5 Ways to Promote Your App

Website

You need an online presence for your app. Why? Legitimacy. People want to know your app is the real-deal, and that you’re truly invested in it as a business. For enterprise brands, your app needs to be prominently featured across your site. It shouldn’t be an afterthought or a small logo on the footer. Instead, it should have a presence throughout, wherever it makes sense to. A good example of a brand doing this well?

Social Media

Social media is pretty much a must for android app promotion. There are two ways to connect with your audience via social- paid and organic. Below is a quick breakdown of both:

• ORGANIC - android promotion on social media comes in the simple form of having a presence; e.g. a Facebook page, and Twitter and Instagram profiles. Create accounts and start following people within your target audience and industry. Don't spam people by being overly promotional. Instead, try to connect with your audience in a meaningful way by posting about the things they care about and joining in on the conversation. For example, GrubHub's Instagram account is full of vibrant, mouth-watering culinary photos their foodie audience devours:

PAID

According to a 2016 report by Kenshoo, mobile app ad click-through rates (CTRs) went up 32% YoY, while the inverse happened to CPC (cost per click), which decreased by 33%. Putting a bit of money behind your app promotion will boost your discoverability and get more people flocking to your app. Because of their broad audiences and ability to segment, Facebook and Instagram are very effective advertisement platforms for mobile apps. And since Facebook owns Instagram, they make it incredibly easy to places app install ads on both.

Public Relation

They say there’s no such thing as bad press unless of course your press is non-existent. Media and influencer mentions go a long way in terms of creating buzz and credibility. There are many ways to go about doing this, but below are just a few to consider:

• Press release
• Host a launch party and invite the local media and tech industry
• Interviews with local newspapers and tech bloggers
• Guest blogging

App Store Optimization

App Store optimization, or ASO, is the SEO of the mobile app world. It’s imperative for discoverability in an oversaturated market. So how do you accomplish solid ASO? Pay attention to the following:

• App name - Is it unique?
• Keywords -Include relevant keywords but be careful not to ‘keyword stuff’
• Description - Does your description clearly articulate your app’s value and is it frequently updated with app update descriptions and release notes?
• Screenshots/Video - Do you have 2-3 feature screenshots or a video tutorial outlining core app highlights?
• Ratings - Do you have positive android reviews?