If there’s one phrase that best describes pre-launch mobile app marketing, it’s the “snowball effect.”
Marketing your mobile app prior to its launch is very similar to dropping a small ball of snow on top of the hill to watch it grow bigger as it rolls its way down.
By the time it ends its stopping point, it should be a huge, noticeable, attention-grabbing mass of snow which can crush anything that stands on its way.
Now, imagine your pre-launch mobile app marketing campaign being the small snowball on top of the hill and the release date of your app — the large mass of snow that’s ready for impact. That’s what you should be aiming for.
You need to make sure that your app gains enough traction prior to hitting the market in order to guarantee its success earlier on.
Of course, that’s a lot easier said than done. Hence, below are a few useful tips and tricks you should keep in mind in order to go ahead and simply crush it.
Tip #1 Proper Due-Diligence (DD) on Competition
Did you know that in 2018 developers spent 31% of their mobile app budget on marketing? If you didn’t — you haven’t done your homework properly.
Being perfectly aware of your surroundings is a critical survival skill in every vertical, including marketing your app pre-launch.
You need to make sure that you understand your users, but also your competitors. Gather as much demographic data as you can in order to visualize who is it that you are trying to target.
Moreover, by researching your competition, you’ll be able to know how your users interact with applications like yours and what is their expected behavior. By looking at competitive apps and their strategies, you will be able to pinpoint their weaknesses, strengths, and best position yourself in this otherwise staggeringly competitive field.
Tip #2 Be an Early Bird
Marketing your app is a grind — there’s no other way around it. You need to make sure that you begin it as early as possible, even at the development stage.
Start building awareness slowly and steadily through the right communication channels. Tease and tease by providing ins and outs of your app during its process but just as much as it’s needed to trigger attention.
Create a comprehensive roadmap which starts well before the launch of the app. Make sure that you are always on time, though. Missing deadlines in the pre-launch stage can easily cause your potential clients to lose their trust, so make sure you’re punctual.
There are a few things you can do this early on in the stage. These include:
- Reach out to colleagues, customers, peer groups, family, and friends, and ask for assistance
- Start seeking out your potential users (see Tip #1) and include them in your pre-launch strategy
- Garner as much feedback as you can
Tip #3 Start a Blog
One way to keep your growing user base constantly engaged and updated is through a well-made, powerful blog.
Luckily, creating a blog has become particularly easy and you can leverage Medium in order to spare yourself time and effort.
Each post you make should be descriptive and it should address relevant issues which are important for the current phase of your pre-launch app marketing.
You can also address important issues which the industry you are targeting faces and how your app is going to help tackle them. The opportunities are virtually limitless.
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Tip #4 Social Media Buzz
Social media buzz is absolutely paramount for the successful launch of your application. It’s an incredible vehicle for creating buzz and hype and it’s also very useful for building a strong community around your app.
When choosing a social media platform, however, it’s important to be careful. Make sure that whatever you choose is relevant to your application.
As soon as you’re done with this, create a simple yet effective daily, weekly, and monthly routine of engaging with your audience.
Don’t forget to use both Quora and Reddit as powerful sources for valuable feedback. This is especially important if your app falls within a very active niche.
Tip #5 Media Kit — Be Ready With It
PR is definitely one of the things you’d have to handle early on. One of the best ways to do so without having to spend a ton of attention on it is to create a convincing, interesting, and encompassing media kit.
Think of this as a powerful presentation of your app and the features which make it stand out among your competitors.
Envelop all of this in an easy to understand media kit and have it ready for when the time for prominent PR distribution starts.
As a general rule of thumb, your press kit should include at least the following components:
- Review guide
- Screenshots
- Icons, Banners, Logos
- Explainer and Presentation Videos
Tip #6 Create a Killer Landing Page
It goes without saying that your app needs a landing page. If you truly want to be successful, though, it has to be a very well-made landing page. Additionally, you want to make sure you stay in line with the trends. These tips for designing an effective landing page in 2019 will surely help you out.
In any case, there is a very simple navigational flow that you ought to follow when designing an effective landing page. These are the questions that it needs to give an answer to right off the bat without any doubt:
- What’s offered?
- What company offers it?
- Why is it different?
- What to do next?
By answering all of the above in that way, you will be able to establish a quick and efficient flow of your user’s navigation process.
Tip #7 App Store Optimization (ASO) — It Matters!
App Store Optimization (ASO) is just as important as basic SEO for regular websites. When it comes to ASO, there are a few very important things to consider.
First — the name. Picking a name isn’t as easy as it may sound. Make sure to study the market and select a name which is easy to type, pronounce, and most importantly — to remember. Titles longer than 25 symbols get cut off, so it’s important to keep it short. Ideally, you want the name to express the essence of your app.
Second — description. Creating a compelling and well-optimized description is key to conquering the heights of different app selling stores. You need to make sure it includes the important keywords for your niche but make them as natural as possible.
Third — visuals. Your icon is your first impression so make sure you have a killing logo. It’s the first thing which the users will communicate with, so make sure you don’t blow it.
Wrapping it Up
These are seven landmark pillars of pre-launch mobile app marketing that you just have to keep in mind and implement if you want to have a successful app launch.
Furthermore, you’d also have to be very careful with your budgeting. There are essential considerations for managing mobile app development costs and as we mentioned above, mobile app marketing is one of the things to consider. Hence, your pre-launch marketing strategy needs to be factored in carefully.
These are just a few things to consider. Yet, integrating them within your existing infrastructure will surely help your initiative.