Welcome to ReferralHero, home of the most precious gems of marketing wisdom around. With cuts and karats to fit any situation, we’re ready to polish up your leads and find the referrals that truly shine.
The problem with finding precious stones isn't that the stones themselves are not top quality, it's that they're surrounded by an impossibly large amount of rock.
With over 1000 new apps being added to the app store every day, anyone looking for your diamond in the rough runs the risk of being crushed.
Unless that is, they have a beacon they can follow.
Even with all my years of experience as a marketer, mobile app marketing can feel like an insurmountable challenge. With so much competition and an ever-changing market, it's hard to find a strategy that suits every situation.
But, believe it or not, there are some tried and tested secrets to successful mobile app marketing. You can use these tips, tricks, and strategies to increase your app visibility and user engagement to get your app the attention it needs and deserves.
The Stages of Mobile App Marketing
When starting on the journey of marketing your mobile app, the first challenge is understanding what needs to happen when.
There are three distinct phases of a mobile app marketing campaign, and understanding each of them will stop you from investing time and resources into things that shouldn’t be focused on yet.
Awareness Stage
Ideally, you’ll start your marketing mission long before the launch of your app. This is also known as the prelaunch stage.
A lot of decisions need to be made about the way your brand will present itself, the types of audiences you’re looking to reach, and what exactly your launch will look like.
Ensure a Smooth Launch Date
In the weeks leading up to your launch, make sure all the crucial pieces in your marketing strategy are in place.
Depending on the size of your launch, you should consider a website to distribute information and provide download links to your app, as well as social media accounts for collecting feedback and allowing customers to join in the conversation.
Work with the development team of your app to ensure you know exactly when you go live, and how people can access your app. The easier it is for people, and the fewer hiccups related to bugs and traffic, the better.
Do Your Market Research
Doing some market research can provide good insights about the industry your app belongs to and what audience you should focus on.
A deep understanding of your target demographic, including understanding their pain points, can be incredibly valuable for getting people to use your app. Consider researching the success stories of similar apps, what their marketing strategies are, and how effectively they’re reaching their chosen audience.
Track trends in the market to understand what will make your app stand out in the minds of consumers, and speak to them in a way that resonates with them.
Connect with Affiliates
Getting key influencers to spread the word about your app can be a great way to reach a large audience quickly.
Connect with YouTubers, bloggers, or local radio personalities to potentially create promotional opportunities with them. Make sure to find influencers that fit your apps’ goals and are passionate about the topic.
Make Your Presence Known
Engage your target audience early by monitoring conversations happening on relevant social media channels and find out what people are talking about. Make sure you’re using content to capture their attention and keep them interested.
Impressive visuals, thought-provoking words, and inspiring stories are all effective ways to capture the attention of potential users. When it comes time to launch, focus on creating a buzz and get ready for the feedback you’ll be receiving.
Acquisition Stage
Once everything is in order for your launch, it’s time to spread the good news! With all the research you did in the previous stage, you should have lots of intel on your target audience and what will bring them in.
While diverse marketing can help bring in a wide variety of people, effective marketing will likely focus on one or two of the following aspects.
App Store Optimization
One of the craziest facts that I learned recently is that roughly 80% of downloads on the app store come from organic searches. That means that for four out of five new users, your app store presence is THE driving factor in their decision to download.
You need to ensure that your profile on the app store is the perfect mix of discoverability and conversion, which requires a mastery of
- Keywords - Understanding the words people search for, so that you can be the first result
- App Store Categories - Knowing the breadth of topics users can search to view your app
- App Title and Iconography - Making your app desirable and eye-catching
- Screenshots and Videos - Bringing your app to life in a way that words cannot, showing people exactly what they're getting
With all of these in place and a little luck, your app will be popping up on all the right screens.
Paid Ads
Adding a financial incentive to spread your app’s reach can do wonders. Right now, the biggest player in this space is Facebook, as it’s known as being the most reliable in terms of tracking and cost.
When investing in mobile ads, you’ll want to determine which types of campaigns will help the most. You’ll also need to consider the budget, platform, metrics, creativity, and targeting.
Aim to choose ads that will convert and bring in new users quickly, but don’t fall into the trap of promising what you can’t provide.
Referrals
A referral program is another way you can dramatically increase the number of users that you have. It works by incentivizing current users to refer new users to your app.
Most commonly, this is done by offering a reward. Whether a discount, virtual currency in your app, or a membership tier upgrade— the incentive is often taken up and can be a powerful tool to entice more people to your product.
Working with software like ReferralHero allows you to reap all those benefits without having to create a system for keeping track of everyone’s referrals.
Retention Stage
You know how challenging it can be to bring in new users to your app - you just went through the whole ordeal. Lead generation can be costly and tiring, which is why retaining customers is so vital.
How you go about keeping leads around depends a lot on the kind of app you’re marketing.
Communication
People want to feel heard and valued. Two-way communication between you and your users is like gold.
Take the user experience seriously and provide ways for people to give feedback. This could be in-app or on social media.
You can also use push notifications to remind people that your app exists after the initial excitement has worn off.
With a growing library of games and tools, I know that lots of apps I'm excited about can quickly disappear into the abyss of my phone. A little popup to remind me what I loved is all it takes to bring me back.
Personalization
If someone looks at your app and sees themselves, they are far more likely to stay invested in it. Give the people what they want—options. Let your users choose options and customize the look of their app.
Consider adding more than just aesthetic options. People love rewards or personalized tasks. When I feel like I am getting exclusive content, it makes the user experience that much more rewarding.
Loyalty Programs
Whether it's earning points for checking into a hotel or receiving swag for saving coins inside an app, loyalty programs are an effective way to keep people coming back.
Rewards could be anything from swag to in-app features, so think outside the box here. Make sure the offers and rewards are actually appealing to your audience.
Again, ReferralHero can help you keep track of the actions your users are using that you want to reward.
Best Practices for Mobile App Marketing
You don’t become an expert mobile marketer without picking up a few insider tips and tricks. Here are some things to keep on your radar to make sure your path through the stages runs smoothly.
Tip One: Data Data Data
You will seldom get your target marketing down 100% the first time. Keep track of the source of most of your downloads so that you can continue to hone in on what works.
Tip Two: Customer Loyalty is Everything
A happy user will keep coming back and is likely to bring in more leads.
On the other hand, an unhappy user will likely leave a subpar review and negatively affect your app’s performance long term.
This is why it’s so vital that you ensure people are getting what they expect from your app, have a way to communicate with your team, and can look forward to rewards for sticking around.
Tip Three: Video Content Reigns Supreme
A ridiculous amount of the content that people consume on mobile devices is video content. Between TikTok, Reels, and streaming services, it’s impossible to deny.
People are far more likely to respond to ads and calls to action that they see on their phones if they match the content they're already seeing. That means you should invest in a few good video ads.
Wrapping Up
Marketing your mobile app may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but armed with the knowledge gained from the stages and best practices outlined here, you have the key to unlock the potential of your app and stand out in the competitive landscape.
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