Even though the mobile app industry has been growing since 2008, reaching an impressive edge in 2010, nowadays - that the market is increasingly saturated - app developers cannot afford to take success for granted. If there still is a relevant upward trend due to the high rate of mobile usage time on apps (88%), on the other hand, almost 4.8 million iOS and 2.6 million Android apps are available on the market. In fact, the Apple App Store releases at least 27,000 new iOS apps every month - which turns the competition into a hunger game.
For this reason, reflecting on the best mobile app launch strategy is of core importance. Having an app, or having developed an app, is not enough to be successful and be rewarded for your financial efforts. It is focusing on users that will make all the difference: they must have downloaded and performed on your app for you to hit the mark, which is not that easy considering the high churn rates derived from a negative retention strategy or a poor app experience.
The marketing process is probably one of the most challenging aspects of the app creation process, followed by design and development. All are decisive steps for any app launch strategy and mobile app marketing campaigns. This article aims to insist on fundamental marketing moves for your mobile app launch strategy and user acquisition so that you can get off on the right foot.
App Launch Strategy: Start with Marketing Research
As we have just said, it is not enough to throw your app into the app store; a mobile app launch requires a much more delicate strategy through which you can avoid the risk of being buried amid the other apps. Therefore, you may need to complete some basic operations in mobile app marketing to stand out from the crowd, such as doing market research to understand where mobile apps in your niche tend to fail, studying your target audience, and establishing your value proposition. Let’s get started with some key insights into these concepts.
Target Audience
First, you might need to pose a couple of questions: for whom did you imagine your app? How would your audience benefit from downloading the app?
In other words, the first step in a strategic mobile app launch is to identify your ideal target audience. As in a detective story, you may need to look for the perfect identikit depending on what your app offers. You can identify the profile of your ideal customers by working on market research to define demographics, age, gender, personal taste, and lifestyles. You will figure out that it is a matter of not only who likes what but also of gaining insights into your target audience to understand it at best.
Value Proposition
Once you have identified your target audience, you can define your value proposition. Simply put, the value proposition is the reason why users will choose you over all your competitors.
The value proposition is the core identity of your app: what makes you stand out from the crowd and be unique for your users. In your mobile app launch strategy, marketing activities should resume and compress the main message you want to communicate into a statement and continuously reinforce it.
Be Consistent During Your App Launch Strategy
As we have just mentioned, your marketing strategy for your mobile app launch needs to focus on your app’s brand identity and image and be visually consistent. There are some activities and channels you can work on to communicate your value proposition:
- Create a website or a landing page where you will provide your potential users with a detailed description and a preview of your app, explain your value proposition, and assess it. You may need a press page or a blog to grab the Internet’s attention and keep your visitors updated with the latest news of your mobile app launch.
- Social Media to promote your mobile app launch. Choose a social media platform depending on your target audience, create an account, and share content through social media activity.
- Create Content to inform your users of any feature and function regarding your app, and spread your value proposition through social media activity, blog posts, press releases, and demo/promo videos that capture the essence of your app. Remember, consistency is vital! You must ensure that the logo, the colours, and the messaging style are consistent with your brand image and identity.
- Reach out to influencers that can write or talk about topics related to your app and tell them your story. To have them guarantee media coverage for your mobile app launch strategy, compile the assets into a press kit (logo, videos, icons, etc.).
Then, A/B testing will help you measure the variations in your performance depending on the message strategy and platform.
Paid Strategies for Mobile User Acquisition
Here comes into play what you will need most if you wish to strategically scale up your campaign before, during, and after your mobile app launch week: paid marketing activities and paid ads resonating with your target audience.
Not only will you have to do paid advertising for your mobile app launch strategy, but also for user acquisition strategy. Mobile UA consists of all the marketing activities - paid and organic - that help you increase the number of users and installs, optimize the app listing on the stores (both App Store for iOS and alternatives for Google and Android), and reduce the overall acquisition costs.
In UA and during the mobile app launch, you may need to combine paid ads with organic campaigns using owned media and organic channels, such as the App Store Optimization (ASO). Using relevant keywords and filling out the appropriate categories to promote your app will scale the position of your app in the App Store.
Moreover, your app will necessitate metrics and analytics for long-term success. In fact, by setting up a robust analytics framework, you can constantly measure your app’s performance; identify weak points, drawbacks, and non-productive activities; update and improve your performance.
The initial phase of your mobile app launch strategy should focus on new user acquisition. However, retention matters. To avoid a one-sided campaign for your app promotion, you must look at the other side of the fence where acquisition rates do not suffice without retention.
After the initial user acquisition boom, you may run the risk of churn: ensure them the best possible experience and try to engage with them as much as possible by proposing fresh content, non-intrusive ads, and rewarding prizes.
Key Takeaways
Let’s conclude with three last tips to set your mobile app launch strategy and prepare for your app promotion campaign:
- Create hype around the launch through good communication channels.
- Think of loyalty as a twofold value: it depends both on users who keep engaging with your app and on your ability to keep consistent with your value proposition.
- Before building your audience through marketing activities, social media, word-of-mouth, and a great website, learn how to know and understand your audience first.
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