6 App Marketing Strategies Proven For User Acquisition

So you’ve developed the next world-changing app? Right on.

Now all that’s left is to get it into the hands of the people. But with over 5 million different apps between the App Store and Google Play, that’s no small task.

So what can you do to stand out from the crowd and start driving downloads? We’ve put together a list of 20 app marketing tactics to try, so continue reading or jump to our infographic below.

Why App Marketing is Important

Deciding how to market an app can be a daunting process. There are so many apps with different marketing strategies, all experiencing varying levels of success.

Competition is fierce, as you probably already know, and over 68% of mobile app companies have a long-term, fully documented app marketing strategy.01

Building your app isn’t the only challenging part of getting it to the top of the store charts. With the right promotional strategy, however, you could be there sooner than you think.

1. Build an App Landing Page

A Colombia Phone Numbers List strong landing page for your app is important, since your website is often the first impression of your business for many users. It can act as a “showroom” for your app, so make sure it’s clean, attractive, user-friendly, and works well across all browsers.

Robinhood is a good example of what a landing page for a mobile app should look like: uncluttered, a strong headline, body copy that clearly states what the application does, and an obvious call-to-action. The page’s images, graphics, and text encourage users to explore the app’s features, then download and ultimately use the app.

Landing pages are powerful promotional tools that often act as the starting point for a user’s journey.

app marketing strategies to build an app landing page with robinhood example

2. Get Your App Reviewed and Rated

Before most people make a new purchase, they’ll research to see what others think before making a decision. Apps are no different: reviews and ratings can help potential persuade new users to hit the download button.

Encourage current users to review your app by building in features that make it easy for them to write a review for you, such as a rating prompt. You can also reach out to an informed, professional reviewer from an app-reviewing website for an even more credible (and visible) opinion.

Negative reviews aren’t all bad either, as long as you don’t take the criticism personally. Reading and responding to reviews can be a good source of new ideas, highlight areas for improvement, and show potential new users that you’re engaged and listening.

3. Utilize the Viral Loop

Viral loops are great tools to increase the number of users for your mobile app. Create something worth sharing — such as high scores or shared experiences — and make it easy for users to spread the word about how great your app is.

Viral loops help spread the word about your app because they invert the traditional marketing funnel, enabling your users to market your app for you. Viral loops can be created through good app design: include incentives, invitation-only features, shared experiences, and other referrals to set your loop into motion.

Companies like Dropbox, which gave away 16GB of storage space when users invited friends, and CandyCrush, which allowed users to share their scores, have used viral loops to grow their brands exponentially.

use referral campaigns to utilize the viral loop example from Dropbox

4. Optimize for App Stores

Just like you have to optimize your website to rank in a search engine results page, your app’s listing has to be optimized to appear at the top of a search result in the app store. The higher you rank, the more exposure you’ll have to potential new users.

App store optimization is essential to getting your app to stand out among the more than two million apps on the Apple App Store.

5. Captivate Your Audience With Video

Video is already the most popular form of content and is estimated to account for at least 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020. Create videos that you (and your users) can share on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and Facebook.

Venmo has a great video strategy: their content is short, descriptive, and makes sense even when muted.

Videos can range from app tutorials to content that helps users get to know your brand — what you stand for and what problems you solve. Keep the videos concise, no longer than 60 seconds, and make sure the call to action can be understood without audio.

mobile app marketing strategies with example video from venmo on instagram without audio

6. Create a Press Kit

Put together a strong press kit for your app so you’re prepared whenever a journalist or a blogger wants to showcase your work.

Control the imagery of your app that is being published by taking your own branded screenshots, logos, app icons, social links, company profile, and press releases.