Increase Mobile App Downloads With Effective Social Media Strategy

Last year, Readwrite reported that Apple is adding around 20,000 new mobile applications every month to its App Store. Google Play is equally crowded when it comes to everyday app additions. In such a scenario, just developing an app with great features and user friendly mobile interface is not enough.

Though majority of mobile apps are still discovered through app store searches, you need to think beyond it to create a buzz around your amazing application and increase mobile app downloads.

Why does a Mobile App Need Social Media Marketing?

Mobile app developers often think that just getting the app accepted in Google Play and App Store is end of the work. In reality, the real work of attracting initial downloads starts after that. The need of social media marketing of your mobile app is a great one to;

• Speed up the downloads to get featured on Google Play and App Store
• Start promoting the app even before its launch
• Start word-of-mouth
• Keep existing users informed and engaged
• To keep the buzz alive

Increase your mobile app downloads with a strong social media strategy. Even a great app cannot sell itself.
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Mobile app developers spend huge amounts of money to get initial users through paid ads and other online promotional activities. This increases the cost per acquisition, and drains away the financial resources. But even after spending so much money, there is no assurance that your app will not be uninstalled after a week or two.

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As soon as the buzz around your mobile application will die, new downloads will diminish and your app will be buried under new app additions. A well-thought social marketing strategy is the answer to your mobile app worries.

7 Step Social media marketing strategies to promote your mobile app

Mobile app social media strategy will help you build on the initial ‘paid’ hype, attract new downloads, pitch in-app purchases, premium version trials, and also make sure that people use your applications after installation.

Below listed are some social media marketing strategies that will help you increase mobile app downloads and make your app a commercial success;

1. Incentive based marketing

Keep your app users hooked by offering incentives and special trials. Such reward based activities can be undertaken when you are looking for new users or want present users to try the premium version. When established brands come out with an app for their business, they should focus on their existing customer base and give them incentives to install the new app and try it.

When ING Vysya launched their mobile app, they started a Facebook ‘selfie’ contests which involved installing and using their app. The contest was well promoted through their Facebook page. New mobile application owners can also try something similar.

Social media marketing is simple but a time consuming task. You need to stay connected and keep engaging your fans
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2. Keep the conversation going

With new apps coming everyday and most investing heavily on promotion, the need to maintain your current user base becomes the first priority. Use social media to remind application users that you are up and improving. Sygic navigation app is doing a great job on Facebook.

If you get featured some place great because of a distinguished feature of your app, let your fans know. You can also seek reviews and suggestions to keep your audience involved. You can then work on those suggestions and come up with regular updates. Share user generated content instead of promotional. Try to clarify doubts and issues.

3. Benefit from holiday hype

Become part of the festive spirit by running campaigns around upcoming events and special occasions. Connect your updates to the latest events, holidays and engage exiting app users. Brands have become very creative in using the hype around upcoming holidays to their benefit.

Headspace is meditation app that gave a 25% discount on the occasion of Mother’s Day. By doing this, it motivated its existing users to GIFT their paid application to a new customer of their target age group.

Such offers will help generate revenue without making you seem desperate. So, when you think of incentives, think about monetization as well. Such activities can also be put to use when traffic is low or user base is depleting. Mobile application owners can link the contest and event giveaways by:

• Gifting a limited period subscription of app’s premium version
• Promoting in app purchases

4. Optimize your social profile for search engines too

If not many, create at least one social media profile that you use to keep in touch with your users. Share all details about your app and be as descriptive as possible. Use the keywords that people use to search for apps like yours in the app store. Thus when people search for apps in your category on Google, your social media profile with all the relevant keywords will rank well and get you free visibility. Social media websites have high authority on search engines and thus a social profile can easily rank well. Often share the link of your mobile app, dedicated mobile app landing page or website to increase app downloads.

5. Get the Pinterest power

No social media platform can compete with Pinterest when it comes to image sharing. Creating informative boards and sharing resources will help you in creating a loyal following that will repin and share. So, you can totally make Pinterest part of your mobile app social media strategy.

However, just creating a profile and posting promotional app related pins wouldn’t work. You need to identify what your user base is curious about and create dedicated boards around how your app can benefit, helpful tips, quotes and interesting graphics. Having multiple boards and adding detailed image titles and board descriptions helps you get SEO benefits too as these image results get ranked well on search engines.

Photo editing, photography, food, cooking and fashion industry related app have been using Pinterest and Instagram to promote their mobile app from quite some. Others launching their apps related to healthcare, wellness and ecommerce have started exploring this platform to their benefit too. For instance, Happier is a wellness company that offer interactive mobile courses on gratitude. Its Pinterest boards are insightful, interesting, search engine optimized and revolve around the core benefit of their app.

Also Read: How to use free and paid mediums for online promotions?

You don’t just need a social media marketer but also an SEO expert to get the best results for your mobile app
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6. Making the most of Twitter

Writing a whole piece about mobile app social media strategy without covering Twitter would be unfair. The way you promote you app through Facebook can also work on twitter. All you need to do is;

• Tweet often. Fit in your message in 140 characters and interesting images.
• Don’t sound promotional. Be informative, entertaining and motivational like @EatThisNotThat mobile app.
• Follow the people who are your target. If you share good stuff, they will follow back.
• Use promoted tweets for instant visibility if you have the budget for it.
• Share tweets on trending topics related to your app to get noticed and always use hashtags.
• Run twitter contests to engage existing followers and get new users. Create branded hashtags. Link your contest giveaways to your app.

7. Support social cause

Running promotional campaigns, events, and giving freebies will keep the conversation going but to increase brand recall and spread a positive word of mouth, you need to think beyond personal goals.  Supporting a social cause will make people want to download your app and put you under the spotlight because of your CSR activities. Rebtel is a brand that makes international calls cheaper with its unique technology. Through its mobile app Sendly, the technology company partnered with UNICEF to help families and children affected by the typhoon in Philippines. People preferred using their app because they felt that their money was getting donated for good cause through Sendly.

A unique mobile app social marketing strategy not only helps in engaging present app users but also increases app usage, gets new downloads and aids upselling of virtual goods & content.

Of course you couldn’t do all of it on your own. Big brands hire premium marketing agencies to handle their social media campaigns, paid advertising, and other forms of online marketing. However, this doesn’t mean independent app developers and app startups cannot make the most of their mobile app social marketing budgets.

Also Read: How to improve mobile user experience?

FATbit is here to help young application developers use the marketing powers of social media at an affordable budget.
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