What is app promotion?

App promotion is another term for mobile marketing and refers to the process by which app developers advertise their app. Consumers downloaded a record 204 billion apps in 2019, which is an incredible achievement for app promotion efforts. Yet, because there are more than 2 million apps on the app stores, it is difficult for one app to stand out over another. It is vital to ensure that your app has a solid marketing strategy for promotion.

How to promote an app

There are many ways to promote an app at every level of the app’s lifetime. It is important to create a marketing strategy that hits all of these levels in order to promote to the fullest.

Launch:

• Know your target audience: Use services, like App Annie, to research other apps in your genre and make a note of their demographics
• Competitive analysis: Will help you set benchmarks for your KPIs, like the CTR and CVR for your ad campaign
• Test marketability: Run a few creatives and measure their IPMs

App promotion:

• Website and/or blog: Build an online presence to boost your credibility
• Social media: ‘Content is king’ and you want to provide your users valuable information relevant to your app’s purpose on a regular basis
• User acquisition through Aura: From dynamically preloading your app on new mobile devices to native ad placements throughout a device’s lifecycle, app marketers are finding Aura to be an increasingly valuable user acquisition channel
• Apple Search Ads campaigns: Running campaigns directly on the App Store with Apple Search Ads is another way to boost your app promotion. In fact, each week, 600 million people go to the App Store with the intention of downloading apps and 65% of downloads occur directly after a search on the App Store.
• Email marketing: The key to running impactful newsletter campaigns is providing value. Think about what your target audience will find useful and interesting

Drive downloads:

• Strong call to action: On full screen offers delivered through the Aura platform, make sure there isn't an overwhelming amount of copy
• Good icon: A good icon for your app is important - both on the iOS App Store and Play Store page and especially when advertising through Aura’s setup wizard placement, which allows users to install your app from a list of suggestions while setting up their new phones
• Include app screenshots and videos: Through Aura’s full-screen offers and smart notifications, an effective way to reduce friction to install is by giving users an inside peek
• Add foreign languages: Localization helps broaden your net and reduce friction across geos.

How to promote an iOS app vs. an Android app

First and foremost, you have to understand the differences between the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android. You should not apply the same assets to both. Here is what you should focus on:

However, iOS is a closed ecosystem and its distribution platform is limited. Meanwhile, Android offers dozens of promotion options other than Google Play. Now what?

• Look at third-party app stores on Android to promote your app to a niche group of users
• Diversify and launch on multiple channels in the Android market: Don’t only run ad campaigns on social media channels, but also with technology partners that distribute apps via OEM and carrier partnerships with Android devices like Aura
• Work with a partner that can provide access to your niche demographic: and knows the ins and outs of your consumers

Finding the best app promotion strategy for you

Traditional ad sources, such as social media and email marketing, are free and internal within your own company but can limit promotional opportunities. If you have the available resources and steady cash flow, partnering with experts, such as Aura, on paid ad campaigns can improve ROI and profit long term.