Whether you’re preparing to launch your app or are already live on iOS, Google Play and beyond, it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place that doesn’t break the bank. Here are a few best practices you can do to promote your app for free.
______________________App Store Optimization – the iOS and Google Play App Stores are by far the most oversaturated stores in the mobile and OTT space. There are few ways to go about ensuring that your app is optimized visually and for discoverability.
1. App name – choose a name that people can remember, but that isn’t too generic that it gets lost in search. Depending on your brand, this may be out of your control but consider a word such as “News” as part of a name, and how many of thousands of apps also have “News” in their name too.
2. Beautiful app icon – similarly to app name, take a look at your phone right now. What icons stand out to you? And what fade into the background? Design a simple icon that can’t be overlooked.
3. Keyword relevance – maybe a no brainer, but choose keywords that feel common and relative to your brand and the utility of your app.
4. Searchable – before you commit to a name and keywords, pretend you’re an end user and think of all the ways that someone would search for your app. What comes up and what popular apps are you competing with?
5. Great screenshots – try captions and eye catching visuals, entice users with your clear value. Videos of within you rapp can also be a wonderful tool here.
6. Offer coupon codes – as you launch, try limited time deals to encourage downloads, app sessions and referrals.
7. Create demo video – if you have the resources, utilize a demo video either to hype people up or to educate people on the general basic navigation or what they can do and look forward to within your app.
8. Smart onboarding – as you design your app, start thinking about the best way to teach your end users about the capabilities within your app. It might seem easy, but if you show it to a person outside of your company, see what things confuse them as first-time users.
Read more about important KPIs
______________________Promote your app organically – leverage your existing digital properties to drive traffic and excitement to the App Stores that you’re on. Here are a few important places for you to start:
9. On your website – include information, a coupon, and links on your website
10. On your mobile website (w app store buttons) – have large App Store badges on your mobile web that can take people directly to download.
11. On your blog – dedicate a few blog posts to what people can get out of utilizing your app.
12. In email newsletters – give it a shoutout in a dedicated email newsletter. Launching an app is exciting!
13. On social media – include links on your social media profiles, as well as dedicated posts linking to the app stores and the blog post.
14. In email signature – let it be part of your general brand awareness as a part of your email signature, alongside your website and contact information.
15. Partnerships (referral, earned or syndicated) – what industry partners would find promoting your app mutually beneficial? Have your industry friends share the news, as well as your employees and C-level execs.
______________________Reach out to press and bloggers – see what journalists or media companies typically write about your industry and technology related to it and let them know why your app is relevant.
16. Join forums and commentary – set a few people into the depths of the internet to find online communities that might be looking for exactly what your app is offering. Join the conversation.
17. Try app review websites –there are many app review sites that you can send your app into for free or for a submission fee.
______________________Marketing is often equated with advertising and hefty conference fees, but there are plenty of ways to optimize your presence online and utilize your existing resources to have a consistent marketing buzz. You can even consider networking events, Meetups, and other ways to do in-person grassroots marketing too. Learn more about how to increase app downloads and retain existing users, or reach out to an app expert to build your app today!