The Social Aspect of Mobile App Marketing
Once your ad is up and running in all the appropriate app stores, you’ve probably started some mobile ads like most developers do. While this is a good avenue to pursue downloads, there are many other ways to drive demand, and, unlike ads, they’re free! There’s a lot of competition from major app companies in the app stores, but you can cut through the noise by using the social aspect of mobile app marketing. Social media is a very effective tool for the purposes of marketing your app. You simply need to know how to use it properly.
Start by Creating Shareable Content
Don’t jump straight into a social media campaign without being prepared first. If you only write posts with no supporting content, then every link you post will go to the same place, your app store download, and after a while, that will become old news to your fans.
To start an effective social media marketing campaign, you will first need to create content that fans will want to interact with and that will drive them to your app page. Your content should span the entire breadth of multimedia, and that means creating:
- Blogs
- Press releases
- Slideshows
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Images
Each of these types of media cater to a certain type of audience, and you want to make sure you hit all of your bases when it comes to marketing.
Writing Optimized Blogs
When writing blogs, be sure to optimize them with the keywords you’re using for your app. Choose engaging and relevant topics that your target audience will actually want to read. Within each blog, include a call to action and anchor text links to drive readers to the page where they can download your app or learn more about it.
These same rules apply to press releases as well, but save these for when you have something significant to report on and write it in the style of a journalistic news article. If you’re posting these articles on your site, you’ll want to make sure the page offers social features so readers can share the content on multiple social media sites.
Designing Image-Friendly Slideshows
When creating slideshows, keep the slides simple. Don’t add too much text, but concentrate mainly on images with just a sentence or maybe a few bullets of textual information if any. Many app developers create slideshows of screenshots from their app. This allows viewers to see how the app flows before they actually download.
If you post your slideshow on sites like AuthorStream or SlideShare, you can include anchor text links on the slides themselves, so they’ll also direct traffic to your app. Both of these slideshow hosting sites also offer social connectivity, so it’s easy for viewers to share and like.
Producing Viral Videos
Although blogs and slideshows are a good start, these days, it’s important to produce videos as well. Keep your videos short and focused and then post them on YouTube. This will give you the ability to optimize each video with your app’s keywords. Plus, YouTube makes it really easy to embed videos on your site, so they can be viewed from both locations.
The social features will embed right along with the video player, so you don’t have to worry about coding. If you’re looking for video ideas, consider creating:
- App demos
- Problem/solution pitches
- App overviews
- Commercials
- In-person user reviews
- App developer interviews
After publishing any kind of content, be sure to share it across your social media channels. With a comprehensive content posting schedule, you should have something different for users to read/see every single week.
Push Content through Social Media Influencers
When you advertise your great content on social media, a certain percentage of your fans will see it. If they Like or comment on your posts, then their friends will see it as well. This is a great way to start the buzz, but your social media reach will only go so far. To really make your content and app go viral, you’ll want to get some social media influencers sharing it. Influencers are people or organizations that have extremely large followings and who get a lot of interaction on their page or channel.
Their fans don’t just watch, they follow, and that’s exactly what you need for a viral campaign. Sometimes you can capture the attention of an influencer organically, but most times it takes a more direct method. You can approach them directly and ask if they’ll announce your app, or you can even offer to pay them.
Use the Features of Each Social Media Platform to Your Advantage
When focusing on your social campaign, don’t just stick to one platform. Potential app users are on a lot of different social sites, and if you want to make sure they see at least one of your posts per week, you’ll want to be advertising to them from every possible angle. That means using all the major platforms:
- Google Plus: Although Google Plus may not be as widely used as Facebook or Twitter, it really has some great advantages. Because it’s from Google, having an active account will boost your app’s search engine optimization considerably. You can use hashtags on Google just like you do on other social media sites, but now, according to , there are even better ways to use them. He mentions making use of auto-hashtags, for example, in a way that will make posting with them even easier.
- Twitter: You don’t get very many characters to communicate your message on Twitter, but this allows you to really focus each Tweet. If you want influencers to share your posts, you can simply mention them with the @ feature. If they like your mention, they might just retweet. Also, just this past year, Twitter released a new feature called Twitter Cards, which, according to Ryan Sommer of eConsultancy says, “havean expanded in-feature set for showcasing apps, products, and photo galleries.”
- Facebook: The best advantage Facebook has is its sheer bulk of users. You can advertise to the masses as long as you’ve built up a big list of followers. Plus, Facebook has some great built in features that make it easy to create eye-catching promotions. GuavaBox lists some user-friendly and attractive Facebook contest apps that you should definitely try out. Facebook has also become very video friendly and will play your videos automatically in your follower’s feeds, so be sure use that to your advantage as well.
- Instagram: Remember all those images and screenshots you designed for the content side of your marketing campaign? Well, Instagram is the perfect place to give them a second use. There are more than seventy-five million users on Instagram, and they love to flip through image after image. This is a great place to target mobile users, as they are the most common type of Instagram user.
Your Social Media Marketing Must-Do List
For every social media platform you use, you will find different features that work to your advantage, but they also have a lot of common features that allow you to simplify your campaign. On every social media platform, be sure to follow this must-do list:
- Use Incentives: If you want people to interact with your content on social media, you’ll need to give them a reason to do it. Host contests, offer giveaways, and advertise discounts to people who Like, Share, and Comment on your social media pages.
- Connect Your App: You can do a lot from your social media pages, but you’ll also want to connect to those platforms directly through your app. Create features that make it easy for app users to share their experience and invite social media friends to join.
- Show Appreciation: If people are taking the time to Like and share your content, be sure to show them your appreciation. Mention them in your posts, share their posts, and make sure they’re the first to hear about new opportunities related to your app.
- Schedule Posts: In order to save yourself a lot of time, use a post-automation tool to schedule your posts. SocialPilot even has specific posting features for developers trying to advertise their app.
- Use Hashtags: The reason so many social sites offer hashtags is because they are very convenient for filtering content and targeting audiences. Be sure you’re using them correctly on all the platforms that offer them.
Do you have any tips for app developers using social media marketing? If so, please share them below. We’d also love to hear how you’ve been using SocialPilot’s mobile apps promotion features to execute the strategies mentioned here.
Jimit Bagadiya
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