The prospect of creating the next “Angry Birds” is a dream for any app developer to ever type a line of code for an iOS application but even those who are creatively talented often lack the marketing savvy to get their product to the masses. How do you prevent your app from falling into the abyss of the iTunes App Store?
You know you need to create buzz for your app but the question is HOW? Social media is an obvious promotional tool but leveraging it can be inefficient and time consuming…unless done properly.
Related: 6 Deadly Consequences To Delaying Social Media Management
I’ve compiled a quick list of the top 5 ways you can promote your app with a solid social media strategy.
- Create Engaging & Exciting Videos – If you have an app that focuses on productivity then make a fun, exciting video that will show a quirky situation that happens to everyone where your app will come in handy. Making a basic advertisement won’t be worthy of a share so you need to think outside of the box to relate to your audience. Once you’ve created your video, upload it to all social sites (not just YouTube) and keyword it appropriately. Remember, people won’t share your ads but they might share something that makes will make them laugh and help them relate to your product.
- Create & Maintain An Online Persona That’s Consistent With Your Image – Don’t constantly tweet out messages about your promotions…you will be ignored. Become an interesting personality that people start to follow because they find you intriguing, entertaining or just plain funny. If your app features in-game characters, try leveraging their unique personalities within your social posts to create engagement with current users and create interest with those who have no idea what’s going on.
- Take About Trends Related To Your Industry – It’s all about keywords online and if you stay current with your posts, you will bring yourself closer to your audience. This is especially true on Twitter because most people connect with each other based on what they talk about rather than who they are. For example, there are car dealerships who target people talking about specific models or parts using keywords that are fairly exclusive to their industry and join in on the conversation. As an app developer, you can use this same concept to bring yourself closer to your audience on social media as well.
- Watch Your Analytics – Learn as much as you can about your demographic by monitoring your social
following with analytics. Facebook Pages has “Insights” for it’s analytics interface but you will have to use 3rd party software to gather info about Twitter followings. I use Sprout Social and I’m quite happy with it currently. Simple things like knowing if your following is predominantly male or female can save you a lot of time and money. - Create Incentives For Social Sharing – Try to incorporate social friendly features in your app to encourage social sharing. If possible, create in-app incentives that unlock new features when users tell their friends about your app. Experiment with different benefits to see what is most enticing and provokes the highest levels of sharing and tweak your social media strategy accordingly.
Related: 3 Massive Mistakes Sales People Make With Social Media
Have you created an app? What type of promotion have you found to be the most effective or ineffective? Leave a message in the comments below!
I haven’t tried doing anything like that yet, but as in any other things that you do in social media, it’s not really all about the one who created the app. It’s about thinking about your targeted customers first, putting yourself in their shoes, and asking oneself the question: “Now, how would I want to feel when I am playing this game?”
Thanks for the tips Melonie, everything are really worth taking note of.
Cheers!