You have probably heard that thousands of apps are uploaded on major app stores monthly. And there are about 6 million apps on these stores this already. This makes the industry one of the most competitive industries as lots of developers and designers are shunning myriad of apps at a breath-taking pace despite the fact that it could take a top app development companies with a highly-skilled teams of developers months to build complex apps that has lots of functionalities and features.
So to get ahead (or get noticed) in the industry, you would need massive promotion. In fact, promotion through online and offline marketing channels are a key component of building successful mobile applications in a saturated app market. But there are some ways that are more effective than others.
In this post, the focus will be placed on digital channels. This is because it is a very cost-effective option and the time frame required to get the word across to hundreds of millions of people globally is negligible when compared to offline channels. With that said, it is time to explore some of the most effective ways to promote your app even if it is built by a professional app development company. (Well-built complex or simple app still needs promotion.
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App Store Optimization (ASO)
For many developers, this is the first post-launch marketing strategies they employed to make their apps more visible on app stores. This is because; the moment your app is launched on app stores, the next thing you will be worried about is how to garner lots of downloads and high usage. However, you cannot do that obviously, especially if your app is not visible on the store(s) you chose, unless you did massive pre-launch marketing campaigns. So to make your app visible, you will need app store optimization. Besides, the market is over-saturated with millions of apps on major apps store, such as Google Play, Apple App stores and Windows store. This makes discoverability very difficult even if the app is built by a top app development company. So, you may not be able do it without ASO.
To do app store optimization, there are some effective techniques that most professional app owners use that produce impressive results. Listed below are some of these steps and strategies you need to take to boost your ASO tremendously.
- Start by using very detailed and captivating descriptive titles. You must paint a clearer picture of what your app is all about. If the app is developed by a professional app development company, this has already been taken care of.
- Be selective with the choice of keywords to use.
- Use high quality images and screenshots. (Remember, an image is more than a thousand words. So, get this right too.)
- Add a very short and straight-to-the-point descriptive essay about what your app entails. (You MUST include what your app can do for the users on the brief essay.)
- You must also add app preview videos.
- Fix all the issues that will give your app negative reviews.
- Get great icon design.
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Social media
Promoting your app on social media platforms is a must. Why? There are hundreds of millions of active users on these platforms. (In fact, there are over a billion users on Facebook alone.) And majority of those who use these platforms are made up of young people. So it is still, and may always be, one of the smartest and most efficient digital marketing channels to use in 2019. But in order to do that, you must first connect with your audience or reach out to them.
To promote your app on social media, you need to get people interested by;
- Using Facebook group.
- Encouraging user-generated content.
- Using paid ads.
- Seeking out reviews and ratings. This should not be a problem if the app is developed by a professional app development company.
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Website
It is not uncommon to assume that you can do away with a website since your app is already on app stores. But you need more than that to get the much-needed online presence your app needs, especially if you outsource the job to a top app development company. By having a website, you could easily build credibility and trust for your business. So, once you have done that, make sure it is featured throughout the site. (But is should not be done in a awkward way. Your site should not be littered with it.)
To do this efficiently, you must;
- Define your landing page.
- Add the right content on the site and place the ads or links on conspicuous spots on the site.
- Create and share interesting inforgraphics on your site.
- Talk to one users at a time. Do this as much as possible.
- Record postcasts and place them on your site.
Final Thoughts
You cannot create successful apps without promotion. To promote it effectively, you should start with app store optimization, which will make your app more visible. Also, you must use social media platforms, such Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest to promote the app in other to garner massive downloads and usage. And you must include a website to the list of things you need to promote your app.
However, all your efforts will be wasted if the app is not properly built. To do this, you may need to outsource the job to a professional app development company, especially if you need complex apps with lots of features and functionalities. The truth is, independent developers may not have the resources to get the job done properly.
Author Bio:
Melissa Crooks is Content Writer who writes for Hyperlink InfoSystem, a mobile app development company in New York, USA and India that holds the best team of skilled and expert app developers. She is a versatile tech writer and loves exploring latest technology trends, entrepreneur and startup column. She also writes for top app development companies.