app. Still, in general, it is essential to include:

• App marketing tactics to be used at each stage
• Detailed budget and categorized by the tactic
• Channels, tools, and technologies to be used in-app marketing
• Total budget

If your company is not yet known online, now is the time to introduce yourself to your target audience. According to a study conducted by Hubspot, 90% of consumers research the Internet, looking for and comparing brands, products, and services.

This means that the probability that your potential user will search for your application before downloading it is very high.

Companies that already have other contact channels, such as blogs, websites, social networks, are one step ahead. They can even use these media to introduce the app topic and solutions or to ask for feedback.

However, if you don’t already have any of these channels, create them before putting your app to the test. For the success of your launch, it is essential that the user can find information about the application online. This improves trust in the solutions offered, builds engagement, and increases the chances of the user downloading your app.

Two important tips: start blogging and invest in content marketing. Through this, the company can talk about users’ doubts, explain the solutions offered and promote the application.

This app marketing tactic has shown very positive results for businesses. This way, you can inform customers who often didn’t realize that they need your app, motivating them to try it out.

Step 4 Implement Outreach Tactics

In the fourth stage of app marketing development, the company should start promoting the app and choose which marketing actions to implement.

Today it is very common to use influencers, press releases, paid ads on social media, and on major search engines like Google. First, however, you must consider:

• The channels through which your target audience travels,
• The people who are a reference for them,
• The routines that are part of their daily lives.

For that, the planning that we described in the first step can be a great ally. An extra piece of advice: use geolocation to make the correct approach at the moment when your client is most willing to receive it.

Another strategy worth investing in is App Store Optimization (ASO), the SEO for app stores. Typically, this step occurs at the application launch. There are agencies that provide this service. It is in your best interest to hire them.

Step 5 Monitor and Make Changes in Your Strategies

Nowadays, marketing has so much power of reach in the digital universe. However, if you don’t monitor your app marketing strategies, it can aggressively impact download chances.
So stick to the testing schedule and carefully monitor user perceptions of app marketing. In this way, the probability of avoiding problematic situations is much greater.

Things To Note When Promoting Your Mobile Application

If you’re developing or have an app, some of these promotion strategies might help you.

Choose The Right Name

A good name can do most of the marketing work for you, as it will be easier to share and talk about. In addition, a catchy name is easier to remember and recommend and could lead to more accurate search results.

Do Not Share Just Any Image

When you’re ready to start sharing images of your app, make sure the photography is very good and high quality. It must be convincing enough that someone wants to learn more about your app and download it.

Start Collecting Emails

You should start collecting email addresses the moment you start creating your App. Your first subscribers can be your email contacts. You need to let them know when your App will finally be released, and they will be able to spread the word about your new app and its features much faster than your marketing team.

Talk About Your App Before its Launch

Start looking for forums and online groups that are relevant and talk about the launch of your new App. You should not reveal too much information, but enough to create expectations and hype for your app for your customers.

Socialize

You can not ignore the importance of social networks. Share the next release of your App with your contacts, and try to get them to share it too. You can take advantage of sponsored stories on Facebook to promote your app. Low-budget social ads can lead to higher profitability and more app downloads when handled well.

Get Found

Nobody wants to create an App so that it is invisible to search engines. Spend time and invest in Search engine and App Store optimization. Focus on the keywords that your target audience is searching for.

Create Promotional Media Mix

The media mix is ​​probably one of the things that you should not forget to promote your App. Your media mix is ​​a set of promotional materials for your App, including general information about the App, features statistics, benefits, graphics of key executives, photos, and other high-resolution images of logos and products.

Create Videos

Get the most out of YouTube. First, create an explanatory video of your product to create expectations for your future downloaders. Then, when your App is finally released, create a demo video and make it available to your customers on your website and YouTube. Bloggers like to add a video when reviewing a new app.

Take App Reviews

There are hundreds of mobile app review sites that you can contact to consider reviewing your app. If the opinions are good, they will make the sales of your App grow like foam. Advice: App reviewers and bloggers love the media mix because it makes their job easier. Make it easy for them to share what your App has to offer.

Communicate Through Infographics

You can create infographics that inform your target audience about the features of your App. Infographics work great on Pinterest, Visual.ly, and other image-focused sites. Choose a topic related to your application and break it down for your audience. In addition to promoting your product, you will be creating valuable information for your future customers.

Measure And Track Results

The most important thing about any marketing campaign is to measure its results. You should measure and track all strategies to know what works and focus on the strategies that are getting the downloads. Especially if you are just starting out in marketing, it is very important that you pay attention to these numbers.

Build a Great App, People Will Talk About it

This is the most important tip to work on when creating a mobile app. If you build a great app that actually solves a problem, people will download it, bloggers will review it, and users will talk about it endlessly. This is marketing.

Last Tip: GeoMarketing

Did you know that geolocation is strongly related to app marketing? In fact, it is such an interesting combo that today, we use the term Geomarketing. Of course, it is not only useful for applications, but also for websites blogs, among others. The idea is to use location data to get to know the potential customer better, accompany them in online interactions, and offer the best solutions at the ideal time.

Final Takeaways

It is imperative to invest time and resources in App marketing as much as you invest in app development. Both app development and app marketing rely on each other to sustain. Be it an application or website, without marketing, they won’t help you achieve your goals.

Do you have an App? Do you want to promote it?

Let us help you with the right marketing strategy. Book a free consultation today!