Bad news: the global app market is getting more crowded as you’re reading this blogpost. Last month, about 81 thousand apps were released through the Google Play Store and 26 thousand apps through the Apple App Store. And the more players, the tougher the competition. So to win the battle for users and get to the top of the rankings, your app will need more than just rich functionality and an attractive interface. Today, the key to success is a well-thought-out app launch strategy. And lucky for you at Softarex, we know how to develop a strong one. Read on to learn the 6 steps of effective app marketing from our experts.
Write a Positioning Statement
The first step of any go-to-market strategy is to write a compelling positioning statement — a brief description of your product with an explanation of how it fulfills a market need. It will help you create a clear image of your app, and communicate it to your target audience, so they will understand how they can benefit from it.
First, you need to define three major aspects:
- Who is your end-user?
- What value will your app bring to them?
- Why is your app better suited than competitors to provide that value?
Use answers to these questions as the key points of your statement. To get started, you can write a one-sentence description of your product using this formula: [Your app’s name] is the [market category] that provides [the value that makes your app stand out from the competition] for [target audience] who [need or want a solution].
Emphasize the advantages of your app, tell about its key features. Once you’ve written a short version, you can expand it by adding details and powerful words. But keep it simple and short. A good positioning statement shouldn’t be longer than 5 sentences.
Invest maximum time and creativity to craft something truly informative and engaging. Your app’s positioning statement will shape your entire marketing strategy and product awareness in the future.
Create Marketing Copy
Now, it’s time to create content for your app launch campaign. Such content may include website copy, social media posts, email marketing copy, blog articles, and case studies. This is a powerful tool that will help you let people know about your product and persuade them to download it.
When writing always keep your target audience in mind. For example, if your product is intended for the younger generation, feel free to use slang and colloquial language, if you’re aiming for a community of professionals, like lawyers or doctors, you may want to throw in a few terms and jargon words, but not too many. The more natural and expert-like your texts read the more effect they will have on the audience. If you’re new to this and not sure where to start or need inspiration, feel free to check out our blog and portfolio.
Make a Promo Video
The practice of creating promo videos has been around for years, but today it’s more effective and in demand than ever. According to recent statistics, 73% of users would prefer to learn about a product or service from a short video. And 77% say they’ve downloaded an app after watching a video that demonstrates how it works. What’s that if not a compelling reason to create a promo for your app?
When making your own video focus on the value of your product. Explain what your app does, and how it can be useful in real-life situations. Keep it short and to the point and don’t go into too much detail. Show your potential customers you understand their pains and needs by telling a story they can relate to. For example, like we did in our promo video for the FINMATEX platform.
Launch a Landing Page or Website
Wouldn’t it be great to test your app idea on the market before the launch? It sure would. Luckily, there’s an easy way to do it. All you need is to set up a landing page or a dedicated website for your app. Complete it with your app’s name, description, and main features, post screenshots, video captures, and promo to show your product in the best light. And don’t forget to add a submission form for visitors to sign up for email notifications about your app’s progress. That way, you will have a base of potential users built long before your product is live. You can communicate with your clients, encourage them to download the app once it hits the market, collect valuable feedback, and find volunteers for beta testing.
But remember: you will have only 54 seconds to catch users’ attention before they leave your website. So make sure the idea of your app is clearly formulated, the page is easy to navigate, and not overloaded with content.
Build Awareness with Social Media
To set your app up for a successful launch, hype it up on social media even while it’s still in development. The more people it attracts now, the more downloads it will get once available.
There’s a golden rule: reach your customers where they already are. So take your time to study what channels are most popular with your target audience to use them in your marketing campaign. Check out these 2022 reports by Sprout Social and HubSpot. They provide the most recent and full data on user demographics from major social media platforms.
Once you’ve selected the channels, register accounts and start posting content about your app. Also, use the power of social media to increase traffic and generate new leads by adding a link to your app’s landing page or website.
Use App Store Optimization (ASO)
App Store Optimization is a must-have part of any successful app marketing strategy. If you’re familiar with SEO it means you already have a general idea of how ASO works. It uses keywords and quality images to improve the visibility of an app in an app store. Exactly what SEO does for website ranking. If applied correctly, ASO can not only help users find your app more easily but also make sure they download it.
The earlier before the launch you start working on the optimization of your app the better. A well-thought-out ASO strategy will give you a competitive edge over thousands of similar products and help you climb to the top of the charts much quicker, especially when combined with all the above-mentioned marketing activities.
It’s also important to use keywords wisely. Be careful not to overdo it: keywords stuffing can cause your app to get penalized by a store and lead to a drop in ranking. Moreover, such a copy usually sounds unnatural and spammy to your users. Also, no matter how many people will read your app description (according to unofficial statistics only 2% read the entire thing), it still should be well-written and make sense for the reader. Reputation is made up of small things.
Wrapping Things Up
These simple steps will help you get your app for a flying start. After completing them, you may also want to collaborate with bloggers and influencers, reach out to other developers to create mutually beneficial co-marketing partnerships, set up paid advertising, or even host a launch party. But no matter how effective, and well-orchestrated your efforts are, your app should be worth all the buzz.
And at Softarex, we know how to create successful products. With over 20 years of experience and in-depth expertise in AI, computer vision, machine learning, and neural networks, our team has developed dozens of web and mobile apps for Healthcare, Restaurant business, Aviation, Manufacturing & Energy, and Banking. So if you consider building a custom solution and are looking for a reliable partner, we’ll be happy to cooperate. Contact us to discuss your project needs.
