With over 4 billion people using smartphones today, the shift towards mobile devices is undeniable. As more users migrate to mobile, marketers face the pressing question: “How do we engage with a mobile audience?“

Mobile marketing offers brands a unique opportunity to connect with users in this new “mobile” reality. By using mobile-specific strategies, brands can discover new avenues for engagement and adapt to the evolving landscape of digital interaction

What is App Marketing ? 

App marketing is the umbrella term for a number of tactics used to market mobile applications to a wide audience. The main objectives are to build a solid, lucrative user base, increase engagement, and draw in and keep people. Making an app stand out is essential because millions of apps compete for users’ attention across many platforms.

The process of App Marketing involves several stages: introducing a new app to the market, promoting it to potential users, and enhancing its reputation to drive downloads and user engagement. 

This process includes 4 Phases : 

• Pre-launch Phase
• Launch Phase
• Post-launch Phase
• Maintenance  

Each designed to maximize the app’s visibility and success

Difference between Mobile App Marketing and Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing and mobile app marketing both use mobile devices to reach people, but they have different goals. 

One of the most common mistakes that many marketers commit is to use these terms interchangeably, but there’s a key distinction:

• Mobile marketing is to reach a broad audience on their phones with general messages. This can involve things like SMS and email marketing campaigns accessible on smartphones like a store sending a text message about a sale. 
• Mobile app marketing on the other hand, focuses specifically on promoting a single app to get people to install and use it and ideally keep using it. 

Why is Mobile Marketing Important?

Modern users spend nearly 7 hours a day on the Internet, accounting for more than 40% of their waking life. This number continues to rise annually,2 presenting brands with a significant opportunity to engage with their target audience through digital content.

However, it’s important to recognize that content consumption habits are continually evolving. While computers were the primary devices for internet use just a few years ago, smartphones have now taken the lead. 

What devices users use to access the Internet:

The increase in digital content consumption is an excellent opportunity for brands to engage with their target audience. Ignoring mobile audiences can have severe consequences for brands such as the loss of customers and potential customers. When users find it difficult to interact with a brand on their mobile devices, the likelihood of conversion drops, regardless of how effective the promotional strategy might be. To stay connected with their target audience, brands need to optimize their strategies for mobile users and pay attention to mobile marketing tools.

Benefits of Mobile Marketing

Implementing a robust mobile marketing strategy offers several significant advantages, a competent mobile marketing strategy means : 

• Improved personalization and relevance : Mobile marketing helps brands to reach their target audience anytime, anywhere—whether at work, home, or on the go. By personalizing  campaigns based on users’ preferences, purchase history, and online behavior, brands can engage with their audience at any stage of the customer journey, presenting products and services at the optimal moment
• Cost-Efficiency: Mobile marketing often proves to be more cost-effective compared to traditional advertising methods
• Increased Reach: As the number of smartphone users grows each year, the potential audience for mobile marketing expands, offering brands a larger pool of users to engage with online
• More Opportunities: Mobile marketing provides a variety of tools that brands can combine and experiment with to achieve their goals
• Virality: Mobile content is easily shareable. For instance, if a user appreciates a promotional message on social media, they are likely to share it with their friends, amplifying the reach and impact of the campaign 

What is the process of app marketing?

Launching a successful mobile app is like embarking on an exciting adventure. To get there, we’ll need a strategic roadmap that covers different stages, each crucial for reaching your destination. 

Let’s dive deeper and explore these four strategic key phases:

The 4 phases :

1. Pre-launch

The pre-launch phase is crucial for laying a strong foundation for the app’s success, it’s the preparation phase before the Launch. To ensure a successful launch, this stage requires a great deal of planning, preparation, and research.

 Here’s what to consider during this phase : 

– Market Research and Analysis : Understand your target audience, analyze your competitors, and identify market gaps. This information will help in shaping the app’s unique value proposition and features.

  – Branding and Positioning : Develop your app’s branding elements, such as the name, logo, color scheme, and messaging. Ensure consistency across all marketing materials to create a strong brand identity.

– Create your “User Personas” : Develop your perfect user to represent your ideal customers. These personas should include demographic information, preferences, behaviors, and pain points. Understanding your target users in depth will allow you to customize your app to their needs and desires

– Create a Buzz : Build anticipation through teasers, pre-launch marketing campaigns, and social media engagement. You can leverage email lists, influencers, and bloggers to generate interest.

– Goal Setting and KPIs : Define clear objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your app’s success. These could include user acquisition targets, engagement metrics, and revenue goals.

–  Beta Testing : Conduct two types of beta testing Alpha and Beta with a select group of users to identify bugs, gather feedback, and make necessary improvements.  

Here’s the difference between Alpha and Beta testing : 

Alpha testing consists of a limited rollout of your app to a small group of internal users. Their feedback is used to find and address serious defects and performance problems

Beta testing extends your testing to a larger group of external users. In this phase, you benefit from the opinions of real users, which help you identify potential bugs, usability issues and areas for improvement. Beta testers offer invaluable feedback that shapes the final version of your app before launch.

2. Launch

Following the Pre launch phase arrive the Launch phase. This phase is divided into two parts: the Soft Launch and the Hard Launch. Each serves a different purpose and requires different strategies

2.1 Soft Launch 

A soft launch involves releasing the app to a limited audience in a real world setting before the official worldwide launch. It serves as a testing ground to gather data and make final adjustments before a wider release it’s allows developers to gather feedback from a small, targeted audience and assess factors like user engagement, retention, and monetization strategies

Note that : The Soft Launch differs from Alpha and Beta testing, while Alpha and Beta testing ensure the app’s technical stability and functionality, a Soft launch provides an opportunity to evaluate its performance in a live environment and fine-tune other aspects like user experience, marketing strategies, and scalability

Here’s what to consider during this phase : 

– Regional Testing : Release your app in a specific region or country to test its performance in a real-world setting. This helps in identifying any cultural or regional nuances that need addressing 

– Performance Monitoring : Track your users engagement, retention rates, and other critical metrics. Use this data to identify issues and optimize the app

– Marketing Adjustments : Fine-tune marketing strategies based on the feedback and data collected during the soft launch. This could involve tweaking ad creatives, targeting different audience segments, or refining messaging

2.2 Hard Launch

The official and public release of  an App is called the “Hard Launch.” At this point, a significant marketing campaign is launched in an effort to swiftly draw in a sizable user base

Here’s what to consider during this phase : 

– Press Releases and Media Coverage : Distribute press releases to major tech blogs, websites, and media outlets. Seek reviews and coverage to generate buzz and credibility for your App

– App Store Optimization (ASO) : Optimize your app’s presence on app stores by using relevant keywords, compelling descriptions, and high-quality screenshots and videos. Encourage positive reviews and ratings to improve your App visibility 

– Advertising Campaigns : Launch paid advertising campaigns across various channels, including social media, search engines, and mobile ad networks. Use user acquisition strategies such as Cost Per Install (CPI) campaigns to drive downloads.

3. Post-launch

Post-launch efforts are concentrated on user retention, engagement, and expansion. This phase is essential for converting new downloads into devoted, long-term customers

Here’s what to consider during this phase : 

– User Onboarding : Create a user-friendly onboarding procedure to walk new users through the capabilities and advantages of your App. A seamless onboarding process can improve retention rates dramatically  

– Engagement Strategies : Use push notifications, in-app messages, and email campaigns to keep users engaged. Offer personalized content, updates, and promotions to encourage regular use

– User Feedback and Iteration : Constantly collect user input via reviews, surveys, and in-app analytics. Make iterative changes using this knowledge, and quickly fix any problems that arise

 – Build a Community : Create a community around your program by hosting user gatherings, forums, and social media groups. Maintain constant communication with users to foster a sense of loyalty and belonging

4. Maintenance

Following the Post Launch comes the Maintenance phase which goal is to make sure the app stays functional, competitive, and relevant over time. This involves consistent updates, performance evaluations, and strategic improvements.

 Here’s what to consider during this phase : 

– Regular Updates : Release updates to address bugs, add new features, and enhance functionality. In that way users can tell that the app is being updated frequently and is being actively maintained and not deserted 

– Performance Optimization : Continuously monitor your app’s performance, including load times, crash rates, and user experience. Optimize your app to ensure it runs smoothly across different devices and operating systems

 – User Support : Provide excellent customer support through multiple channels, including in-app chat, email, and social media. Respond to user queries and issues promptly to maintain a positive user experience

 – Data-Driven Decisions : Track user behavior, engagement, and retention with analytics tools. Make data-driven choices to improve customer happiness, create new products, and improve marketing tactics

– Competitive Analysis : Keep an eye on your competitors and follow trends to adapt and innovate your App to stay ahead of the competition and meet evolving user expectations

The Influence of Search Engine Rankings in App Marketing 

Now that we have a better understanding of App Marketing and the App launch process, the focus shifts toward one of the most crucial phase: 

Securing a strong ranking in search engine results to attract more users

Promoting mobile products differs significantly from web promotion due to their distribution through platforms like Google Play and the App Store. This means that you have to adhere to these platforms’ criteria and take into account their features first. Therefore, a mobile marketer’s primary responsibility is to surpass rivals and secure the top spots in shop search results.

Why is Search Important?

Store search is the largest source of free and organic new installs for apps: in fact nearly 60% of all iOS app installs come from search. The figures for Google Play are similar. 

• Free, as there is no fee associated with appearing in search results
• Organic, since consumers are more likely to stay in your app and make a purchase in it

Because in-store search generates the most organic traffic for mobile apps, it is an essential component of app marketing strategy. Obtaining a prominent position in search engine results can greatly influence your application’s exposure, user involvement, and, in the end, its success.

Why Does Your Search Engine Position Matter?

Similar to online search, the top spots receive the majority of user attention. Approximately 75% of downloads are split among the top three apps in search results. Most organic users will leave you if you are not among the top three.

General Principles of App Ranking in Stores

Similar to a search engine filter, app ranking places the most authoritative and relevant apps at the top of the list of results. The closer an app is to a user’s query, the higher it is on the list, and therefore the more likely it is to be installed.

The owners of the two biggest app stores, Apple and Google, don’t reveal the ranking criteria used for titles. This is done to make sure that users’ actions have a greater influence on top ranks and to stop advertisers from falsifying data.

What then is the most effective strategy to appear prominently in app store search results? 

Based on their experience, professionals in the sector have determined that the ranking elements include:

• Relevance of the Title, Description, and Keywords to the Demand: You may greatly increase your app’s exposure in search results by making sure its metadata corresponds with what users are searching for
• Installs Overall: An important consideration in app ranking is the overall number of installs
• Quantity of Installs Resulting from a Specific Demand: Your app’s rating for particular keywords is influenced by the quantity of installs it gets from users who search for those keywords
• Conversion Rate from App Page Browsing to Installation:  The frequency with which visitors install your app after seeing its page
• Reviews and Ratings from Users: Positive ratings and reviews can improve your app’s ranking, while negative feedback can harm it
• Quantity of Launches and Follow-up Visits on Various Days: Regular use and user reengagement are signs of a valuable app, which will raises your app rating 
• Total Amount of Users’ Uninstalls: A high number of uninstalls can hurt the ranking of your app
• The Quantity of Crashes: Applications with a high crash rate are ranked lower
• Frequent Upgrades: Updates on a regular basis demonstrate that the app is being maintained, which might raise its rating
• External Links to the Software: You can greatly influence your app’s rating on Google Play by including external links, online reviews, and mentions

Main Mobile App Marketing Tools in 2024

Let’s move on to one of the important topics: Promotion Strategies 

Keep in mind that using many tools at once yields the best results. For instance, organic traffic can assist you in maintaining a high ranking. To do this, you must consistently work on ASO, keep an eye on the product’s reputation, employ an appropriate traffic-attracting approach to draw in motivated users, or purchase influencer advertising. Depending on the application’s requirements, the resources available, or the company’s marketing policy, the tool configuration may change.

Here’s what to consider  : 

– ASO (App Store Optimization)

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of increasing the visibility of an app in the App Store and Google Play. This process is similar to SEO, but is used specifically for ranking search results in app stores. This is an extremely important step in the user journey, even if your campaign has a lot of clicks in the app store, the product itself needs to be very well represented so that leads can turn into installs. ASO will also help to get users on organic traffic for free.

In many ways, App Store Optimization is similar to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which has been around for a couple of decades. The optimization process involves selecting the right metadata and assets (icon, screenshots) to rise higher in the search for keywords, making the page easier to find, download, and install to bring your app to the top of the App Store rankings

In the description, it’s important to include screenshots and videos of the app in operation. Pay attention to secondary app categories as well: with them, users will have more opportunities to find your app. It’s also recommended to translate the introductory text in the app store into multiple languages, if possible.

– Motivated traffic

Users that receive an incentive or motivation for their actions are referred to as motivated traffic. Motivated traffic is generally utilized in mobile marketing to promote apps in store search engine ranks, boost app ranking, and garner reviews.

The main factor that influences an app’s ranking in the App Store is the number of installs that are made from a search. When a user types in a search query, finds an app and installs it (whether directly from the search engine or by going to the app’s page), the App Store sees this as a positive signal. The store notices the relevance of the key to your app and raises its position.

The app becomes more visible (higher in rankings), which increases organic installs – more people with a specific need (search query) notice it and install it. Since the lion’s share of installs is distributed among the first three apps in the output, it is important to rise to these positions.

In Google Play, the mechanics are similar, but in addition to the number of installations, the store takes into account behavioral factors in rotation – discoveries, time spent, etc.

– Mobile app advertising

One of the primary forces behind app promotion is app advertising. Utilize all of the options at your disposal. Focusing on in-store and third-party app advertising is important, try to choose apps where users from your target audience hang out

It is worth highlighting several types of app advertising that you can use:

Advertising of mobile apps inside the Stores 

An effective tool from Apple for promoting iOS apps inside the App Store is Apple Search Ads (ASA). Apple Search Ads are displayed at the top of the App Store search page when users search for apps using keywords or phrases.

The basic principles of Apple Search Ads include:

Keyword selection: App developers can select keywords that are related to their app. When a user searches for an app using a keyword related to the app, the ad appears at the top of the search engine page

Auction: When a user searches for an app using a keyword, an auction is triggered in Apple Search Ads. In the auction, advertisers compete for search placement based on click-through rates and keyword relevancy.

Relevancy: Apple Search Ads uses a number of algorithms to determine the relevancy of keywords. The more relevant the keywords are to the app and meet Apple’s quality requirements, the more likely the ad is to appear in the search engine.

Creating Ads: Developers create their own ads that appear in the search engine. The ad includes a title, description, app icon, and screenshots.

What about Android App Owners ? 

Android app owners should consider using Google’s advertising tools, which allow simultaneous display on three major platforms: Google Search, YouTube, and the Google Play Store.

Each platform offers different ad formats, such as banners, videos, “carousel” ads, teasers, and others. The appropriate format is chosen by media buyers—specialists in purchasing online app advertising. They rely on experience with different audiences and test hypotheses to determine which combinations of targeting, platforms, formats, and ad messages will attract the most targeted users.

In-app advertising or in-app advertising

To place an advertisement in an app, an Ad Network is used. It is a kind of bridge between two parties: the publisher and the advertiser. In-app advertising makes it possible to find your audience inside the apps they use.

In order for ads to be profitable, they need to be set up correctly. The main characteristics for advertising targeting are the gender, age and location of the user. Additionally, people’s interests and behavior are used. This is convenient for advertisers because you can target specific groups of users who may be interested in a product or service. 

For example, if you are sure that an important segment of your audience is into sports, it makes sense to consider apps of this topic as advertising platforms. In a fitness app, an ad network can show ads for sporting goods of an online store. In most cases, this user data is collected by default by apps, social networks and search engines. But recently, more and more people are keen to keep personal data private.

There are several in-app networks that provide tools for managing and optimizing in-app advertising:

AdMob : One of the largest in-app ad networks, which is owned by Google. It offers ad formats such as banners, interstitials, videos, and award videos.

Unity Ads : An in-app ad network that specializes in video ads. It offers a wide variety of ad formats such as promotional videos, interactive videos, and award videos.

Facebook Audience Network : An in-app advertising network that offers targeting capabilities based on Facebook data. It offers ad formats such as banners, interstitials, and native ads.

IronSource : An in-app advertising platform that allows developers to choose from a wide selection of ad formats such as banners, interstitials, native ads, videos and award videos.

AppLovin : An in-app advertising platform that specializes in native advertising. It offers tools for managing and optimizing in-app advertising, as well as analytics

Promotion of applications in social networks

Targeted advertising (instructions on how to run such advertising)

Social networks are now one of the main sources of traffic for apps. Gigantic coverage and precise targeting parameters allow you to reach any audience you need and get exactly those users who will make the desired action (registration, purchase, etc.).

For worldwide promotion, it is advisable to use Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, Google’s advertising platform with its universal app promotion campaigns

SMM 

Using social media to promote an app is important to increase brand awareness and as a result, increase organic installs. Here are a few reasons why using SMM is important for app promotion. It is also an effective way to communicate with your audience. On your page, you can interact with potential users directly: answer their questions, comments and suggestions, which builds loyalty and strengthens the connection with users.

Promotion of Application Websites

Search engines are still one of the main sources of traffic. It’s often easier to catch your potential audience through Google or Safari. Organic search is still the biggest channel for promotion.

This is where classic SEO comes into play. The paths to the user can be different. In some niches, it’s enough to create a landing page dedicated to your application. Somewhere you will have to work with informational sites that like to make various tops.

Another possibility is App Indexing technology, which helps to link websites to mobile apps. It is available for both Android and iOS. The way App Indexing works is quite simple: if a person searches for something on a smartphone, and the result includes a web page that has an app linked to it, the operating system immediately offers to install and run it. With this technology, you can integrate the necessary content into the application itself. 

PR-Activity

We should not forget that the main source of new visitors can be PR and word of mouth. Integrations from bloggers, QR codes on banners, signs, profile exhibitions, participation in ratings, tops. This is a big layer of work.

What about marketing mobile games?

The market for mobile games is extremely competitive, and getting new players—the majority of whom don’t make any purchases—is a major struggle for game developers. Try implementing these marketing strategies for mobile games into your next or ongoing project.

Don’t market a game as being “for everyone”—in fact, you shouldn’t even be developing with that strategy. The secret to effective promotion is to define the target audience precisely. You must be aware of your user’s gender, age, way of life, playing conditions, and websites visited. Users will stay “inside” your game longer if you can precisely identify your targeted audience. This will also make it easier for you to target your marketing activities.

Examine the competition. It’s not too hard to figure out how to communicate with your resulting audience; just take a peek at the competitors who currently work for them. This will assist you in determining first tactics, comprehending difficulties, creating fresh ideas, and streamlining procedures. When developing early ideas for game marketing, competitive analysis is a very helpful tool. However, don’t let it become dogma; instead, build upon it and use it as a foundation for additional growth.

Create a landing page that sells. Creative, beautiful, engaging and, of course, mobile-friendly. Present your game in the best light, talk about the main elements of the game, show videos, give links to app stores. Lending may not be that important nowadays, but it’s your calling card, in itself capable of attracting you users, so don’t neglect it.

Create the perfect page in the app store. Here ASO is much more important! The higher your game is in search, the more users it will have. The higher it is in the charts, the more users it will have. The more attractive your page is, the better it “converts” visitors into users, into players, the better. App Store Optimization is a complex iterative process, and it differs on iOS and Android. It is not the key to app marketing success, but to underestimate ASO is to lose a lot of users.

Paid Game Promotion

When you have all the marketing components ready (a landing page, pages in stores, social networks, videos, promo materials), you can already start buying users. Furthermore, although we do discuss social media and advertising banners as well, there are other routes for promotion. These include cross-promotion, influencer marketing, content marketing, and reviews of iOS and Android games and applications on well-known websites (reviews are really one of the key ways people find out about new games and apps)

How can one measure progress and create a plan for future app marketing? 

Obtaining as many consumers as possible is the primary objective of the majority of advertising initiatives. Consequently, “How many users did I get?” will be the primary question that you answer in your summary of the outcomes.

Over time, it will turn into another – have you acquired more users now than you did last quarter?

Today, however, User Acquisition which is getting users to use an application – isn’t (or shouldn’t be) limited to measuring a single metric. You need to take many other measures into account, so that you don’t overlook key points in your campaigns

These include, for example:

• Click-through rate (CTR) – click-through rate
• Cost per install (CPI) – cost per install
• Cost per acquisition (CPA) – the cost to acquire a user
• Average revenue per user (ARPU) – average revenue per user
• Retention and Churn – user return and churn rates
• Uninstall – level of application uninstallation and when it happens
• Conversion – the level of conversion, fulfillment of the desired action

But don’t focus solely on the number of installs. An app marketer’s job is to attract users who can be monetized. That’s where Lifetime Value (LTV) comes in. The profit a customer brings you for the duration of your business relationship is known as LTV. This metric serves as the center of all mobile marketing. It is a metric that measures the value a user derives from their app interactions and provides you with a sense of how your app is doing over time.

Final thoughts on App Marketing

Make use of all possibilities available to market your software. There is no magic button or one right way to do this; it is not a simplistic operation. Distribute press releases, bargain with the media for reviews, purchase blogger advertising, and employ SMM. 

Remember to promote your product in-store by trying to get customers interested in it, keep an eye on reviews and app installations. Run advertising efforts inside the community that currently exists. Above all, well, most importantly, make sure your mobile app is really great !