After creating an amazing mobile app, the next thing that comes to an app developer’s mind is promoting it. App promotion is something that plays a very crucial role in the journey to the success of an application for both mobiles as well as Web-based apps.
But mobile app developers often tend to undermine the potential of these social media marketing strategies. What they don’t realize is that effective social media marketing is primarily to find, retain and then grow the user base for your app. There are thousands of apps in the market that are offering similar services like your app, some more some less, so how can you sell your services in a better manner?
Every single day a number of new mobile applications are launched on major app stores like Google Play Store and Apple App Store resulting in hundreds of apps to be released on a weekly basis. According to a recent report by Statista, it is estimated that by the end of the year 2021 the total number of mobile app downloads will cross the threshold of 350 billion which is unbelievably a huge number.
Well, the secret to staying ahead of your competitors lies in social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that your users are browsing 24/7. And by using social media tools, you can identify your target app audience, increase your brand awareness, generate more app downloads and increase user engagement.
So, are you ready to take your app’s social media marketing plan to new heights?
Here are some of the best social media marketing tactics that can help you in boosting your online presence while promoting your Web and mobile apps:
1. Create Pre-launch Buzz
Contrary to what many mobile app developers and app owners believe, an effective social media marketing plan should precede the launch of your app. By creating some pre-launch buzz and awareness about the app will only add value to your app by offering a solution to users’ queries, you can create a strong pool of potential downloads.
2. Native Video Advertising
The native video advertising is one of those trends that initially started as viral content on the Internet but now have turned into essential content on almost every social media platform. A native video can be represented as a form of video content that is created especially for social media platforms. These videos are then played in the feed on different social media platforms as opposed to the other video links that are being hosted on other websites.
Every social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have a different native format that is limited to that particular social media platform only. These formats are designed on the basis of gaining maximum user engagement on the videos which can be analyzed in the form three components which are:
- Video Content Discovery
- Total Content Distribution
- Number of Views
3. Engaging With App Development Groups
The next social media strategy you can try out is joining the entrepreneurs and mobile app developers groups in social media. This is a great tactic that can be used to build more professional connections to help you increase your profile’s visibility. Look for app development and business-related groups on social media platforms like Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Connect with some of the best app developer profiles and ask for their feedback on your mobile or web application, you can even distribute some customized promotional codes to trying purposes. Take a step forward and discuss the app’s features and upcoming app version updates. Also, make sure you value the collected feedback and utilize it to improve your mobile app.
4. Different Platforms Require Different Plans
Every platform caters to a specific need, for instance, Linkedin adopts a more formal theme for professionals whereas, the content on Instagram is all about visual appeal and aesthetics. So, don’t be afraid to loop into the user’s curiosity by posting updates of your mobile app development projects and other application-related updates. Looking at the present state, we can stay that Twitter and Instagram are the best social media for app promotion.
5. Be Creative With Social Media Pages
There are hundreds and thousands of social media pages, forums and discussion groups out there which can lead to a huge amount of engagement towards your mobile/web app. But instead of going for all general social media pages, be specific and choose the category that represents your app most accurately.
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you are being creative with your application because the users won’t click on it if it is not enticing them. Here are some tips on creating an attractive icon for your app while achieving that level of creativity:
- Create a unique shape that stands out
- Select a limited pallet of colors like 2 colors are enough for contrast
- Don’t use an image as the app icon
- Avoid using a lot of text to increase readability
- Test your app icon with different wallpapers
6. Influencer/Creator Marketing
Users love it when companies and brands interact with them so go ahead and ask for their opinion in polls. Collaborate with social media influencers and creators to promote the app on their respective platforms. This way they can even use the call-to-action to invite people to sign up and get notified with details regarding the app launch. Doing this will also bring you a future e-mail marketing list and provide empowerment to your social media marketing plan on different social media platforms.
7. Showcase Your Achievements
One of the things that a majority of people are neglectful towards is sharing the achievements of their mobile app or organization’s brand on the social media pages. As a mobile app development company, you can assign a special compact team to work towards building your brand’s social media profile stronger.
The collective minds of these creative people will surely bring something new on the table in comparison to a single individual. More content can be posted on a number of different social platforms in a shorter amount of time. It doesn’t matter if your accomplishments are big or even small, just make sure you showcase their elements in social media.
8. Include App Downloading Links
As an app developer and app owner, you are performing all these social media marketing strategies to promote your mobile application that means its an app promotion tactic. So, why not include app download links on the places that receive maximum user engagement such as companies websites and official social media accounts.
We are well aware of the fact that social media websites like Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr provide a ton of organic traffic for several sites. That’s why to get hold of that level of user engagement, make sure you add your mobile app downloading links from where the users can directly install your app.
9. Content Is King
As an app owner, you will not be able to answer the question, ‘How to market a mobile app on social media’ if you don’t deliver meaningful content. Your mobile application can never explore its true potential, if it is not promoted adequately and not enough buzz has been created around it. To make the best of each social media platform, developers must devote strong attention to planning and executing their content marketing strategies. Make sure you find a clear value proposition in your content curation and add it to your social media marketing ideas.
10. Video Advertising
While blogs do contribute to app marketing to a certain extent, there’s nothing more attention-grabbing than a catchy video that has the potential of going viral. A video trailer is a great way to introduce your app to the world by app promotion on social media platforms and shouldn’t be omitted from your social media marketing ideas.
Keep it quirky, informative ( genre, offered value proposition, etc.) and include a call to action either in the video or in the surrounding descriptions. Besides videos, make sure to share screenshots and other visually relative content across your social media channels.
As per one of MobileAppDaily’s recent articles, social media streaming is an efficient way to gain high engagement from the app users. The above image shows the example of YouTube’s Live feature which has been gaining a lot of attention in the past few weeks. In case you want to read more about live social media streaming, then have a look at our article ‘Getting Started With Social Media Streaming – What You Need To Know’.
11. Know the Importance of #
Hashtags are simple, easy to implement and always fun to use. Apart from these facts about hashtags, they are also a key component of the internet that is widely used on almost each and every social media channel. Yes, these hashtags are everywhere in your social media feed it doesn’t matter if you are on Twitter or Instagram.
The hashtags i.e #hashtags are a quick and efficient way to make your content more visible to the relevant audience so they can reach out accordingly. For example, if your content or mobile app is related to the lifestyle category then simply opt for #lifestyle and share your content with your social accounts.
12. App Store Optimization (ASO)
Optimization of app store plays a very crucial role when it comes to promoting an app specifically when it’s your very first app. As an app owner and app programmer/developer, you should be familiar with the basics of ASO i.e. App Store Optimization and SEO i.e. Search Engine Optimization.
This is because these basics will surely come in handy when you are launching your mobile app in major app stores like Google Play Store and Apple App Store. ASO is similar to search engine optimization as here also the user has to focus on things like keyword density, search relevance and the keyword relevance of the app.
13. Demo Video Promotion
First, create a demo video for your app, this video doesn’t have to be a 10-minute long video. Focus on creating a short and sweet video that provides a quick overall review of how the mobile app actually works. The length of this mobile app demo video should range somewhere between 45 seconds to a minute and a half.
This demo video can be further used as a promotional video for the app on the company’s social media platforms as well. In addition to that, you also have the liberty to add this demo video on the mobile app download page on the app stores for both Android and iOS.
14. Using a Personal Social Network
This is the part where you can come forward and involve your personal social media network as part of your social media strategy for the purpose of promoting your application. This is a well-known mobile app promotion trick that is advised by many app developers as well as marketers to implement in the initial weeks when the app becomes live in the app stores.
The above image shows a number of different ways that can be used by people from your social network to spread the word about your mobile app with their social networks.
15. Announce on Technical Blogs
If you look closely, you will notice that today every mobile application development company has their own blog. This blog acts as a platform for the app development companies to share their case studies and other experiences of building certain mobile apps or digital solutions.
Similarly, now the app developers are also creating their own blogs to make the user aware of their mobile application’s features and usage in users’ day-to-day lifestyle. As the pre-launch app strategy start leaving sneak peeks and teasers on your technical blogs and once the app is live, make the huge announcement of the official app release.
16. Role of Facebook Groups
As we have already discussed the importance of app development groups in the above-mentioned point, now it’s time to throw some light on the app communities on some of the major platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. On these social media sites, you can find thousands of potential users for your mobile app.
By joining these communities and being a part of these Facebook groups, your single post can reach hundreds of people in just a couple of minutes. Some of these groups are also willing to recommend your app to its members in the form of paid marketing which we will be discussing in the below points.
17. Posting On Pinterest
Pinterest is an amazing social networking site that has recently released a new feature that allows people to download the iOS application directly from Pinterest known as App Pin. The users can also make full use of the ‘Pin It’ button and create a collection of pictures that you suit with your app agenda and then share. Here, you have your own board to search for content and then place it on their board.
18. Run a Poll on Your Social Profile
As an app developer, the thing you need the most is a high rate of engagement from the user on your mobile application. A nowadays, a trending way of doing the same is polling! Yes, it’s true that by running polls on your social media profiles you will gain high user engagement.
This is the reason why every social media platform including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook consists of separate polling options. And the best part is that users love to vote for things that they prefer. So, ensure that you are proving the polling option to an audience that is relevant to your app’s concept.
19. Responding to Feedback
If a product or service is launched there’s obviously going to be some reviews about it on the Internet. There are mainly two types of reviews, one being positive and the other being negative. Both of these types of reviews are self-explanatory in nature and these reviews should be taken into consideration by the app developer. The positive feedback will enlighten you about the best things about your app while the negative feedback will make you aware of your app’s shortcomings.
20. Paid Advertising
Today’s generation of digital natives is extremely impatient, and if your content doesn’t offer any new insight into their day, they will disregard it instantly. They also tend to mimic celebrity lifestyles and are more likely to download an app that’s recommended by famous people. Paid app promotion on social media thus goes a long way if your target audience is Millennials. According to mobile marketers at Apps World London, 50% of respondents said they plan to spend over 25% of their digital media budget on social advertising on mobile phones.
So these were some of the tricks and tips on social media marketing that can come in handy in your mobile app promotion. Social media is a vast space that cannot be bounded by some pre-defined notions. If you want to fully utilize the power of social media then you should be able to stay up-to-date with the upcoming trending and updates on each social media platform as well.
Final Thoughts
Like I mentioned earlier, today’s generation of digital natives is an impatient breed also known as the X Generation. They are surrounded by a world that offers instant gratification. If your app is not easy to download, they won’t sweat too hard to download it. Make sure your free app promotion tactic follows a one-click download as a mobile app strategy. The same rules of app marketing can be applied to the content you create. Make it available and shareable while they’re accessing that content. If followed properly, these social media marketing tips will augment your downloads immensely.
We hope that this article will provide you with some valuable information regarding social media marketing strategies and how one can use them to promote their mobile apps. And if you want to stay updated with the latest trends on social media platforms like IGTV, Facebook, Quora, and Twitter, then click on that ‘Subscribe’ button now.
He is responsible for marketing programs, brand management, and corporate sponsorships. He thrives on challenges, particularly those that expand the company’s reach. Next to work, Shadow, his dog, immensely contributes to his happiness.
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