So you want to increase and retain your app user base, but not sure where to start. Well, you're not alone. A big reason apps fail is because they can't get enough installs.
And to make matters worse, one in two apps are uninstalled within the first month or is never used. But I'm here to help you stop that from happening. Hi, I'm Raphael, and I'm going to show you how to create an unstoppable app marketing strategy that will draw users to your app and the biggie, keep them there.
First, before you create an app marketing strategy, you need to know who your audience is, what other apps you're up against, and the market conditions. Then use that base to create a strategy that addresses your target audiences needs, pain points and interests. Now remember, your strategy is the bigger picture of what you're going to do, and then within that, are the tactics you can use to help achieve your goals.
So let's break that down into three stages that fit with your buyer's journey, awareness, acquisition and retention. Make sure to stay tuned until the end to see how these strategies are going to charge up your app marketing ROI. Now let's dive into stage one, awareness.
Publishing your app on an app store is not enough to drive installs because you're competing with millions of others. You need to let people know your app is out there in the first place. So here are nine powerful tactics you can use to do that.
First of all, create a website or app landing page. Now, having a dedicated space like this helps you get across your app's value to potential users and provides a clear call to action to download your app from the app stores. Then focus on a couple of social media platforms that suit your audience best, whether it's Twitter, Tik Tok, Meta or Instagram, build a relationship with your users and offer them valuable content as well as useful information about your app.
Next up, create your content marketing and search engine optimization strategies. For your content marketing choose topics and formats your target users will engage with. Take Etsy.
They know sellers want to boost sales so they create blogs and bite sized content around things like social media marketing and how to attract new followers. Oh, on the topic of building authority, guest blogging on a publication in your niche is a great way to drive traffic back to your site while increasing brand credibility. Then comes ASO which stands for App Store optimization.
This is how you're going to improve your app's visibility in the App Store. ASO helps you boost installs, so you'll want to research the right keywords to use across all of your content. By the way, there's a lot to know about ASO, so make sure to check out our video on how to create a winning strategy in the description below.
Now, did you know that almost two thirds of consumers trust influencers over brands? Harsh, but true. So what can you do?
Find influencers that your target audience follows. Now they don't have to be the biggest influencer in town, but they need to have an engaged audience in the niche market that fits with your app. And then.
. . the ancient art of PR.
Getting your app in the media can have massive payback, but you want to do it properly. So either put time aside to write solid pitches and press releases or think about getting a professional to do it for you. Pro tip?
Sign up for HARO, which stands for help a reporter out and pitch your app there. And one final tip, apply for awards. Nice.
It's a great way to get your app noticed. And who doesn't want to call their app award winning? Okay, so you've made your app known.
Now it's time to work out a marketing strategy that will get more users downloading it. You can drive installs through organic and paid channels. I'm going to show you five awesome ways that you can do this.
First up, launching paid ads on platforms like Tik Tok, Meta and Google. Use these channels to drive your traffic to your app and keep that target audience front and center when you're thinking about where to spend your budget. On all of these platforms it helps to focus your ad on one simple action you want people to take.
Whether that's boosting likes and shares, downloading content or making purchases. You'll also want to get your app analytics and measurement tools in place. It's super important when it comes to analyzing your results later.
Armed with this insight, you can double down on the channels are working and cut back on the ones that aren't. Next, free stuff. Yay!
Most people expect a trial period. Once they've downloaded your app for free you'll get two things. Installs and insights.
Analyze how your users are engaging with your app and use those insights to help your users quickly understand your app's unique value. Next up, promos and competitions. Now, both of these tactics are engaging ways to entice customers who don't convert straight away to come back to your app.
Use things like discount pricing, limited time offers or giveaway contests. You can partner up with another business to offer competition prizes and use tools to create contest pages and automate the process. Another way to acquire users is referral marketing.
This means offering users rewards by referring their friends to your app. This is also where viral loops come in. You create something your users want to share with their friends, then their friends want to share it with their friends.
. . you get where I'm getting this right?
In a minute, we're going to talk about how to keep all of these new users as well but in the meantime, I have one more tactic for you to use, social proof. Quiz question for you. If you make something bulletproof, what does it mean?
Well, according to the slang dictionary, it's something that's safe from failure, something without errors or shortcomings and beyond criticism. Sounds like what you want for your app, right? It’s people saying good stuff about your app and it matters.
Did you know that eight out of ten users check an app's ratings and reviews before downloading it? They're looking for social proof that your app is worthwhile. So to boost your ratings and reviews, ask users to leave feedback on your app.
You can do this by sending an in-app message or notification or email after they've used your app. Pro tip? Try getting an influencer to endorse your app because this is a kind of social proof too.
Want to know why most apps don't succeed and how to avoid this unfortunate outcome? It's coming right up. Some of the biggest reasons apps fail is down to lack of user engagement.
That can play out as low numbers of active users, low user retention and a high uninstall rate. So let's look at three tactics that will keep users engaged with your app. First, you want to develop a killer onboarding strategy.
Onboarding is a series of steps your user takes when they first open your app. So think about, look and feel and make sure it's user friendly, value packed and intuitive. Let me give you an example.
eBay understands its customers are there to shop, so it gets straight to the point. Users open the app and use the dashboard to search for things quickly and intuitively. They don't even need to create an account until they're ready to buy.
Then you want to think about running re-engagement campaigns, things like timely in-app messages, push notifications, SMS and emails that offer value added content with clear call to actions. This is a little bit like your app putting its hand in the air and waving at the user saying, “Hey, do you remember why you download me in the first place? ” Grubhub, the food delivery app, had 33.
8 million active users last year. The reason behind their success? Part of their app marketing strategy was about running creative re-engagement campaigns, including crunching a significant volume of data around their customers ordering activity so that they could send out more personalized communications.
Finally, you want to make sure you listen to customer feedback and feature requests so you avoid churn. Churn is the percentage of users who uninstall or stop engaging with an app over time and users churn if your app doesn't have the features they want or need, so ask the people what they want. You can get feedback by sending out regular surveys via push notifications or email campaigns and offer rewards for users who fill them out.
But don't send too many too often or you'll end up getting the opposite of what you're after. Last but certainly not least, make sure you've got your analytics and measurement framework set up so you can monitor and optimize your campaigns and improve performance. This is essential.
I cannot stress this one enough people. How else are you going to make sure that amazing new app marketing strategy of yours is doing what it's supposed to? Before you go, do you think you can guess the other big reason apps fail?
Yeah, I know, I’m obsessed. They're not generating any revenue or profit. So in the next video, I'm going to help you uncover the top five app monetization strategies to boost revenue.
In the meantime, stay tuned and subscribe to our channel as we have more videos just like this created to help you get better at marketing results. And if you've got questions about today's video, comment below. Thanks for watching.
And see you next time.
