In today’s mobile app market, competition is fierce, with millions of apps available to download worldwide.

Simply having a high-quality and well-designed app is not enough if potential users are unaware of its existence. To achieve success, it’s crucial to employ effective mobile app marketing strategies.

This article will explore the best techniques for mobile app marketing and give guidance on how to implement them.

By following these strategies, you can increase your app’s visibility to your target audience and keep them coming back for more.

Table of Contents

1. Know Your Audience
2. Know Your Competitors
3. Market Your Mobile App at Every Phase
4. App Store Optimization
5. Create a Landing Page
6. Use Social Media
7. Analyze the Results

Chapter #1: Know Your Audience

All of your app marketing efforts start with having a deep understanding of who your target audience is.

Without knowing who exactly your app is intended for, you’re just taking shots in the dark, which is a sure way to waste time and money.

Before establishing any mobile app marketing objectives, you’ll first want to conduct research on your audience.

1.1 Demographic

Think about who your app will bring value to most and hone in on that group of people. This goes far beyond a broad category like “men” or “women” or even “men and women over 50 years old”.

Get specific.

Some data you should know about your target audience include things like:

• Their age
• What their lifestyle is like
• Their income level
• Their education level
• Whether they use iPhone or Android
• What their spending habits are like
• Where they live
• Their marital status
• What their values are

In short, you want to know your demographic because your mobile app will never be for everybody.

1.2 User Personas

Once you know who your target audience is, you can then create user personas.

These are essentially individual profiles of your target audience that can help you humanize your users and put yourself in their shoes.

Not only does this help when it comes to designing and developing your mobile app, but it also will help you craft effective marketing strategies by targeting real people based on these personas.

Chapter #2: Know Your Competitors

Just like target audience research, competitor research is another crucial component in not only creating an app but also marketing it.

If you’re at the point where you’re ready to create a mobile app marketing strategy, chances are, you’ve already conducted some research when setting out to develop your app.

Even so, it’s something you’ll want to revisit nonetheless.

Your goals when researching your competitors are likely going to be different than when you first started out. You probably wanted to understand what popular features they were offering and what pain points users encountered when using their apps.

Now, you want to research those same competitors again but your objective is to focus on how they market their mobile app.

What strategies have they used and how successful were they?

Are they doing anything innovative in marketing their app or have they been successful with the tried and true methods?

Staying on top of your competition is key and will help prevent you from wasting money on unsuccessful marketing strategies.

Chapter #3: Market Your Mobile App at Every Phase

The biggest mistake you can make as an entrepreneur or app developer is waiting until you’ve published your mobile app to market it.

You should have an app marketing plan in place right from the beginning. In fact, there are three primary marketing phases: the pre-app launch phase, the acquisition phase, and the retention phase.

We’ll dive in deeper on some of the mobile app marketing techniques mentioned here in the following chapters, but here is a quick overview of the marketing phases you should prepare for.

3.1 Pre-launch Phase

This phase of mobile app marketing is exactly what it sounds like.

It’s about marketing an app before it hits app stores. It’s about generating awareness and creating a buzz while your app is still in development.

You can do this by creating a landing page that highlights your app features, promoting your app on social media, creating content like blogs about your app, and so on.

PRO TIP:
This phase will help you engage with potential users. It builds trust and brand awareness before your app is on the market.

3.2 Acquisition Phase

Once your app has been published on your app store page, your marketing efforts should adjust to focus on bringing in new users to download your app.

Some marketing strategies include paid influencer marketing, app store optimization, and paid user acquisition campaigns.

All of these techniques will help you acquire new users.

3.3 Retention Phase

Once you get users to download your app, the work isn’t over. You still have to keep those users, which brings us to the final phase of marketing: the retention phase.

Now is the time to expand your marketing efforts to convert new users to lifelong users.

This involves communication, such as in-app messaging and push notifications, reading user feedback, offering referral bonuses, and more.

Chapter #4: App Store Optimization

App store optimization, or ASO, will play a huge role in getting your app noticed. 

You have to remember that the majority of people find mobile apps by searching in app stores like Google Play or Apple’s App Store, so it’s crucial that your app listing makes it easy for users to find.

Effective ASO will improve your app’s visibility in app stores by ranking the app higher, and it includes various factors in your app listing, like keywords, images, app icon, and more.

Let’s take a look at the biggest factors that contribute to ASO.

4.1 App Name and Title

The name you give your app plays a big role in app store rankings. Both app name and app listing title should include keywords relevant to your app.

The keywords need to convey the value of your app.

For example, if you look at the language learning app Babbel in the Apple App Store, you’ll see powerful keywords all over their app listing.

Their app title is “Language Learning with Babbel”. Keywords: language, learning, language learning.

The subtitle is “Learn Spanish, French, German”. 

As you can see, the app is smartly using keywords related to what the app offers which will help users find their app when using these kinds of keywords in their search.

4.2 Target Keywords

App stores also allow you to put specific keywords in the keyword field for your app listing, so choose them wisely.

Again, these keywords should be heavily related to what your app offers and the value it brings.

PRO TIP:
Remember that the keywords you include in your app name and title have a greater impact than those you place in the keyword field.

4.3 Reviews

The reviews and ratings left by your app’s users will also contribute greatly to your overall ASO.

Make sure your app is thoroughly tested and reviewed before publishing it. Creating a good user experience will lead to positive reviews.

It’s also a good idea to prompt your users to leave a review in the app store. You can schedule your app to do this at any point.

For example, you can ask users to leave a review after they make a purchase or after spending a certain amount of time in your app.

4.4 Screenshots and Preview Video

All assets in your app store, including screenshots, preview video, and even your app icon need to be optimized to increase the chances of people downloading your app.

This means creating visually appealing assets that attract users. They should all work to creatively convey the value of your app.

4.5 App Downloads

As you can guess, the more people who download your app, the better for your ASO. This is because having a high number of app downloads demonstrates to app stores that there’s demand and value in your app, and so they’ll rank it higher in app store search results.

Chapter #5: Create a Landing Page

Creating a landing page can be a valuable pre-launch app marketing strategy.

A landing page is an opportunity to generate buzz and interest in the app before it is officially launched. It can also serve as a central hub for providing important info about the app, like its features, benefits, and release date.

You can capture potential users’ attention and encourage them to sign up for email updates, which can help you build a list of interested users to reach out to when the app is released.

Additionally, a landing page can be optimized for search engines, making it easier for people to find information about the app when they search for related terms.

PRO TIP:
Your landing page should be eye-grabbing and work to demonstrate the main features of your app. But be careful not to clutter the page with too much information. 

Chapter #6: Use Social Media

If you’re wondering how to do mobile app marketing, know that social media is key.

No matter what kind of app you’re offering, it’s important to have a social media presence. This is a cost-effective way to build trust for your brand.

It’s also a way to showcase your app’s features, which could lead to conversions. And just like a landing page, you can use social media to market your mobile app well before it launches.

6.1 Market on Facebook

One of the best mobile app advertising strategies is to use social media platforms, like Facebook, to market your app.

Compared to other platforms, Facebook has the highest number of active users. 

Running marketing campaigns on Facebook is also a strong option because it’s much more flexible in terms of what you can post than on other platforms.

Your app advertisement on Facebook can be targeted, meaning only people of a certain age, gender, or other demographic will see it.

It also makes sense to have a Facebook page for your app, or at least a CTA to your landing page or app store listing.

6.2 Influencers

Influencers are major players in social media marketing. This is someone with a big following on their platform who you could pay to promote your product or service. 

Take time to consider which platform your audience uses most, whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on, and collaborate with a leader in your niche.

You can also find influencers on other platforms, like blogs, podcasts, or YouTube.

PRO TIP:
You don’t need to hire a celebrity influencer for your marketing campaign to be successful. Sometimes it’s better to find someone in a more narrow niche who could still have a big impact on their followers.

Chapter #7: Analyze the Results

When testing various marketing strategies and campaigns, it’s crucial to monitor and analyze the results.

Keep track of metrics like key performance indicators, or KPI, to see how users are engaging with both your mobile app and your marketing efforts.

You’ll be able to quickly find which campaigns have been successful and which haven’t, and pivot as needed.

Final Thoughts

Using innovative mobile app marketing techniques can mean success or failure for your app, so don’t neglect it!

Establish your mobile app marketing objectives right from the beginning to ensure the biggest impact to your users.

Conducting market research is the foundation for future marketing campaigns. A part of our Simple Starter package focuses on doing just that—researching your users and providing the materials you need to attract those users moving forward.

What has been the most impactful marketing technique for your business?