You did it! All that market research to come up with the app idea, name, look and feel. Then months if not years of development and testing, then getting it on the app stores…the day has finally come and your app is ready to be launched. But no matter how good your app is relying on word of mouth alone is not ideal. Of course, everyone dreams of their app going viral but very few make it to that point without some planned marketing in the early stages. Here is a handy guide to some of the ley marketing channels you should be using for your app promotion.
Table of Contents
Paid Ads
This is a simple one and I bit painful in terms of budget but paying for promotion is a straight-up and big-hitting method to get started. But there are different sorts of paid ads to consider.
Paid Google Ads – AdWords
We all know what the ads look like, and many people have different opinions on how often they click them but they do still work very well. Set up an AdWords account and get cracking! The best advice is to always find an AdWords expert to do it for you whether that’s a freelancer or a Google-certified agency. There is a lot of scope for wasting money when learning so it’s best to keep that budget safe and use people who can get it working well off the bat.
Paid Social
We will talk more about social media as a channel later but paid social ads to offer a really quick and simple way to hit target audiences. Facebook and Instagram, for example, allow you to target interests and ages really well and to a detailed level. If your app is quite specific in terms of target audience then this is a great channel. As with most other options, you can get an agency involved but Meta do some great courses to help get you going to a good level. If managed well paid social doesn’t have to be expensive and it is easy to test with smaller amounts initially. Paid LinkedIn can get more expensive but is also a great platform for targeting professionals and certain job types.
Influencers
This is a big one! Using popular influencers to mention, use and promote your app can drive massive download numbers. Getting niche influencers that match the app can work very well but if the app is useful for most people then going big on someone with a huge following will work well. There is a range of platforms influencers use so it’s important to consider the right ones for your target market. Using an agency can be advisable as they can find the right creators to suit your product. There are general influencer agencies out there as well as ones that specialise in certain platforms like TikTok.
SEO
When it comes to paid Google ads and SEO there is one key factor you must consider. Does anyone search for what you are selling? This may seem obvious but it is critical to take some time to work it out. Does your app solve a problem? For example, doe sit help people save money, get around a city, find products or gift ideas? If so, then SEO could well be important. If it is something so new and niche like a game, then SEO may not work. Once you have decided people do search for it then getting a well-optimised website up and running could generate a lot of traffic which can be turned into downloads. SEO is a long process so very much something to work on along with other channels. Making great content, optimising the pages for key terms, and building domain authority with quality backlinks will all help your site get ranking.
NB When it comes to any channels that drive people to a website before the app store means you will need to consider Conversion Rate Optimisation. This is the process by which you analyse onsite conversion rates and use various tactics to improve them to get more downloads.
Organic Social Media
As well as paid ads on social you can also start posting unique content regularly and build up a following. As with SEO this takes time and a lot of hard work. Building a following will depend on your choice of channel and what your app is offering. Simply posting every day is not going to automatically generate 1000s of followers. The trick is to post engaging, funny, or useful content to the right place so it is seen by the right people. Engage with your followers and create stuff people want to see. Getting social media right is about being on a level with the followers and not posting from on high with no interaction.
Budget, Plan, Test, and Refine
As with all marketing you need a budget. With app promotion, it is really important to start with a budget and then make a plan. Choose the channels you think will work and then start a test. Give the marketing tactics time to work and then refine your plan accordingly. If one channel simply isn’t delivering the downloads then consider pushing the budget to one that is. After an initial period, you should have distilled the overall plan down to channels that deliver the goods!
Good Luck!