A Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Your Mobile App

Over 197 million apps were downloaded in 2017 alone, and if you have created a new app, chances are you want in on the action. You know your app is great, but the question is how do you get the rest of the world to know? This is where the marketing your mobile apps come in.

Like all new products, apps require a certain amount of marketing to reach the public eye. With millions of apps being released each year, it’s easy to become a small fish lost in a big pond. The good news is, there are various methods uniquely designed that will help get your app in front of the public.

In addition to using the right techniques, it takes perseverance and a realistic budget to give your app the notoriety it truly deserves.

Know what’s great about your app but not sure how to get the word out? Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Marketing your mobile app is different than marketing traditional products. You already know that you’re targeting technology users, so it only makes sense that the majority of your marketing efforts is technology based.

Here we will break down our seven most effective techniques to get your app out into the public eye. Feel free to try a couple of these techniques that fit your needs, or go ahead and try them all. The more force you put behind marketing your mobile app, the better the results will be.

Also, feel free to get creative. If you come up with a unique way to build on one of these concepts, make it your own! It’s the uniqueness of your brand and app that will help it stand out among a sea of competing apps.

Before you jump down our throats, hear us out! We understand your app was based upon a great concept, but if you aren’t familiar with the code it takes to truly create an app it will likely fall flat. Not to mention the constant developments needed to stay ahead of the app industry by offering interesting and unique features.

The app industry is an incredibly competitive market, and it doesn’t take long for another rendition of your app to be launched with a little something extra. So ask yourself, does something similar to my app already exist? If so, in what ways can I make it even better than what’s out there? Then, get to work.

If you’re still not sure, have it reviewed before launching. We don’t mean that you have it reviewed by your mom or your significant other. Host your own focus group or hire an agency to test out the popularity of the app for you and make changes accordingly.

You are selling a mobile product so it goes without saying that your marketing campaigns should be designed for mobile viewing. Methods like Pay Per Click Mobile advertising can really make a difference. Google has been a powerful force in the app market and can easily link your apps ads to similar searches.

Google ads also translate over to mobile websites, increasing your exposure and driving more traffic to your app’s download pages.

Another major advantage of using mobile advertising is geolocating. Through geolocation your mobile ads can appear only in a selected region of your choice, narrowing down your audience. This can be a huge help if your app is based locally.

Some mobile ads even utilize geotagging, allowing an ad to pop up on a phone when a person passes by a certain location. Knowing how to use mobile-specific tools to your advantage can be a major game changer.

What are most people doing on their phones? In fact, Facebook came in as the most popular app for both IOS and Android, taking up 81% of the users. So it would only make sense to go where the people are and tap into social media advertising.

Advertising with Facebook and Instagram creates a major advantage of being able to pinpoint your target audience. Ad categories allow you to pick age, income, location, and gender to help ensure that your money is spent in putting your ad in front of the right people.

This is perfect if you are marketing an app the goes to a specific gender (like a pregnancy tracker) or industry (like a work calendar for restaurant employees). The more detailed you are about your niche, the better you can market it to a specific group of people.

Major brands don’t rely on themselves to do their own marketing, and it’s no different when it comes to powerhouse mobile apps. The fact is that the majority of your energy should be spent on thinking about how to make your app bigger and better, which means that the task of marketing should be left to experts in that area.

Find a favourite app of yours and see what you think about their marketing campaign. There’s a strong chance that there is a mobile marketing agency somewhere behind their success.

You can choose to go with an agency that includes mobile app marketing as one of their services or you can look for an agency that specialises specifically in the area. Another option is to go to an agency that specialises in marketing your apps genre (like food, travel, etc)

One of the best ways to reach a crowd? Find someone that already has a massive following of their own. Obviously, this individual would have to be somehow related to the subject of your app.

For example, if you’ve created a new recipe app, contacting a food blogger with a strong following is a great way to reach an audience that’s already interested in the same subject your app is based on. So why would a blogger let you advertise your app on the site they worked so hard to build? Two words: Guest Blogging.

Guest blogging is a great way for bloggers to provide their audience with new and refreshing content. If the blogger is particularly busy with a book tour or commitment, they will likely be even more open to guest blogging as it allows them to focus on what they’re doing without alienating their readers.

Bloggers will be even happier to let you guest post if you can offer a little something for their audience (like a free download code for the app).

Think QR codes are a thing of the past? Guess again. QR code is a frequently utilised tool for mobile app marketing. The use of a QR code creates a fun and engaging element in marketing. It allows you to place your advertising in convenient locations (Like a menu or magazine ad) that will draw in users.

If you don’t know what a QR code is, it’s those little black and white pixelated boxes you may have seen on print ads or around the web. When a QR code is scanned with a QR reader, the user will automatically be directed to a correlating URL. In this case, the QR code will take you directly to the app’s download screen.

QR codes are small and discreet enough to be used in a number of ways. Also, once you have a QR code for your app’s download link, you can easily place it on all of your publicity materials.

When it comes to marketing your app, the most important thing to remember is: to sell an app you have to think like an app user. Try and meet your audience halfway by placing your ads where they will be seen the most.

While it may require a slight investment, the most important part of marketing your app is carving out your niche and going to the sources they use the most. This means partnering with blogs, podcasts, and websites that are in a similar genre.

Also, take time to craft out an ideal user avatar. Get detailed in who you’re targeting. How old are they? What do they do for a living? What do they do for fun? By answering these questions you’ll find it much easier to think up of unique and powerful ways to market your mobile app.

Having a strong app will be the determining factor in just how successful your mobile app is. Remember, a strong mobile app marketing campaign may lead users to your download page, but it’s the app that will make them want to download. Both the App Store and the Google Play Store allow reviews on app pages, so you want to make a strong impression so others can recommend the app.

Not sure if your app has what it takes? That’s where we come in. At EB Pearls we create beautifully designed apps that make peoples lives better! Have a great concept? That’s awesome! Let us use our unique mobile solutions to take your idea to the next level.

Remember, new apps come out every day, you want to create something that will be difficult to compete against.