8 Promotional Strategies to Get You the Traffic You Want
With nearly 800,000 apps in the iOS app store you can bet your last dollar that distinguishing yourself in the crowded marketplace will be no easy task. In order to do so, you need to have a GREAT promotional strategy. While there are certainly many different ways to promote your app, today we’re going to focus on the ones that, in my eyes – actually matter.
Let’s get into it..
1) Traditional Media (TV Advertising)
One of the most obvious ways to drive traffic to your app is through traditional media. Of the options that exist TV is likely your best option, however NOT THE BEST option. Especially if you’re on a tight budget. If you’re a large company like Amazon, or ESPN Sure – knock yourself out. Amazon actually created a commercial specifically for their Shopping App which lets users scan barcodes and take pictures to find them on Amazon. See below for their video, as well as ESPN’s who had a similar approach for their Watch ESPN App.
So why might you consider TV Advertising to begin with? Well, according to Nielsen, 40% of smartphone and tablet users use their devices while watching TV on a daily basis. This creates an optimal opportunity in an optimum moment to direct viewers towards something they’re very likely to be already involved with any way.
The cons to this approach as touched on above is that it can be very expensive for an indie developer or a startup.
2) Social Media Marketing
As more and more people “LIKE”, “COMMENT”, “FOLLOW”, “TWEET”, and “CONNECT” with you across the different social platforms in existent, it should come as no surprise that this is an important channel you need to not only have on your radar, but also be involved in. Both Facebook and Twitter have even adjusted their advertising structures to accomodate Mobile Developers looking to run Paid Campaigns through their networks.
This is not to say that YOU MUST do a paid PPI (Pay per install) Campaign on either, let’s look at an example from RunKeeper.
They have a great blog that always dishes out engaging content like: health and training tips for runners, information about their app, and success stories from users.
Additionally, they’re very engaging on Twitter, where they host #RKchat for their community. If that wasn’t enough, unlike most companies (who only use twitter for one-way communication), RunKeeper is very conversational on Twitter. The example below shows , aTweet that received several retweets and replies, which RunKeeper in turn leveraged to turn into conversations with individual followers.
3) Joint Venture Partnerships (Cross-promotion)
Finding companies and identifying partnerships that work with your same market is a great way to promote your app. Look at Shazam for instance who went on to create a win-win partnership with Bravo to promote a ‘second screen’ experience for Bravo’s audience.
Using the Shazam app while watching Bravo now gives them the ability to access exclusive content.
4) Use Your Own Mobile Site
This is probably one of the easiest things to do to get going, so if you’re not already – get on it! The construction breakdown is like this: you go to the website on your mobile device, you access their mobile website and on their mobile website a banner image promoting their app appears until you choose to close or download it . The key is to direct people to your app instead of having them remain on the mobile website. If users don’t use your app you have no way to retrieve important information about users which aid in running effective and targeted app marketing campaigns.
5) App Discovery Services
While Apple is certainly cracking down on services like these, Free-App-A-Day, App-o-day and more recently AppGratis – they are worth mentioning because they showcase the ‘latest’ and ‘greatest’ apps with the network they’ve already established. It is worth mentioning however, while some are free others are paid. These kinds of programs can generate a lot of buzz for your app by placing you front and center of their large network of users. Additionally, it can aid in building a loyal following since mobile users trust these services to deliver the absolute best from the app world. Think of the “Triangle of Trust” in this case, you’re leveraging theirs to get the users you don’t know, but know the service. They trust them, so therefore they trust you.
6) Endorsements
Now unless you had enough money for promotion tactic #1, it’s likely this won’t won’t be THE BEST of the list here, but is still worth mentioning as endorsements from influencers in your industry, celebrities, and other famous people are very helpful. Recently Zynga had Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias become the celebrity endorsers for Draw Something 2, sending out tweets to their cumulative 12 million followers.
If the case is that you’re not able to do something as graduous as that, then not to worry. What you should focus on is how you can turn your users into brand advocates, track the ones that do, and reward them for doing so which will turn them into evangelists.
7) Get Reviews From Your Users
A higher rating in the app store equates to more downloads. If your users love your app, tell them to show it! There are several approaches for this. Using a tool like Localytics, you can use user segmenation to identify a cohort of your most frequent, engaged app users and then specifically target that group with an in-app messaging campaign requesting that they rate your app.
Alternatively, you could even use in-app messaging to run an NPS survey.
These survey results will give you the needed information to target your “advocates” with an in-app message to request a review. Additionally, you could target your “detractors” with a campaign that requests their feedback on an internal feedback channel, like a support forum. That feedback will provide even more insight on how you can build 5-star worthy apps.
8) Make A Remarkable App!
Lastly, after all is said and done – if your app is not truly remarkable, there will be no remarks about it. That’s what it means to be remarkable, Angry Birds (as well as their success) is pretty remarkable, Iron Man 3 is a remarkable movie, the iPhone 5 was very remarkable. You get the point. Getting good reviews helps boost you up the rankings, but if the are not authentic no amount of reviews will save your app from the truth once users start experiencing it.
Again, every brand has a different market budget and will have to implement different strategies to accomodate as such. Focus on what works best with the resources you have available, and if you’re feeling audacious – create more resources to have at your disposal.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
