App Promotion Strategies That Don’t Work: Top Mistakes to Avoid

Over the past few years mobile applications have become a powerful tool in promoting your business. However, there is no point in your app if no one uses it. The right app promotion strategy is essential. If your app is not as popular as you’d like it to be, don’t rush into unfair conclusions and futile disappointment. We have analyzed the main app marketing mistakes. Look them through, perhaps you’ll find a fix for your strategy!

1. Letting your app go unnoticed

You have already developed an app for your business and launched it on the market. All the difficulties are handled and you can now sit back and relax, but wait, not so fast. The biggest mistake in a new app launch is a poorly developed marketing strategy.

Have you thought the app advertising through or have you selected the keywords? Among other things, you should also pay attention to every tiny detail, such as a catchy title or a gorgeous icon.
Try to take a new look at your promotion strategy. Check for every aspect mentioned in this article. Have you already considered all of these? Do not let your app go unnoticed!

2. Focusing on a single marketing channel for app promotion

Use all the means available to grasp the widest possible audience:

Social networks are the blood of contemporary marketing channels. Use them and you’ll get to the hearts of your users.You can use paid advertising or free methods such as setting up a fan page. The social network that you should focus on the most depends on your target audience, but it’s better to cover all your bases. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and LinkedIn – make sure that you establish a strong presence on each of these sites.
You’ve got a website? Perfect, use it. Or create a landing page for your app. Though your app has an app store page, a custom landing page is still a nice pitch for bloggers and users to make them aware of your great features and news.
Newsletters are a good idea too, if you have a regular subscribing audience. You can inform customers about your updates, promos, or new apps.
Pitch to bloggers. High-quality blogs have their audiences as well.
Press releases seem to have lost some ground in terms of their efficiency, but they still exist.
Podcasts. People often prefer listening to audio content over reading it, that is why many companies create podcasts to promote their products and services and create a relationship with their audience.
Cross-promote your own apps.
The success of your previous app can give a boost to your new app’s downloads.
YouTube –
Create manuals, video commercials and teasers. A picture is worth a thousand words, and if it’s a cute viral video it could generate millions of views and shares.Youtube provides all the necessary instructions on how to get started. Even if you don’t have promo videos, it won’t be a problem. Youtube offers a free application, YouTube Director, which enables users to create an advertising video in about 20 minutes. Other options are to hire a freelance filmmaker or go to a marketing agency. The last one is the most expensive way. However, you can get not only a high-quality promotional clip but also the consulting service.
Alternative app stores – If there is any chance to place your app where people might come across it – just do it.
Itch.io, Opera Mobile Store, Amazon Appstore, AppBrain, Slide me, Appslib, Samsung Galaxy Apps, Mobogenie, Getjar – this list goes on and on. You don’t have to limit yourself to one or two stores.

3. Neglecting ASO

Have you ever heard of ASO? Well, now you have. Meet the magic of App Store Optimization. This is a wonderful mix of careful research and pure guesswork aimed at improving your app’s visibility. ASO achievements can help your app move up faster in top charts and search results, thus boosting your downloads rate.

The main ASO factors are:

Title and Description (App Meta Data). A catchy title will stand out from similar apps in your category. A good description, full and detailed, shows users that they will find all the necessary features. Include suitable keywords to improve ease of searching.
Keywords. Properly choose the most relevant keywords for your title and description.
Ratings and reviews. The value of your app can be proven to prospective users through successful experiences of previous users.
Total number of downloads. This factor is influenced by all the aforesaid. Additional components are Design and Price. Make your design attractive and your icon bright and simple. Be creative and original and your efforts will be rewarded. Don’t forget to compare your price with competitors in order to prevent over-charging for your app.

4. Monetization: do it right

Making money is important, but a few tricks can help you gain a lot more in the long run. Our advice is not to focus too closely on the cost per install. By our observations, most of the revenues are brought by loyal and regular visitors, not the first downloads.

Try drop-to-free promotional sites (like Free App A Day or AppGratis), they can make expensive apps more accessible to users, which helps expand the consumers’ network. Another way is to simply make your app free, or at least heavily discounted. Low prices do attract.

5. Not considering user’s experience

Marketing research is essential. We already wrote a detailed post about the App Analytics Tools that you need and their comparison. (You can also find the links to these tools in the article).

Consumers can inspire, teach, and push your app forward or drag it down. It all depends on you. If you are promoting a B2C app, work on the development of your user chain. Nevertheless, keep in mind the retention rate. It is a bit shocking, to be honest. According to statistics, 90% of your new users are gone within 6 months. The conclusion is that you have to find the means to hold on to them.

If you propose a B2B app, then narrow down your target audience and concentrate on making loyal friends. Give them a sense of exclusivity. A little sneak peek at the pre-launch stage can perform true miracles!

Keep track of the feedback. Ask your users to rate the app after 5th use or 10 minutes, if it is a game. Create a channel for two-way communication. Show your interest and gratitude and they will respond. Of course, you can use paid review sites, which can give feedback on certain apps for money. Be careful though, their influence is often not as outstretching as they claim it to be.

And, last but not least

Low-quality apps won’t get far even with brilliant marketing

Just imagine: the app is worthless, the quality is low and the UI is confusing. At the same time the app is heavily advertised. Will it work when users get to download the app and try it out? No, let us be honest and admit that consumers will feel let down.

Be realistic, make your app perfect, get rid of all the bugs, eliminate all the hitches, do everything you can to present a high-quality product. Otherwise, you simply risk wasting money on pointless marketing. It especially it concerns early-stage apps spending fortunes on outbound marketing, such as banner ads.

The advice from our experience is: take care of your users and you will be rewarded greatly. Half of the battle in marketing activity is to deliver the best possible product that you can.

To have your app developed in a well-designed, user-friendly way, choose the development company wisely.

Have you found the reason your app doesn’t get enough downloads? If not, Eastern Peak Software will gladly help. We have all the means to make your product outstanding.

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