Start small and be frugal with marketing budget when starting out. Especially when still testing product-market fit.
Here's some low cost techniques to get you going:
App Store Optimization (ASO): This is the process of optimizing your app's visibility in the app store search results. By using relevant keywords, creating a compelling app title and description, and encouraging positive reviews and ratings, you can improve your app's visibility and drive organic downloads. Positive Reviews are crucial in the early stages. Build a flow in your app which will encourage review requests at the right moment. Always prompt after the wow factors. If you get ASO right you don't need to spend a penny on marketing. This will do all the work for you! There's many many various strategies and an art form to nailing it. We put you in touch with leaders in the game here. Design beautiful captivating and clear screenshots is essential as well as making the most of custom product pages and Apple Events. www.leojbarnett.co can help here!
Apple Search Ads: Apple have a dedicated service where you simply set your budget and max cost per install each month and it shows your app screenshots to people browsing in the moment. You're hitting people at the point they're actively seeking to make a download. It's the perfect time to make your presence known. Ideally your app will have some positive reviews and work seamlessly with no bugs before pushing a campaign here. If you're promoting something full of bugs and crashes your reviews are going to go down as well as organic ASO. Be careful! Apple Search Ads
Influencer marketing: This involves partnering with popular social media influencers to promote your app to their followers. This can be a cost-effective way to reach a large and engaged audience. You get what you pay for most of the time here. It's worth testing UGC first. UGC is when you pay a creator to make a video for it and you post on YOUR social channels. Influencer marketing is them making content and posting to their audience. They're more expensive but you can generally get good content for $50 - $150. Anything lower is dangerous. If your product is truly unique TikTok can work it's magic and over night success does happen!
Social media marketing: By creating engaging social media content and running targeted social media ads, you can reach a large audience and drive app downloads. TikTok is the place to be these days, as well as snapchat. Instagram is great for building a presence but customer conversion can be lower for apps.
Direct Reach out: This is simple. Find key target users via Instagram and Twitter and just get DMing! As always, keep it personal. Introduce yourself and what your app can do for them as briefly as possible. This can take time but can be super effective. It's also a perfect way to gain valuable feedback at all stages.
Content marketing: Creating valuable and informative content, such as blog posts, videos, and infographics, can help establish your app as a thought leader in its industry and drive traffic to your app's download page. Hi! This is a valuable and informative blog post right? Do this! Generally you should aim to be a leader in your field. Don't just constantly share features. Share content around your industry or spark debate on certain subjects. Sometimes it's a god idea to not overthink and polish putting content out too much. Anything is better than perfect every time. Audiences today are more forgiving as long as you're giving them value.
Email marketing: By collecting email addresses from users and sending targeted email campaigns, you can keep them informed about your app and encourage repeat usage. MailChimp Is what you need here.
Community building: Building a community around your app can help create buzz and drive word-of-mouth marketing. Encourage user-generated content, create a social media presence and engage with your users regularly. Sometimes it's advised to build an audience before your product. A pretty simple way of doing this is to create a page that gives valuable content in the area you're planning to launch in. Build the audience, then when you're ready launch your product! Consistent social media output is needed here. To say time use a platform like Later.com to schedule posts.
PR and Media coverage: Reach out to publications and blogs that cover your industry, and pitch your app. A feature in a reputable publication can bring in a lot of downloads and credibility. Be super personal again and let journalists know you're giving an exclusive look.
It's also important to track and measure the performance of each technique in order to optimize your strategy and get the most out of your marketing budget. leojbarnett.co Can help you with UGC and social media management. Get in touch!
******** More Essential Reading for App Founders:
Having issues with development? Here's how to change app developers:
How to choose the right mobile app developer:
How to find a tech co-founder (CTO) Everything you need to know:
Have a genius app idea? Here's what you need to do to move fast:
Wise app pre-launch marketing strategies to get a head start - Don't waste time:
How to choose the right mobile app developer for your project:
How to change youre deveopment partner or team:
How to build an app for free in 2024:
How to test and app in 2024:
Low cost marketing techniues for app founders:
How to fund your app:
How to validate my app in 8 steps:
Do I need a native app or a progressive web app?