Succeed in the App Stores
John Dinsmore, a mobile app market researcher, explains that many developers believe only in app quality. This means that if the app brings value and works well, it will naturally attain healthy growth and move to the top. However, just 10% of the most successful applications are installed by the vast majority of users.
There are three primary ways to reveal an app:
1) Top charts: these are dominated by the most successful apps with the largest paid media campaigns.
2) Selected (curated) content (e.g. what is within the current trends).
3) Search within the app store by category, keywords.
App stores are known as the main app distribution channel. Therefore, let's discover Google play and the App Store to better understand how to market applications.
ASO is a general way to ensure your app is discovered by target users. This is a diligent task with keywords, descriptions, and titles to overtake your competitors. It could take years of continuous optimization, including regular app updates to get to the top 10 in your category.
It is worth mentioning that app ranking is based on install velocity in the App Store; meaning the more installs are made in a short amount of time, the higher the app is placed. This indication is hard to achieve without the help of PR or Advertising agencies, but it is still possible. On the other hand, being in the top does not always guarantee real success.
Promoting an App Successfully
Real app success can be evaluated by the efforts made and whether or not mobile app campaigns are successful. It necessary to define how to market an app before launch and what channels to use for successful app delivery to the target user.
1) Social media promotion (e.g. Camera+)
One of the easiest things to do in the pre-launch period is to utilize all social channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. As well, you can start blogging or creating podcasts related to the product. The founders of Camera+ chose to build up some buzz on most social networks. They positioned the app to have a sharing feature considered the best among all similar apps. As well, they included a contest with a prize - a camera worth $10k. This resulted in a mailing list of 70,000 subscribers.
2) Get press attention (e.g. Evernote)
Getting press attention also results in the word being spread around. For instance, when TechCrunch wrote about Evernote, it resulted in a couple thousand sign-ups for its beta-product. Therefore, reaching out to different news portals can be a great means of support in promoting an app. As a piece of advice, you should prepare your PR kit to consist of at least some of the following:
- App summary guide
- App screenshots
- Design Materials (icons, logo, banners)
- Video (walkthroughs, intro video)
- Founder(s) biography & picture
Another possibility is to be featured on successful mobile app review sites. Beforehand, you need to send out a pitch to convince a platform to place your great app idea on the website.
3) Reach out to influencers (e.g. Instagram)
Addressing top bloggers and online personas would be a great way to generate interest among potential users. Developing authentic and mutually beneficial relationships with influencers will go a long way toward promoting your app successfully. You may also try Crunchbase, BuzzSumo, and LinkedIn to find these influencers.
You can get full information on the ways how to market an app here