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You’re fast asleep at 2:00 AM when you’re woken up with a Eureka Moment. You have just discovered an idea for a spectacular smartphone application. And you’re right, it’s spectacular. In a year your app will be bigger than Angry Birds. But how to start? Coming up with a bold new idea for a mobile app is hard, but you’ve done it. Now how do you build it? That is even more difficult. Finally, how do you market it? That can be the hardest of all.
Most experts have agreed on some important and mandatory steps that must be taken. Many of them are the safe and trusted tactics that online marketers have been using for years. For truly successful mobile app marketers, these approaches are combined with inventive marketing tactics specific to the mobile app industry. While some experts disagree on the details, they do agree with many of the steps. Let’s examine them here:
Pre-Launch – Your marketing program should start well before the official launch of your mobile app. As with any marketing project, you need to know who your customers are and where to find them. You need to take some action to generate interest in your app. Word of mouth advertising, allowing a sneak peek and exclusive preview, creating a website for the app are all steps that can/should be taken prior to launch.
During pre-release is the time when developers must decide on the keyword will use to associate your mobile application. The keyword must be relevant and unique. This will be the word that app users will use when searching for your product.
Pick a catchy name. It should also be unique but descriptive of the product. This is very crucial when looking for an app store. Make sure you are not violating any copyright laws. Don’t take this step lightly. It can make or break you.
check your competitors. Some developers believe that since the mobile app market is so new, there aren’t many competitors. That is an error. Take a look at all the competitors. Then focus on the ones with the most positive reviews. Those are the ones that will worry you.
choose the right category it’s an important step that many app developers overlook. App sales are primarily driven by ranking on the app store Top Charts. It is important that you choose a category that your application can dominate. You have to decide what is best for your product. Some categories have more search engines, but others may be easier to classify. You will have to do the calculation to decide which one suits you best.
Appearances matter. Design an app icon that conveys the purpose of your app and do it in a stylish and attractive way. You want searchers to click on your app when they see it in the store. It should also stand out when uploaded to a user’s phone, so it doesn’t get lost with all the other apps. Clearly, you want your app to be used regularly. Don’t let him get lost in the woods.
Post Launch – There are two ways to market your app after launch, paid and non-paid. Since not everyone has the resources for paid marketing, let’s look at some non-paid methods.
- Analytics. You need to understand the distribution of your mobile app and that of your competitors. There are several analytical tools available with different functionalities. One worth looking at is App Annie.
- Getting reviews on app sites is a great way to get noticed. Try to get listed on mobile app review sites. Contact these sites for a review. Many apps are downloaded after posting a good review.
- Do some research to find the blogs and authors themselves who write about your direct competitors. Get in touch with the authors and illustrate your app for them. Selling ideas to bloggers is tricky. Put yourself in their shoes, understand their motives, and offer them something that you feel they would want.
- Word of mouth is still the best way to sell a product. This means having a presence on social sites. Facebook and Twitter are trusted platforms to spread the word about your product. Another platform that can be used is Path. Path is a social network dedicated to users of mobile applications. Users have the ability to share images publicly. The image will be posted on the Path website at path.com and can be shared via Twitter or Facebook. Non-user viewers can see the value on path.com and quickly install the app.
- Mobile may be the wave of the future, but the web is still important. Whenever a potential user searches Google for your app, they’ll find both your app’s detail page and your home page. This makes a great web landing page a great device for converting web visitors into users. Remember that your app’s detail page in the app store is very limited. Your website should be the opposite. It should be full of content, entertaining and engaging.
There are paid strategies that we are not going to go into here. Creating a mobile app and selling it requires the same dedication, planning, and perseverance as any other invention. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, your app could be the next big thing to hit an iPhone or Android.