10 Unique, Best App Marketing Tactics – Tried, Tested, & Proven

10 Must-Have Mobile App Marketing Strategies In 2021

1. Adopt A More Consumer-Centric App Marketing Mindset
2. Market Your Mobile App First, Sell Second
3. Know Your Competition
4. Reach Out To The Press
5. Leverage App Market Intel For App Store Optimization
6. Don’t Stop At The First App Promo Video
7. Promote The User Experience Above Everything Else
8. Ask Users To Market On Your Behalf
9. Supplement Organic Strategies with Paid Marketing
10. Measure The Campaign Results And Adjust Accordingly

Mobile app marketing is more expensive than ever. And that’s not all. In recent years, user acquisition has become complicated –  and engagement is difficult to achieve. Retention is getting undeniably more challenging.

As such, mobile app developers and owners are spending tens of thousands of dollars in various app mobile app promotions – some of which end up working, while others fail miserably.

Now that’s not a position you’d want to find yourself in. With the global mobile app market revenue now on the verge of hitting 693 billion, it goes without saying that the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before.

That means you cannot afford to experiment with mobile app marketing anymore. Your best bet right now, particularly if you’re looking to promote a new mobile app, is to proceed with proven app marketing strategies.

Luckily for you, you’ve come to just the right place for that. PreApps is an extensively-experienced app marketing agency that has worked with over 3,250 mobile apps over the years. As such, we’ve had the chance to try out a wide range of mobile app marketing strategies, and we know what works and what doesn’t.

Over the years, we’ve observed that most app marketers are unable to boost their app store rankings because they fail to target the right types of mobile users. They also face challenges differentiating between mobile users and app downloads – among other common marketing strategy issues.

So, how should you market your new mobile app in 2021?

Marketing mobile apps today require a holistic multichannel approach (social media, App Store optimization, content marketing, paid digital marketing, push notifications, etc) combined with keen analysis.

That said, we’ve reviewed numerous app promotion tactics with proven results, and we want to share them with you.

So, without further ado, here are the top 10 app marketing tactics that trigger stellar results in 2021

10 Must-Have Mobile App Marketing Strategies In 2021

1. Adopt A More Consumer-Centric App Marketing Mindset

Even the most elegant, responsive mobile app will struggle to attract users if your marketing fails to reach the right prospects and potential users.

The fundamental requirement in all the best app marketing strategies is to define a target app market that craves the product or solution you’re offering. This means researching and understanding even the smallest details about your target audience.

In recent years, I’ve simplified this app marketing research process into three principal guidelines. You can determine who needs your app the most based on:

• Who Has Already Purchased Similar Mobile Apps
  Typically, individuals who’ve acquired and paid for mobile apps that are similar to yours can be considered to be promising prospects. They’ve demonstrated they are willing to pay for a mobile app that can solve that specific problem – and your app might happen to provide an even better solution.
• Frequency of Similar Buys
  The more times an individual has paid for a similar mobile app from the App Store, the deeper their hunger is for your solution. So, you might want to reach out to App Store buyers who seem to have tried several different mobile apps but are yet to find the perfect setup.
• A Consumer’s Current State of Mind
  Timing is key. As such, you need to appeal to your potential users while they’re in the midst of researching and buying. The sooner you reach out to them after they purchase a similar mobile app from the App Store, the better. That gives you the chance to promote your mobile app to them while they’re still hot in the buying phase.

2. Market Your Mobile App First, Sell Second

Prelaunch app marketing is like building a snowman. You don’t start with the whole snowman and then head straight to the finishing touches – instead, you start by gaining momentum as you roll that snowy base.

Similarly – when you begin app marketing ahead of your app’s launch, the results might be hardly noticeable at first. Then as you progressively supplement your app promotion efforts, the app’s marketing framework will begin building momentum through your website, landing pages, app review platforms, social media, and likes.

Ultimately, by the time Apple publishes your mobile app on the App Store, your snowman already has a solid base – which should lead to more app marketing success in your future.

Overall, you can think of prelaunch mobile app marketing as a reliable strategy for jumping the line. If you’re not aware by now, the App Store usually publishes about 1,500 new mobile apps every day. So, of course, you need all the help you can get to start off strong ahead of the actual app launch.

And in case you’re wondering how you can possibly market a mobile app before its launch, the good news is, it’s not rocket science. Some of the best prelaunch app marketing channels include; mobile app review platforms, press releases, website landing pages, social media, email marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing.

For more information, check out our Complete Mobile App Prelaunch Marketing Guide. It explains each app marketing strategy in detail.

3. Know Your Competition

Your target audience is not seeking outdated, tired solutions. There are more than half a billion individuals who access the App Store in a week, and they are always searching for the latest greatest mobile apps that offer innovative solutions.

Chances are, all the problems you’re trying to solve with your mobile app idea already have numerous app solutions out there. The App Store itself is extensively diverse, with over two million different apps that cover pretty much anything and everything.

However, that shouldn’t stop you. Instead of shying away from competition, you should consider altering your perspective and facing your competitors head-on.

Start by learning as much as you can about your competition. How are they marketing their mobile apps? What do their app solutions look like? How are yours different? How can you possibly outsmart them?

The best way to outsmart all of the other mobile app developers and marketers in your industry is to leverage your research against them. Pay keen attention to your competitors’ selling points, and then use that as a launching pad for your (improved) mobile app marketing plan.

4. Reach Out To The Press

If you’ve read our comprehensive app press release guide, then you know how effective these press releases can be for mobile app promotion. The large target audience base in established media brands is one you cannot afford to leave out of your mobile app marketing framework.

Getting your app press release published isn’t always that simple, unfortunately. In today’s fast-paced information environment, most journalists report receiving between 11 and 100 different pitches daily. So, of course, you can bet they don’t have the time to post every article they receive.

Now that means one thing. That you ought to find a better way of landing into their direct line of sight, and getting your mobile app noticed.

You could start by linking up with a mobile app marketing service that has solid press connections. It’ll grant you the much needed boost into a more public vantage point. Then, with time, your mobile app will be able to attract attention from all corners.

5. Leverage App Market Intel For App Store Optimization

For years now, we’ve repeatedly covered various techniques in our detailed guides about increasing App Store rankings. And to reiterate it all, App Store Optimization, in a nutshell, is all about tweaking your mobile app’s keywords, description, icon, title, screenshots, and app demo videos.

The whole point is to get the App Store search algorithm to rank your app favorably – and consequently, boost its organic app downloads.

But, make no mistake about it. Even with our good app marketing and App Store Optimization strategies, don’t expect to climb the App Store charts overnight. Getting to the top takes time, and lots of continuous analysis and refinement.

Now, that’s where high-level app market intel comes in. You need to keep tabs on your competitors’ developments and user search trends to know exactly how you should adjust your app keywords and media.

Ultimately, our mobile app marketing tactics will help you boost your app’s visibility, but only if you tweak and adapt as necessary.

6. Don’t Stop At The First App Promo Video

When it comes to product discovery, videos have been proven to be the most effective engagement medium. Roughly 68 percent of consumers admit they prefer learning about new products through videos, rather than presentations, blogs, and other forms of media.

Creating a solid app demo video is a good start.

Most new mobile apps have some sort of introductory video or commercial on their Apple listing. However, since that’s only reserved for App Store users who make it to your page, you’ll need other videos to reach a much bigger target audience.

And what better way to do so than setting up a viral mobile app marketing video?

Well, if you haven’t noticed already, it just so happens that most of the top mobile apps in Apple’s store have advertorial videos that are widely shared across social media, their websites, plus other web platforms.

Now that’s the type of video you should develop for your mobile app. Then when you’re finally done, you can proceed to distribute your video accordingly using various levels of social media influencers.

I’d particularly advise you to prioritize video-focuses social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, and Twitter.

Even if you don’t go viral – which is, understandably, difficult to do – you’ll still stand a fair chance of optimizing your user engagement and spreading the word more effectively.

It’s worth noting, though. A high-quality app promotion video is not easy to produce. This is an area where you really need to turn to the experts. And I’m not talking about basic video editors. Rather, you should consult specialized app marketers who know the tricks to putting together an app promotion video that has the potential of going viral.

7. Promote The User Experience Above Everything Else

Let’s face it. Any website, program, software, interface, etc. is only as good as its overall user experience. If you’re trying to figure out how to promote your mobile app, the UX is where you need to focus the bulk of your efforts.

Your mobile app marketing should fundamentally focus on the product’s usability. How will it fit into your target users’ lives?

Describe the ways it will optimize their schedule, health, happiness, or productivity. Then using that as a guideline, come up with app marketing strategies that demonstrate the overall user experience.

In other words, don’t just tell people about the experience your mobile app gives –  find creative ways to show them.

Screenshots, interactive videos, and customer testimonies, for instance, will drive far more app downloads than simply stating your mobile app’s features in the App Store description.

8. Ask Users To Market On Your Behalf

As your mobile app gains users, it’ll gradually give you the opportunity to expand your target audience reach, and tap into more advertising potential.

The secret here is converting the users you’ve already won into your own mobile app promoters. Yes, that’s right – each of those users can serve as a marketer for your app – if you play your cards right.

But, how exactly do you get customers to market your mobile app?

There are many ways to do this. While simply having an amazing user experience will always be the foundation for attracting more users, you could increase your odds further by offering some form of marketing incentive.

For instance, here’s something we’ve all seen in apps before -“Refer five friends and unlock this upgrade.” Such an app marketing strategy could set the ball rolling and really get you those referred downloads.

But then again, how exactly do you put this in motion?

Well, you might consider designing your mobile app’s interface with an integrated viral loop system. A viral loop is essentially a framework that directs new users through the mobile app and, ultimately, encourages them to invite other users. Such a system is an excellent way to keep referrals coming in.

You could also provide referral codes, incentives to leave app reviews, as well as opportunities for sharing achievements or elements on social media. The more users manage to engage with these marketing tactics, the better chances you have to turn them into advocates.

9. Supplement Organic Strategies with Paid Marketing

Organic app marketing helps maintain a steady flow of downloads once you gain traction. However, it’s not the kind of app marketing strategy you could entirely rely on – especially in the initial stages of growing your mobile app.

You should, instead, combine organic app marketing with paid mobile app marketing tactics. The best thing about paid app marketing is, it’s incredibly simple and straightforward.

In essence, you’ll be paying Google and social media platforms to do the hunting for you. They’ll then reach out to your target audiences with paid ads that, when pieced together with a strong organic marketing strategy, will give you the extra boost you need to see impressive results.

Need to learn more about supplementing your current mobile app marketing strategies with paid app marketing?

Here’s a detailed guide to help you merge both paid and organic marketing strategies.

10. Measure The Campaign Results And Adjust Accordingly

Who is downloading your mobile app?

Why have they picked yours over competitor apps?

How long are users engaging with your mobile app?

How many users are uninstalling your mobile app?

These are some of the queries that play an essential role in monitoring app marketing success. They help you analyze the results and then improve your app marketing campaign based on where your weaknesses – and strengths – lie.

But, where do you get such metrics?

Well, thankfully, at least the App Store does provide some figures for analysis But, they are pretty basic – and oftentimes quite insufficient.

So, we strongly recommend setting up your own comprehensive analytics system. Find yourself an app marketing analytics engine that’s capable of not only measuring and tracking all the critical campaign parameters but also generating valuable insights.

In particular, the two primary sets of figures that you should focus on are :

• Mobile app marketing analytics.
• In-app analytics.

While the former measures your distinct marketing channels, the latter provides insights about user interaction within the app itself.

You can learn about all the corresponding variables you should be tracking by reading our detailed app marketing analytics guide.

Key Takeaways

• The global mobile app revenue is now on the verge of hitting 693 billion.
• Marketing mobile apps today require a holistic multichannel approach (social media, App Store optimization, content marketing, paid digital marketing, push notifications, etc) combined with keen analysis.
• You can determine who needs your app the most based on buyer personas, purchase frequency, and timeliness parameters.
• Pre-Launch mobile app marketing is a reliable marketing strategy for jumping the line.
• App Store Optimization gets the App Store search algorithm to rank your app favorably – and consequently, boost its organic app downloads.
• The best way to outsmart a competitor is to first analyze them, then leverage your findings to come up with a better solution.
• The large target audience base in established media brands is one you cannot afford to leave out of your mobile app marketing framework.
• Keep tabs on your competitors’ developments and user search trends to know exactly how you should adjust your ASO keywords and media.
• Video promotion is a key app marketing strategy for reaching app buyers on a bigger scale.
• Users care about experiences – not just the interface of the app itself.
• 68 percent of consumers admit they prefer learning about new products through videos, rather than presentations, blogs, and other forms of media.
• Turn your current customers into marketers on your behalf through referral programs and encouraging user testimonies.
• The most effective app marketing frameworks incorporate both organic and paid promotion methods.
• While the mobile app marketing analytics measure your distinct marketing channels, the in-app analytics provide insights about user interaction within the app itself.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has given you some direction when it comes to marketing your newest app. All of these tactics we’ve featured here have been tried, tested, and proven effective.

Want to dive deeper to explore the best possible strategies for marketing your mobile app? Feel free to get in touch.

We’ll help you set up an ideal mobile app marketing plan with strategies that actually work. 2021 Tactics that are worth every penny.

If you want some more insight on how to develop the best possible marketing strategy for your mobile app, feel free to get in touch with us.