Studies show that Finns use mobile devices for almost three and a half hours a day, and mobile device use has steadily increased across all age groups. But even the best mobile app won't become a hit if its target audience can't find it. For a mobile app to grab the attention of its target customers and be a break-out success, it needs a structured and effective marketing strategy that supercharges the app’s e-store listing.
Getting to grips with your mobile app’s marketing strategy early in the custom mobile app development cycle is key to success. First impressions make or break an app within the first seven seconds of it catching the eye of a potential user. It’s crucial, then, that this potential user has a positive experience. In essence, they need to find what they were looking for and be able to use it as quickly and painlessly as possible.
The opinions of other app store users matter
Valuable feedback on an app becomes available as soon as it sees the light of day. Customer reviews are especially important with digital products, as potential users can’t touch and feel them in the same way as, say, a new car or item of clothing. It’s much easier and safer for a prospective customer to rely on the opinions of others who’ve already bought the product.
App stores are currently by far the most common channel for distributing apps aimed at consumers. A unique look and vibe is created in the app store listing through the use of eye-catching screenshots, informative captions, and videos. It’s essential that each and every app stands out from its competitors in order to spark the interest of its target audience and for eventual users to not only use it once or twice, but repeatedly and consistently.
When it comes to consumer apps, companies are now well accustomed to the established competition for a valuable place on the app store ranking lists. An app’s position on these lists is in part determined by the ratings and reviews that users leave. The more positive the feedback, the more visible the app is, which goes a long way to attracting more users and generating more downloads. A good example of this effect is the app released by the popular Finnish fast food chain, Hesburger, which was top of both the Apple App Store and Google Play most-downloaded lists in Finland as soon as it was launched.
Multichannel marketing for mobile apps
App stores are by no means the only way of finding new apps. In fact, consumers increasingly use a wide range of channels and search engines to search for the apps they want. This means that a multichannel marketing strategy is a must to ensure an app’s success. In terms of advertising, it’s important to identify when and how users are using an app and then leverage this information in the marketing strategy to guarantee the app has visibility in precisely the right places. The use of top-draw analytics and data can also help target a marketing strategy at the desired target audiences.
In the first instance, a company’s websites, newsletters, and social media channels are good sites to highlight their app. On social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, advertising can be easily targeted at the right audiences and optimized for direct downloads.
Content-driven interest
The Internet is awash with content focusing on mobile apps. Content such as web articles, product reviews, and blog posts can provide excellent visibility and be an effective means of reaching potential app users. In order for an app’s marketing strategy to be as targeted as possible, it's a good idea to identify the most appropriate advertising channels and deliver carefully-conceived content to these locations. This can take the form of, for example, well-executed newsletters and product and vibe images. Video is another effective option. One thing is for certain; high-quality content in the right channels will increase a mobile app’s visibility and help bring the app to the attention of the right customer groups.
Interested in reading more about mobile apps? Download our guide Everything you always wanted to know about buying mobile apps, but were too afraid to ask for some great tips on how to produce a value-adding mobile app for your business.
