How to increase mobile app downloads with a help of communities
Long days and sleepless nights are behind you. Your development team has created a perfect app and one that you hope will be a smash hit on the Google Play and Apple App Store.
You feel you’ve created the ultimate on-boarding experience that is finally ready for launch. What next? We’re sorry to break it to you but your work is not done yet! The fun is just beginning.
There are millions of apps free to download. So, how to find a creative way to bypass all that noise? Fortunately, social media is a great way to increase app installs. It’s highly influential and creates buzz comparatively quickly.
According to The Manifest, more than 50% of people discover apps through their friends, family, and colleagues.
Here are 5 social community tactics that will help your app grow and boost downloads.
Paid Ads on Social Networks
Ads on social media drive 49% of mobile app downloads, according to Google. Nearly 78% of companies use paid ads to market apps. Social networks are extremely effective when it comes to organic app user engagement. Although, it won’t hurt to give those efforts a push with the social media advertising.
All social media platforms offer different advertising options, most of which include links to website pages. But when it comes to growing your app using paid ads, Facebook, and Twitter are the best because their advertising options are specifically tailored to mobile installs.
By using these platforms, you can choose places for your ads, how they should look like and even whether they are shown for iOS or Android users. Do as granular targeting as you can. It’ll help save marketing budget and increase the total number of app downloads.
Get influencers on your side
People love getting app recommendations from their friend or other people they trust. On the same note, getting a famous YouTuber like Marques Brownlee or Linus Tech Tips to review your mobile app will not only help to show your app to the wide audience but also provide potential customers with a credible and powerful recommendation from a “know how” authority.
Instagram is the most effective channel for engaging an audience. Be sure to use Instagram to its full potential. Try to get influencers that share the same target audience as you to talk about your app. You can go about it by setting up a giveaway or collaborating with a specific influencer you find relevant.
Content is a king
In order to grow your app’s visibility on social media, concentrate on creating good content that’s not “pushy” or “salesy”.
Pay particular attention to user-generated content. From our experience, nearly 90% of customers listen to peer recommendations, while 30% listen to what ads say.
Today, reposted content from users who mention your app is considered to be a new form of customer testimonial that can persuasively illustrate the value of your app. Encourage photo and video submissions that highlight your app’s practical benefits showing how the app can improve lives.
Moreover, it will help you build relationships with your audience. Feature their content on social networks to show your followers that you care and recognize them.
Whether you screenshot or repost from Instagram, create graphics to upload on Facebook and LinkedIn. Letting the wider audience know how well your app works acts as digital word-of-mouth.
Seek out reviews and ratings
Digital word-of-mouth works better than anything else. Let potential customers see your best reviews on social media channels, and you’ll definitely notice how app downloads are increasing. After serious research, this app development team concluded that nearly 60% of people think that ratings are the most important factor when deciding to download an app.
Here’s an example of WiFi Map’s Facebook page displaying reviews from its users.
You can also use YouTube channels or app review sites like Product Hunt that can help acquire highly visible ratings and new users.
Explore the advantages of different social networks
A Facebook page can help you build your community and engage potential users in various ways. For example, you can feature promotions, special offers or discounts, run giveaways for passes and free trials, or engage your audience with the expert blog content.
Since Instagram is a visual platform, it’s uber-important to support great content with a strong aesthetic in order to grow your following. Try to find a balance between entertaining content, app screenshots, how-to videos, feature explanations, influencer shoutouts, and contests.
Since Twitter hinges on the exchange of ideas, you can use it as an interactive platform to acquire users. Share content, update your followers with news and ask about their experiences with the app.
Conclusion
Building an app is one thing, but you’ll need to learn how to market it properly if you want it to be successful. Though the majority of mobile apps are still discovered through app store searches, you need to think beyond it to create a buzz around your application and increase mobile app downloads. Social media is one of the best ways to reach your target audience.
As there are a lot of social media channels that help you in marketing or promoting your app. If you follow these 5 tips mentioned above, then you’ll be well on your way to increasing downloads.
Originally published at productcoalition.com on January 25, 2019.