Top 6 Digital Marketing Strategies to Promote your Mobile App
Did you know that 49 per cent of the mobile user population open an app approximately 11+ times every day.
It is as fascinating, as it sounds!
According to Pew research centre, about a 5% increase in internet usage by adults have been observed in the last three years. People tend to purchase products on online platforms more, compared to offline stores. , Marketing is all about connecting and communicating with your targeted audience at any place and time. Nowadays, people tend to spend a lot of time on their digital devices, which means as a business – it is efficient, effective and easy to reach them through digital channels.
Digital marketing definition - “ It’s a process of advertising through digital channels. Do channels include - Social media, mobile applications, websites, email, search engines and any other related digital mediums.” In digital marketing, as a business, you will be having endless opportunities in promoting your brand and get to constantly interact with your target audience, by providing them with a personalized or customized service. Also, it helps in improving the value for user experience in relation to the brand. Whereas, the impact of digital strategies on each online medium has provided marketers like us, with a distinctive set of marketing techniques that will enable in reaching global audience, identification of untapped targeted groups and obtaining long term loyal customer base for the brand. The whole world has gone digital, and Digital marketing allows marketer in seeing business from the user’s perspective and of the business.
The word app will subconsciously redirect our mind towards the two giant hubs for these applications the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. These two applications are a hub for all the mobile device owners, to download applications. The mobile apps available in these stores have a distinctive array of categories, ranging from books to social media networks. Right now, you have at least one of them on your device and are totally aware of its functionality. An estimation of 2 million apps are available on the Google Play store and around 1.83 million apps are available on the Apple App Store. The data clearly illustrates the level of influence applications have on users’ mobile usage.
As a digital marketer, it’s your responsibility in enhancing your unique selling points in multiple segments and mobile apps have made it easier for businesses to respond and identify the opportunities more effectively. to, win the competition the marketer should constantly update their digital marketing strategies as innovation remains to develop. To create an effective strategy, it is essential to be aware of changing trends in the external environment. In general, digital marketing strategies includes? email marketing, content marketing, social media, search engine optimization, public relations, pay-per-click advertising, mobile marketing etc. But when it comes to mobile applications, all the strategies might not be applicable, they need to be personalized accordingly. Because, a mobile app is something that provides users with personalized, short, customized, and instant information. Also, through apps, the company can reach their targeted audience directly. So, it is essential to adopt a proper strategy for app promotions.
The most asked question ‘'How to market an app’
Firstly, as a digital marketer, you need to develop strategies for your mobile app based on the digital channel’s adequacy. Each platform approach differs for each industry line, it is your responsibility to identify the mediums in which the majority of your target audience lies. The development of distinctive digital marketing strategies for mobile apps has shown a steady increase, simultaneously, enhancing the demand for mobile device purchases. For instance, you have already developed a mobile application that meets the requirements of your targeted audience, launched it on the app store and waiting for it to make it to the top. That approach would just be an utter failure. To make it a success, you need to build a brand image for the app. This can be done by the development and implementation of digital marketing strategies that will aid in positioning yourself, among millions of applications available.
Every new mobile app marketer needs a mobile app marketing guide, to mark their way into the digital world. Here is a list of the top 6 digital marketing strategies in promoting your Mobile App:
Smart App Store Optimization (ASO)
The process of optimizing a mobile apps marketing copy, involving title, icon, keywords, description, screenshots, and customer reviews, to rank higher on app store search results. The higher the rank, the higher possibility of getting more visibility for your app. The aim of App Store Optimization (ASO) is to drive traffic to the app by increasing the number of downloads. When you are creating a title for the app, conduct research on the keyword search. Include the keyword that had a higher search volume. Do not rush into things, take time in creating a title that satisfies both keyword search and is able to attract users’ attention. Also, once the title is published it would be damaging for the brand image to change it after getting viral. Be considerate before fixing onto a title. Second, comes the description, make sure to include all the details of the app and try to detail the solutions and benefits provided by the app through the use of keywords. Provide a visual idea of the app working to the users through screenshots.
It is often described as SEO for app store. With over 2 million apps on app stores, getting to view your app by the user is one of the major issues mobile app developers face these days. The goal of ASO is to drive intense traffic to your apps page in the app store, so user searching can take a specific action like downloading the app. But, it is crucial for you to understand your target user base, and keywords they use to find similar apps to yours. In short, you need to have a better understanding of language of your potential customers.
Behavioural Targeting
It is also referred as behavioural advertising, a method that allows advertisers and publishers in displaying relevant ads and marketing messages to users, based on their web-browsing behaviour. The targeting typically relies on data in relation to users behaviour, such as ads clicked, most searched keywords, viewed pages, amount of time spent on a website landing page, latest dates of website visits, etc. All the information is based on the customer interaction with the website. The data gathered in here, is used to target the anticipated results towards the user expressed interest.
There are around 2.6 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter 2020, 500 million tweets per day on twitter, and Google processes over 3.5 billion searches per day. All this information is stored in the server with the search preferences of every user. The data is a combined set of different sorts of targeting, like demographics, geography, behavioural etc. This digital marketing strategy is a powerful tool for marketers or advertisers in targeting their audience.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving product placement or endorsements done by influencers, people and companies who have an expert level of social influence on the online user base. This marketing strategy has become a popular trend, and many businesses are actually adopting it as an essential component in their marketing mix. Find an existing influencer in your specific industry whose activities could complement your mobile app. Make use of their network in promoting your brand.
The influencers can be either in real time or social media celebrities with the huge user following on all of their digital media channels. All these people have a level of influential power over their audience. Most of the top app development companies are indulging themselves in this process, to gain following and app visibility in a shorter time. If your mobile app answers the customer queries and provides them with additional benefits, there are high chances of it being downloaded when it is promoted to them. Also, in this marketing, the followers tend to create an emotional connection with the influencer, this point can be used at our advantage and message can be delivered accordingly. Never underestimate this digital marketing technique, as most of the businesses these days are making it a mandatory part of their promotional mix. Actually, you will be quite surprised to see how much visibility your app will be getting from one influencer.
Are you aware, that Visa Checkout and Taco bell has teamed up to offer a limited time promotion which helped drive downloads and 20 per cent increase in Click-through-rate (CTR), all this through influencer marketing.
Did not expect these two brands in one sentence right. But it did happen, Visa and their online payment product VISA Checkout had teamed up with Taco bell and came up with a marketing campaign plan for the mobile app, by identifying an influencer that could leverage humour in driving views and shares. After a through research, they ended up partnering with BigDawsTV, the YouTube prankster. It was important that his video remain authentic and be similar to his normal unbranded content in order to drive the best possible user engagement. The core focus in here is, the video made by the influencer needs to be funny and shareable, but also tie into the brand goals of driving downloads. Visas promotional offering was half off your Taco bell app order(when using VISA Checkout).
This example shows that influencer marketing has relevant power on the digital marketing strategies of mobile apps these days.
1. Leverage Machine learning
In the mobile app marketing sector, machine learning technology was found to be an effective game changer. It has the power to enhance the mobile app marketing ideas by streamlining information, unseal solid user insights, and moreover encourages user engagement in a more interactive manner. It helps in solving complex problems, such as processing large amounts of data and creating personalized content flow for users.
When it comes to content marketing, you need to create and design content in such a way that users find it interesting. Developing a rich content strategy in order to engage users in your app plays a vital role. Your content is what drives the online users in hitting that download button of your app. For the content to be truly effective, it is important for you to concentrate on audience relevance, engaging and compelling storytelling, and the ability to trigger an action or response.
That’s where machine learning comes into play. It helps digital marketers in uncovering and understand the data better. By tracking the consumer trends and producing actionable insights. Also, it focuses on allowing you to spend time on streamlining your tasks and reach more leads with your content.
Here are three key advantages of using these tools:
Customer value: Machine learning makes it easier for digital marketers in discovering and getting in potential leads to the business. Its core focus is on your business outcome, for instance, it initiates the search for similar users at scale who are willing to make in-app purchases and are probably going to finish such activities, from among the ones who do not. Its more like searching for leads in places you might tend to miss at times.
Personalization: It enables you in empowering the right message to the right user at right time. Once the strategy is adopted, you will find it critical in providing users with a personalized experience.
Data mining: In digital marketing, it is always hard to understand how to get the best possible profit for return on investment, with a lot of data accessibility. Machine learning can enhance the performance of the business and helps in simplifying the marketing processes.
2. Social media
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter help the brands in getting heard by potential customers. Since these platforms have huge network of user base, you cannot miss in targeting the audience. To maintain a prominent presence on social media, you should not just be one in the crowd, as there are over 2 million mobile apps on app store, which are waiting to be viewed by the user. If you feel that your mobile needs to stand out, then you need to start fine-tuning your social media strategy and experiment with your content. Because content is something that adds value to readers life, and the primary purpose of it, is to establish a connection between the audience and the brand. In our defence, social media isnt something that is just used for catching up with your connections, it gives your mobile app a platform and opportunity in reaching a large segment of the target audience who are more curious to know about what your app offers. There is no restriction of using a single platform for promoting your app, you have a varied set of digital channels that helps you in gaining visibility. Besides, making your users aware of the app, you can also have the opportunity in conducting customer engagement and build good relationship with them. Both Facebook and Instagram will allow you to advertise your app with customization so that you can reach your potential targeted customers. Also, paid ads will allow you to know more insights on interests of the user. To get a better result for your digital marketing efforts, mix up different ad types and platforms. There a lot of affordable ads that are found to be effective, some of them are listed below:
Social media ads: Ads on Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accommodates advanced targeting options for paid and sponsored ads.
In-app ads: Most popular form of mobile advertising, where you promote your app as an ad in other apps. As majority of the users spend their time in mobile apps instead of web, it is easy to approach the target audience.
Search ads: Pay your ad to be listed on the top of search engine results page. For apps targeting niche groups, this method is found to be very effective.
Trust and customer loyalty are the core benefits a company obtain from interacting with the users. As we all are aware that anything spreads like a wildfire on social media, so these platforms covers the aspect of public relations promotion of the app.
3.Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO as a digital marketing channel, plays major role in generating organic and non-paid user traffic for a brand online. To be on constant radar, when customer searches for some product/service that your brand offers then you need to make sure that, your brand shows up on the top-result of users search engine result page (USERP). This can be achieved by putting right content incorporated with most searched keywords in either your company’s website, blogs or other social media platforms. These keywords will be identified by the search algorithms, if they are found to be similar and puts your mobile app on the first page whenever someone searches for your product/service or something similar to it.
Its a most powerful form of digital marketing that will help your business for long-term growth. It is the first form of digital marketing technique, that allows your business in passing your message to the target audience without any extra costs. Research have shown that, around 93 percent of all online experiences begin with a search engine, and Google alone processes over 3.5 billion searches per day. Its considered to be the go-to search engine for global users for most of the search queries. This shows that businesses optimizing SEO to appear on top of the search engine list have relatively more clicks, compared to the ones who ignore the importance of this Digital Marketing Strategies.Majority of the top app development companies invest in content marketing and build websites around in order to promote their mobile apps. These websites are optimized on search engines to generate larger audience base in viewing their mobile app. Whereas, on mobile app, building backlinks to the mobile apps microsite is an essential SEO strategy in increasing the search ranking. The more authoritative website link to your apps landing page, the higher possibility of ranking in the search listings. App Store Optimization (ASO), the process of optimizing a mobile apps marketing copy, involving title, icon, keywords, description, screenshots, and customer reviews, to rank higher on app store search results. It is often described as SEO for app store.
All these above-mentioned digital strategies when combined as one mobile app marketing plan, can help your business in gaining higher range of user visibility.
In conclusion, the mobile development economy keeps on advancing in many possible ways and the whole world is shifting towards mobile app usage compared to desktop websites. App development companies can consider this as a huge opportunity in getting more potential leads on board with the business. It is your responsibility, to make sure the app is valuable to the user experience. Utilize these strategies wisely in understanding and approaching the target audience.