So, these days, it’s true that a mobile app isn’t optional in an ever-crowded digital landscape especially if you’re looking to have your startup really take off. Developing an app is just the first step, though; the real headache comes from getting it in front of users and getting them to use it.
A mobile app marketing strategy is crucial to helping startups address common challenges and acquire new users for long-term growth. In this guide, I have discussed the importance of having a proper marketing strategy for startups, SEO-optimized tactics to increase app visibility, cost-effective user-acquiring techniques, and ways you can measure your campaign performance.
How Start-ups Should Have An Excellent Mobile App Advertising Approach?
Inevitably, startups have played a high-stakes game in the app market, and thus a mobile app marketing strategy has always been important. Established companies may have a lot of resources to establish brand visibility, but one thing startups always battle against is acceptance. For years, the startup playbook for dedicated app marketing was to skip it—aafter all, if you built a great product, everyone would download it anyway! That assumption resulted in missed opportunities, for even a great app with no promotion simply flies under the radar.
That is where a good mobile app marketing strategy comes in filling this gap between awareness, downloads, and converting casual users into customers would be near impossible for startups otherwise. However, its advantages go well beyond just getting a few more users it will boost brand credibility, secure early traction, and give you much-needed data on user behavior. A startup can manifest a high chance of success by having the right marketing strategy, i.e., a well-defined marketing plan. Management saves a lot and prevents failures we have seen in the past.
The stakes are especially high for startups because a botched launch or low engagement can slam the brakes on growth and risk killing the business. Mobile app marketing will remain an indispensable part of organic growth for startups in the years to come, both as they set out to secure funding and in their quest to take on big brands. Targeted marketing strategy, however, will ensure that startups are reaching their true users and not only creating demand but also a tribe of brand loyalists who will make sure the business is performing sustainably.
Best practices in app marketing to get more eyes on your app
For new developers trying to garner an audience while on a budget, SEO-optimized strategies are pretty much at the foundation of making an app more visible. Search engine optimization (SEO) and app store optimization (ASO) are vital for an app to be found in app stores as well as search engine results; both things help you gain organic traffic and downloads.
ASO (App Store Optimization) for Improved Rankings:
ASO is the process of optimizing an app title, description, and keywords to ensure it ranks high on app stores. ASO enables revenue-strapped startups to find potential users who are searching for apps in a particular category inexpensively. A wellness startup, for example, could optimize their app title and description with keywords such as “mental health tracker” or ‘Wellness App’ to appear higher in relevant searches. Great screenshots, app previews, and an interesting app icon are also needed to attract users and drive them to download the product.
Keyword Research to Target Specific User Intent:
Similar to web SEO, ASO relies heavily on deep keyword research in order to know the target search of users. However, startups must seek out keywords that rank the highest and are relevant to the offerings of the app, as well as being aligned with its value proposition. This could include keywords, for example: A budgeting app can target keywords such as “budget tracker” or “expense manager.” Using keyword-specific app store optimization, startups make themselves more likely to be in the search results with users who are already intrigued by their apps category.
Incorporating Deep Linking for Easy Navigation and Better Engagement:
Through deep linking, startups can navigate users to a page or a feature in an app enabling a personalized experience. This helps to keep users engaged and improves the overall user experience by deep linking people to highly relevant content. For example, deep linking may send the user of an e-commerce app straight to a new line of products or a limited-time deal. Not only does this help with SEO, but it also gets more users to use different features of the app, resulting in better engagement and retention.
The number of backlinks pointing to the app’s website or landing page raises domain authority, which leads to higher top rankings in search engines. Use industry blogs, guest posts filled with links, and online directories to build backlinks that funnel organic traffic into the app. For instance, a travel app may partner up with travel bloggers to add a link to the app in their related articles. Such backlinks are a clear indicator of increased credibility and search visibility, which makes the app much easier to discover and download by users.
Affordable User Acquisition Strategies for Startups
While user acquisition can be one of the most difficult parts of app marketing particularly for resource-strapped startups—it does not necessarily need to be. Ad campaigns can be expensive, and while bigger companies have money to spend, there are other well-tried techniques that startups could employ cost-effectively while not breaking the bank in a quest for users. Below are a few Jedi mind tricks for user acquisition that work especially well for startups:
Social Media Platforms to Reach Potential Customers for Cheap:
Startups typically have fixed budgets and cannot afford to spend on traditional marketing methods. Engaging posts, posting app features, and interacting with followers in a startup can help improve brand awareness and drive traffic to the app. Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are especially valuable for start-ups that are targeting younger demographics.
If a fitness startup was looking to draw in fitness enthusiasts, they could serve workout tips or success stories. For startups, Instagram enables a higher reach, as this is made possible through carefully selecting the right hashtags and reaching out to influencers without incurring considerable expenditure on ads.
Encouraging Online User-Generated Content (UGC) for Authentic Promotion:
UGC lends an element of authenticity to marketing efforts, as any prospective user who sees a recommendation from another customer is most likely going to believe it over any professional advertisement. This can be done by simply wooing the existing users to repost their app usage on social media, where a community of word evangelists can be created.
For example, a food delivery application can ask their users to post pictures of their meals on social media with a hashtag as a form of organic marketing. Not only does UGC help drive traffic, but it also helps build trust, as it presents the value of your app from an actual user.
The mobile app development company can implement referral programs encouraging users to get involved and refer their friends and family members for downloading the application, which also helps in organic growth. For example, startups can reward users by way of a discount, reward, or other perk when those users successfully invite new customers.
For instance, a task management tool might provide you with access to premium features or a free subscription period for every referral. This method enables startups to acquire additional users without ever needing a high marketing budget because referred users are typically from those already satisfied with the application.
Leveraging Content Marketing for Educating and Building Your Brand Awareness:
Content marketing is a cheap method to make an impression, educate potential users, and get them interested in downloading your app. When startups create blog posts, guides, or tutorials that tie back to what their app is about, they become experts in the space.
Example: A health app could publish articles such as “The Importance of Mental Health Tracking” or “How to Develop a Daily Wellness Routine.” Featuring download links in these articles urges the audience to install the app, increasing user-acquisition touchpoints.
How You Should Read the Results of Your Mobile App Marketing Campaign:
Startups also must monitor and analyze user engagement, acquisition, and other metrics that tell them whether their marketing activities are working. Having regular measurements allows startups to make data-oriented decisions, improve their strategies, and get the best return on investment (ROI).
Download rate and install metrics for user acquisition:
The download rate shows how effective marketing campaigns are at acquiring new users for an app. The higher download rate means the promotional activities of an app are appealing to its targeted audience. This could be through app store optimization, social media, or referral programs, and startups will monitor the downloads to see which channel creates the most installs. Discovering these top-performing channels allows the startup to concentrate their resources on strategies that work for them.
Retention rate to measure long-term satisfaction:
Retention rate is a vital metric that depends on how well an app sticks with users over time. People with high retention can see values in the app, and low rates could mean a need for better engagement strategies. Studying retention rates helps startups figure out what part of the app is working and what part leaves users with a bad taste in their mouths. And for startups, retention is arguably even more important, as consistent usage equates to a higher customer lifetime value (CLV) and ultimately, long-term success.
Conversion Rate (and why this is used to directly measure revenue generation):
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of users completing certain desired actions, such as making a purchase or subscription, or using premium features. This number is especially important for apps that earn money from in-app purchases or subscription models. Example: A meditation app might see how many users go premium. With conversion rate data, startups can easily figure out what features of the app generate revenue and what they need to improve in order to be monetized.
Churn rate for finding the room for improvement:
Churn rate indicates how many of your users have uninstalled the app or stopped using it in a period of time. These create a churn pattern that, if the startup can identify it, then they will understand what the system users are finding enlightening qualities and explaining how to interact with them.
If the churn rate is high, it might indicate issues with the user experience value proposition or engagement strategies. Curbing churn and retention is the essence of sustainable growth, so be proactive in addressing these issues.
Comparing the revenue generated to the cost of acquiring and engaging customers, return on investment (ROI) measures how well a campaign performs from a financial standpoint. Maximizing ROI is especially crucial for startups with a budget. Tracking ROI helps startups identify the most cost-effective marketing strategies and pursue initiatives that yield the most value. To illustrate, if the ROI from a referral program is high compared to other channels offered by startups, they may prioritize scaling it up.
Mobile App Marketing Services to Scale Up Your In-Business
With mobile app marketing being in high demand, there is plenty of scope for companies with specific marketing services tailored specifically for startups to grow. App marketing companies that offer solutions ranging from app store optimization to user acquisition, engagement tracking, and data analysis can be used by their startup clients across the board. By focusing on cost efficiency, SEO optimization, and retaining user expertise, providers can be best suited as partners to help startups drive sustainable growth.
The mobile app marketing service providers and teams should provide packages that can meet the requirements of business- apps in a cost-effective way to get more business.
Those service providers who deliver measurable results and help clients get the most out of their apps will gain a great reputation, gain referrals, as well as long-lasting relationships in this rapidly changing mobile app marketing space.
To sum up, it can be concluded that for startups, mobile app marketing is important to make the app worthwhile in the competitive app marketplace. Once startups have grasped the need for a solid marketing strategy and applied SEO-friendly strategies and cost-effective user acquisition methods while tracking their performance with analytics tools, they can focus on building an app presence that accelerates towards growth, engagement, and revenue. Through the next normal, app marketing service providers who innovate to create holistic and ROI-driven solutions will be at a vantage point that will enable them to become indispensable partners in driving the future growth of startups.