How to Promote your App

To say the mobile app market is competitive is an understatement. As of Q3 2023, with over 1.6 million apps currently available in the Apple’s app store and 2.6 million apps available on Google Play, it is virtually impossible for new apps to get noticed without the right publishing and advertising strategy. Cutting through the noise has never been harder, and while there was a chance 10 years ago for exceptional apps across any category to become viral hits, that's no longer the case today - even for the best new apps.

The top 1 percent of publishers across the App Store and Google Play accounted for nearly 79 percent of new worldwide installs in the first half of 2023.

Publishing and promoting a new app successfully takes more than money. With app life cycles and promotional peaks getting increasingly shorter, the opportunity might have passed by the time a startup manages to raise funds.

Educational App Store have been in the app marketing industry for a long time and have helped many apps find success. So we created this comprehensive app marketing guide to help you promote your iOS and Android apps or gear up your marketing engine for a new app.

How to Promote your apps:

I assume you have already created an amazing app for iOS. Now it’s time to do some smart work and let people know about your app to make it go viral.

1. Implement an App Store Optimization strategy

App Store Optimization involves optimizing your App Store page to rank higher in search results and convert at a higher rate. Over 65% of apps are discovered from a search in the App Store directly. 

The first thing you have to take care of is ASO (check out our ASO Starter Pack). If you don’t create quality titles using strong keywords, good descriptions, and captivating visuals, users won’t be able to find your item in app stores.

2. Establish your Social Media Presence

With billions of daily active users, social media guarantee global exposure, so you have to utilize this channel to market your app. It’s a great way to engage with your audience and build long-term relationships with your followers. 

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other social platforms let you expand your web presence and allow you to directly communicate with your target audience. If your app targets specific age groups, identify the social platforms that are most popular with people in this demographic and focus on them.

Post and share not only promotional but entertaining and engaging content related to your app in order to build a community behind it.  

3. Create a Website or Landing Pages

Create a new website with a relevant domain name and SEO optimized keywords. Include some video descriptions about the app and screenshots to make the consumer become aware of its features and usefulness.

Somewhere along the customer journey, your users are eventually going to visit your website. Use pop-ups with a strong call to action (CTA) to encourage app downloads. Include links to your app (for all of the various app store platforms) in the footer near where you include your linked social icons.

4. Write blog posts about your app

This is your chance for true storytelling, and the best part is you own the story from start to finish. Highlight how your app solves a problem for the users, or create a series centered on the different features of your app. This also gives you a lot of square-footage to create specific CTAs for your various users.

5. Use Third-Party Reviews Sites

Third-party reviews are often seen as more trustworthy or unbiased than reviews or testimonials provided by the business itself.  Knowing how to use third-party review sites can help your business substantially. Customers researching your apps may start on a review site to find unbiased reviews.

Once you’ve identified which third-party review sites you should focus on, it’s helpful to have a strategy for getting more reviews on this site. 

6. Create Free and Paid Versions

If your app has a social component or has the potential for viral growth through referrals or word-of-mouth, switching your paid app to a freemium model may be a smart call. You can always keep certain features or content gated behind an in-app purchase or subscription in order to maintain a predictable revenue stream. 

You might also consider keeping your app paid and offering an extended free trial or basic free subscription tier to capture more downloads and find ways to monetize your growing user base over time. Once you’ve demonstrated value and earned a loyal customer base that keeps coming back to your app, you’ll have more opportunities to upsell and convert. 

7. Promote your mobile app with App Campaigns

App campaigns help you promote your app.

Apple Search Ads is a keyword-driven mobile app advertising channel which works on similar principles as text ads in Google Ads.

Google Ads is an advertising network of the largest search engine launched in October 2000. Up to 2018, it was known as Google AdWords. This advertising platform combines the Google Adwords ad buying interface with Google traffic sources.

Both Google Ads and Apple Search Ads work on the basis of a second price auction and targeting is formed with the help of keywords. 

Facebook Ads has been active since 2007. The most popular social network may not be a specialized mobile app advertising platform, but it offers superb ad format, targeting and reporting capabilities which are among the best in the industry.

7. Giveaways and Coupons

Promoting an iPhone/iPad app through a free giveaway contest or a discounted coupon code will land you a good number of interested customers.

The giveaway idea is especially useful for apps that are new and have been recently launched.

You can even giveaway promotional items such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, buttons, etc. which will help you gain popularity through brand awareness.

9. Participate in Online Forums

App development teams often join the discussion on forum sites so they can answer user questions directly. They also reply to reviews posted in app stores or elsewhere on the web. Being accessible and open to questions can help you maintain relationships with current users and build rapport with potential users.

10. Work with Influencers

One of the most overlooked aspects of marketing a new mobile product is outreach initiatives by contacting influencers, publications, and bloggers to secure backlinks and provide honest reviews. Make a list of contacts that are relevant to your industry or niche that might be interested in writing about, and reviewing your app. Keep your pitch concise with a link to your press kit or landing page. That way, if they’re interested in writing about your app, they’ll have all of the information they need.

As you can see, the sky is the limit in terms of app promotion. Treat it like any traditional product launch and spend time putting together a solid app user acquisition strategy. Remember that the quality of users you attract to your app is more important than the quantity, so make sure that you understand your target audience, and craft your advertisements accordingly.

You may also like:

App Marketing Strategies