THE CHALLENGE
Launching a mobile app can be a daunting task. So much focus is put into perfecting the app that bringing it to market is often overlooked. Unfortunately, marketing the app and getting it in front of people can be one of the most important factors in determining whether or not the app will be successful.
Brands, solo entrepreneurs, and small teams alike have tried several strategies over the years to put their app on as many smartphones as possible. These strategies have varied from traditional advertising methods to some of the newer methods that are just beginning to gain popularity. In this blog, Hollywood Branded looks at a proven marketing strategy for mobile apps and the four (4) steps needed to successfully launch mobile apps using influencers.
The Strategy
So, after countless hours you’ve built the next big mobile app and your team is eager to introduce it to the world. You’re sitting there just waiting for the day when your app can call millions of smartphones all across the globe its home.
That is a great end goal but in order to accomplish it, your team will need a sound marketing strategy that effectively reaches the app’s target market. You’re probably wondering what is the best marketing strategy to set your app apart from the thousands of new apps added to the app store every day and millions that are already in the app store.
Getting your app to stand out amongst all the others is undoubtedly a difficult task, but there is one marketing strategy that’s proven in its effectiveness and is quickly gaining popularity in the world of apps - influencer marketing. This strategy is pretty straightforward - using social media influencers to persuade people to download your app.
Yes, influencer marketing works but you must be thorough and attentive to each piece of the campaign in order to see its success. Here are four (4) things to keep in mind when planning an influencer marketing campaign for your mobile app.
Choosing Your Social Media Focus
The channel through which you choose to run an influencer campaign is a key factor in determining the success of the campaign. For mobile apps, YouTube is typically the most effective channel because of its video capabilities.
When it comes to new products, especially mobile apps, there is almost always a learning curve that must be overcome by its users. Informative YouTube videos can make it easier for you, or an influencer to explain the app and all of its unique offerings.
Secondly, YouTube allows its users to include tracking links for the app in the video description making it easy to calculate cost per view and cost per install -- two very important metrics when measuring the success of a campaign.
Mobile games are already using YouTube to very effectively promote their game launches in a similar fashion. Check out the blog our team wrote here.
Find Influencers That Appeal To Your Early Adopters
By the time that the app is completed and ready for the world, you should have already had the app’s target market clearly defined. If you haven’t, we recommend doing this before taking any steps further. After all, you can’t market to everyone, and you need to figure out who the initial right consumer is, and concentrate on building that relationship before moving onto another target demo.
Now that you’ve chosen the channel that you want to focus on, it’s time to choose the influencers that you are going to partner with for the campaign. When partnering with influencers, it’s important to choose those that have a similar audience to your target market. For example, if you’ve built an app for travel, you may want to partner with travel and lifestyle influencers as opposed to a fashion or fitness influencer. Remember, influencers care most about their follower base and will only promote products that benefit that audience.
Create and Launch Your Campaign
This is the third and most important step for a successful influencer campaign. If this campaign is part of your app’s launch, the goal of the campaign should be to get a few quality downloads by targeted early adopters rather than numerous downloads from a highly fragmented group of people. These quality downloads and early adopters are crucial to the future success of your app as these are the people that will help you gauge what is working and what needs to be changed for future campaigns.
When developing campaign parameters for influencers, be sure to be creative but also clear and definitive in your expectations. Focus on showcasing how your app can be integrated into the everyday flow of your influencers. With thousands of apps being released every day, people aren’t looking to add additional distractions to their lives. This is why being able to effectively demonstrate how your app will complement, enhance, and not take away from one’s lifestyle will help drive downloads as the campaign progresses.
After Launch
Lastly, be sure to plan ahead for future campaigns after the completion of your launch campaign. The momentum that you receive in the initial campaign will need to be maintained and/or increased in the following months or you risk losing all of the progress that you made. We recommend staying in close communication with your highest performing influencers as they will serve as key components for any influencer campaigns that you wish to run in the future.
As we mentioned earlier, influencer marketing definitely works but it’s going to require that as a brand manager, you commit to a plan and work that plan. Take your time, do your research, then sit back and watch your app climb the charts to the top. Good luck!
More Questions?
Check out other blogs written by our team about social influencers/celebrity and partnerships:
- Why Brands Should Partner With YouTube Stars, Like David Dobrik
- How To #18: The 3 Key Steps to Leveraging Celebrity Gifting
- Marketing From An Influencer’s Perspective
- 3 Insights To Create Affordable Influencer Marketing That Sells
Are you interested in learning more on how your brand can work with social media influencers? Download our infographic that provides case studies, rates and strategies for success when creating a social media influencer program.
