Category: Marketing

In this strange and relentless world of mobile application development, the first impression is the thing that matters the most. If your app attracts attention – this is the goldmine.

While it seems to be an obvious thing to claim, some tend to ignore the user experience and first impression, hoping that content alone will make it gangbusters. It doesn’t work like that, however, because in order for the user to get to your amazing content, s/he needs to have your app on their mobile devices.

The consequences of failing to make a positive and ultimately engaging impression are well-known, but there is hope as there are several fairly simple ways of making your application look attractive in the app market.

Here are 10 tips that will help you to make your app look cool in the app store.

How to Market Your Mobile App?

Clearly defined target audience

App store works in mysterious ways at times. There are thousands upon thousands of applications of all walks of life — but only those which happened to be in top-25 charts are making serious business. The rest is just there doing time and stuff. Why is it so?

The reason for that lies in the users. For the most part, they are not looking for some peculiar deep cut options, they need to do something, and they simply take what is lying on the surface. The logic behind this decision is simple — apps presence in the top-25 is a noteworthy sign that this particular app is actually useful and trustworthy.

This means — in order to get through you need to be in the top-25. How? Two words — App marketing.

If you want to compete with the big boys — you need to convince users that your app is worth attention. Your goal is to thoroughly explain what makes your app better and/or different from the others.

How? Look at the application from the user’s point of view. Channel directly to their needs and expectations for certain kinds of apps. Why should he care about it? That’s the secret.

Focus on local markets and work on regional rankings

Another important element is knowing where your target audience is situated country-wise. It is one thing when you need to get into the top 25 of the United States and completely another when you need to get into the United Kingdom top 25. Thresholds are different and the competition varies.

By localizing your target market and focusing your efforts on building up the presence there you can save yourself a lot of time and money. It is that simple.

In the case of non-English speaking countries, it makes sense to make a fully localized version. Even though it seems like everyone knows English — not everyone is comfortable using it. The thing is — for the most part, users prefer to use an application in their native language. Adding support of other languages broadens the international appeal of the application and immensely widens your audience.

Apply an App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Stores are huge. It is easy to get lost there. The success of an application depends on the discovery factor. For the most part, users are either skimming on the top or going straight through the referrals. The majority of users don’t go beyond that.

But since there are hundreds upon hundreds of various applications trying to present themselves in the most engaging manner possible — the competition for the top spots is very high. Even if your app is actually better than the others in a selected field — it doesn’t mean it will stand out in the search results. Quite the contrary is within a probability.

Hopefully, App Store SEO aka ASO can help.

How? You see — search engines are weird beasts with less reason than a bag of bats locked in a submarine. They live by their own rules and you can study them in order to turn the tables into your favor.

By applying ASO you give yourself an additional advantage in the quest for user’s discovery. Simple adjustment of the description and elaborations of the title can work magic for the discovery factor. Combined with high volume low competition keywords — it moves your app up the search results ladder straight to the top.

Learn more about app store optimization or google play store optimization.

Make your app icon distinct

An icon is the first thing users see of your application. In many ways, it is a “make it or break it” situation. You either hook the user, and he goes on to check out the description and the screenshots, or he just moves on through the search results.

An icon shows what your app represents. It is your coat of arms. It tells what the app is about through common symbolism.

Here are a few handy tips on making a distinct icon:

• It should be catchy and easy to remember;
• It should not be cluttered (remember that it’s the icon, not a screen)
• It should be tied to the purpose of the app;
• It can be a play on words or images based on the app’s purpose or name.

Make a convincing screenshot showcase

Screenshots play important role in the consideration of whether to download an app. On the surface it seems like a nothing deal — just throw in a bunch of screenshots that show how an app works – that’s how app developers usually see it. But in reality, it is a bit trickier.

Upon selecting screenshots for the App Store page, you need to keep in mind how users perceive them. They need to understand what is what and how it works through static images. If done right, screenshots can serve as a strong rationale for your mobile app marketing campaign. However, you should keep them to the point and ultra-descriptive.

Here are several things you need to keep in mind about the visual presentation in the App Store:

• Show full cycle of navigation (for example, on-boarding process)
• Show features of the app and appropriate screens for them
• Record a video of how the app works
• Tell a story to the user of how s/he could use the app

Take full advantage of the video opportunities

While adding video presentation to the page may seem abundant — it can be used to further the impression of the product and incite positive decision i.e. download.

How does it work? Basically, this is like an ad for the app. Don’t simply repeat your screens, but rather, make the user want to use your app and be happier / healthier / more positive (whatever your app is designed to do).

For example, how the app solves a particular problem or how it allows doing more than other apps. The key element is relatability. If the potential user can’t relate to the problem depicted or doesn’t identify himself with the target audience, chances are s/he won’t get the app (unless s/he falls in love with the design or micro-interactions…)

Make description credible

While the visual aspect is able to raise awareness and carry out the first contact — it is a description that makes a final stroke in the “to install and or to pass on” story. The well-written description of an application works on two fronts:

• Explains what the app is about;
• Presents apps value proposition;

Keep in mind that the text consists of two parts. One that is seen in the search results and the rest of the app page. You need to make the opening lines as catchy as possible so that the user will go to the app page and consider the download.

Think about it from a user’s perspective. For example, you need an app to take notes. You’ve found one and it looks kinda fine, but the description is just some atrocious mix of buzzword mumbo-jumbo and hapless braggadocio. You go “yikes” and move on.

Here are several handy tips on how to make app description work in your favor:

• Must be written in an engaging manner;
• Must explain the purpose of an app in plain words;
• (optional) Show the benefits and advantages of your product in contrast with competitors;
• Must be slightly intriguing.

Secure glossy user reviews and ratings

User ratings and app reviews are an incredibly influential factor when it comes to consideration on whether to download an app. Basically, the better app store reviews the better conversion. However, it is also one of the places where you have little control over the situation.

It can go both ways — scare off potential users due to exposing flaws and inconsistencies or convince them to try it out by the sheer power of positive reaction.

How to secure good reviews? It all comes to one thing — make a good app that is actually useful and tested through and through before going on the market. And if there any problem occurred, just fix it on the notice.

Word of Mouth matters

Referrals are one of the most common ways of discovering new applications. What makes it happen? In a nutshell, it is a direct result of the positive reception of your application. I.e. app is so good, users are telling other users to try it out.

How to make it? Basically, try-hard, and make a good app, spice it with a clever marketing campaign, and voila.

However, because of that, there is little to no control over it. You can’t artificially generate positive word of mouth.

Sure, you can strike a partnership deal with an influencer who will recommend your app to his audience but that is not a guarantee of positive word of mouth. In fact, it can backfire as an attempt to shove something down the throat.

Make frequent updates

One of the most effective ways of maintaining a consistent presence in The App store is through a steady stream of updates. The logic behind it is simple — it shows that an application is still moving forward and evolves into a better thing.

There are several types of updates worth mentioning:

• Regular updates — refined features, fixed problems, etc;
• Optional updates — supplementary features (new photo filters, etc);
• Seasonal updates — April’s Fools Day treacherous trolling user experience;

Every update in one way or another is a legitimate reason to remind already engaged users about an app and also attract new users through readjusting ASO.

In conclusion

Promoting an application is a challenge. But with these little tips in mind, you can be sure that all your marketing efforts will be ultimately fruitful.

Let me just outline, that currently there are over 2 million apps in Google Play Store. That is quite a good deal of applications, isn’t it?

Sounds like a piece of great news for all smart gadget users out there, but not as good for app developers.

Getting to ASO itself, which is basically app optimization for improving its’ ranking in App Store search results, the surprising thing is going on. A large amount of publishers still doesn’t invest in app store optimization.

But here is one thing – before people use apps for diverse purposes, they tend to search for these. Consequently, everybody wants the highest rankings in Android App Store, because you get more app downloads. It can sound simple in theory, but in fact, takes a while trialing and fixing mistakes.

While nobody really knows the exact algorithm of Google ranking, there are a few well-tried tricks that work to lift your app up in Play Store. Google Play Store algorithm seems to be more complicated when comparing to Apple App Store.

Here is a list of primary Google play store app ranking factors:

• Number of ratings
• Number of installs and uninstalls
• App involvement (frequency of use)
• Growth of downloads in the nearest 30 days
• Backlinks to your app

In fact, there are a lot of common things in app optimization for Android and iOS. But let’s dive more into specific features of ASO Google Play Store, shell we?

7 game-changing tricks for Android app optimization

1. Find and track the keywords

This basic, yet deciding, step means EVERYTHING on your way to Google app store search optimization. Without this information, you won’t even find out whether your google play search optimization is working or not.

Apparently, it’s important to choose the words according to your target audience.

The keywords in Google Play Store you select should properly describe your app, so people are encouraged to download it once they find the app in the search. Besides, you want keywords to be as relevant to your application core as possible.

And to hit a maximum of your target audience, these words better be the most requested, at the same time overlapping competition as little as possible.

There are cases in-app publishing when particular apps gained about 300% downloads raise only from keywords optimization.

Remember not to overplay with this part to really improve Google Play ranking.

Tools for keywords research:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Wordstream
• Sensor Tower
• Wordpot
• AppCodes
• Ninja Search Combination Tool

You can also dig for more keywords either in users’ reviews (check Review Mining), or survey your target audience on Social Media, through e-mail newsletters, etc.

2. Include keywords in the title

Speaking about the name of your application, it might be the most determining factor in ASO.

First and foremost – keywords placed in the title of your application should be with the most massive search traffic. Take time to search for this essential, because once you decided on the title, it becomes a staple. And you really want the head of the app to be descriptive, unique, sharp, and appealing.

This way you create the most comfortable and “easy to figure out” experience for the searchers.

Once your app is published, starts getting downloads and reviews, it will be also spread by word of mouth. So it’s not the best idea of switching and trying different names at that stage.

Mind! Your title should not exceed 25-30 characters. Otherwise, you risk losing users distracted by not seeing a complete name in a search list and shifting to a bunch of other apps out there.

3. Description really matters…for Google

Here goes a major difference between Google Play Store and Apple App Store search optimization principles.

Google picks up the keywords from a description of your application. Obviously, we need to get the most out of it.

Experience shows that using keywords 4 to 5 times throughout the app’s definition will improve your rankings up to 20 spots. But again, do not stuff your description with the whole range of keywords straight – that’s a way to turning it into spam.

4. Now visuals – App’s Icon, Screenshots, Promo Video

Looking for an appropriate application, a lot of searchers will “window shop”. And the app’s icon is the first thing to pay attention to. It should be of high quality, utterly informative, and attractive design. There are also clear specifications Google expects your icon to include, so you can, obviously, Google it 🙂

Killer name and icon might be not enough for catching your prospect’s full attention. So make sure to use all 8 available screenshots for different types of devices – phones, tablets, TVs. You need a set of high-resolution screenshots with the descriptions on them to show the most goodies of your app.

To make these pics even edgier, use various dynamic tools (Promotee, Adobe Photoshop, PlaceIt, Screenshot Maker Pro) to simulate running the app on the device.

A stunning Promo Video is a cherry on the top of your cake. That is why Google Play is so awesome. You simply upload it to YouTube in a matter of minutes.

Make your video short and on point to respect your people’s time, they will appreciate that a lot! You wanna highlight only major features and advantages within your app.

5. Work those reviews and ratings up

The truth is it takes a number of downloads to get displayed. So asking for reviews and improving ratings of the app is a significant scope when doing a qualified ASO.

Zendesk claims in its’ recent survey that around 88% of consumers are mostly influenced by online product reviews before they make a decision to buy an app.

So again, head to your customers and ask to leave favorable reviews. As far as your app is satisfying and involving, it won’t be a problem for them.

For Google Play Store there is also a great chance to avoid negative reviews from users.

You can simply provide them with a clear direct channel for giving feedback to developers within the app. This way you can ask users for reviews (Important! Only when they are the most engaged, not really when they are busy performing tasks on the app, ok?). Just preface by asking a simple question – are you enjoying the app?

6. Localize your app

You always want to translate the application to the languages of your target regions. It’s a true must to offer a localized version of your product, except a common international option.

7. Backlinks are going to make wonders for your app

It’s the same as with a normal web search when links from reputable A list resources increase spreading the application over the net. You don’t wanna deal with low-quality Z list link farms for getting optimal results.

Therefore, it will be great to promote your app on some popular websites, asking them to write about your application and providing a link to your app page. You may also consider starting your own blog and contact press for people to get more opportunities for exploring your app.

Overall picture

A global trend is all about the growing price of each app installation and the same rising number of downloads required to appear in the featured ratings of Google Play Store. So promoting the app can become a truly challenging activity for the narrowed budget companies.

At the same time, Google Play Store optimization can complete your whole marketing strategy at a lower cost and give tangible results already in the short-run. Don’t waste that chance and absolutely try it.

Happy app store optimization, guys!

If you decide to rebrand your product, don’t forget your mobile strategy. It’s always a decisive ritual of transformation when you decide to rebrand your product line because mobile is no longer a by-product.

Mobile strategy plays an integral part in a whole process, whether it’s to stand out from competitors, increase sales, exclude a negative image or present new features. We have compiled 5 marketing questions each entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting a rebranding journey.

1. Do I really need an app?

Apps aren’t suitable for all types of companies, so why this question is important. You definitely need an app, when you can offer mobile users an improved, balanced experience that connects with your brand’s nature. The app should work in a way users can interact with the label. On the other side, when should you remove your app?

There are many apps that need a real purpose because a lot of brands are launching an app just for the sake of one without counting of the added value. The best proof that your app isn’t worth your precious time and money when it demonstrates the same content that is featured on your website.

2. The interface of the website. How should it look?

Let’s be honest, there is nothing more embarrassing and irritating in 2015 than creating an awkward website that is not suitable for mobile screens. Moreover, visiting sites via mobile phone far exceeded desktop, users. All that really matters that you must guarantee that your website is mobile-friendly because consumers will buy or download your product using their mobile devices.

3. Should your brand use Multilingualism?

If companies want to interact with consumers and form a deeper connection, they must speak “their “language. During the rebranding process, the majority of labels change their names and logos to show a new identity. This new “personality” will most likely endeavor to advertise new fresh ideas and values, but don’t forget that the language used by your project should reflect this “breezy identity”.

4. Target the proper audience?

When you decide to rebrand your product, usually your target audience isn’t going to remain the same. It is a great opportunity to focus your strength on those you are trying to attract the most.

The same thing with a mobile strategy: Your new label’s audience must apply in your mobile ad targeting. Truth be told, mobile is a perfect background for brands who want to check different groups as the eventual target audience.

5. How should I introduce my new marketing concept?

For those who are making some changes to their concept, there is one important rule. They should inform their customers and the whole market about the name, slogan, or logo changing for their company.

In this case, you can use some really aggressive strategy like a mobile advertising campaign on popular platforms. This method will inform customers about your re-branding.

For example, Airbnb decided to change its logo that was not appropriate for the entire concept of the company. A new logo was about the Belo symbol that stands for ‘belonging’. Their entire strategy was built then on the ‘belonging’ basis and theme.

It was perfectly adapted to their website, interface, and, of course, mobile application. However, they did not prepare their customers for changes, and the brand got its portion of negative feedback after the logo was released. People just called it ‘ugly’ and ‘weird’ with no idea what it was.

So, what lesson can we learn from this example? Well, you should remember that before showing your audience your new image, look, and concept you should educate them. And mobile marketing would be the perfect decision for that task.

So, you should launch some really massive educational campaigns to demonstrate your new features, logo, corporative colors, and stuff. Lead your customers to step by step to the whole new concept. This will be your perfect foundation for rebranding.

Improving your app regularly increases the number of downloads. And otherwise, if your enthusiastic users become unhappy one day, downloads and ratings can go down.

If you’ve ever released an app before, you should know that the task is not finished once it’s published on the store. You have to constantly keep your users engaged and your app always improved by updates. Once you put hard work into these, you’ll as well get the word out.

Keep Your Users Engaged and Happy

You need to regularly update your app in order to keep your customers always happy and engaged. And even if you think that you’ve put all your care into developing the first version of the application, there are still chances that you didn’t make everything right.

READ ALSO: App Store Video Previews

Of course, the first thing you should pay attention to is fixing the bugs. You might also want to add or improve some features users and bloggers complain about when leaving their reviews. But don’t go crazy with updates, releasing a new one every 2 or 3 weeks. Steer a middle course: don’t let your current users get bored and don’t make your potential users think that your app is dead.

Updates Play a Bigger Role than App Store Optimization

Did you know that release of iOS6 had big impact on App Store Optimization? Among the biggest benefits is the new feature on the details page named “What’s new?” The new section becomes equally important as the general app description does.

The metadata for every update appears directly on the user’s iPad. That means you’ll have to use the first couple of your app description to describe your product and then use the first few lines of the “What’s new” tab for promotion and showing that your app has been recently improved.

Why not to use that additional space, where you can encourage users to download the app? Don’t limit yourself just to “new features, bugs’ fixes” when writing the metadata for your application’s update. Straight after the first lines you may embed the list of new features. You can also use special symbols or characters in order to make these more visible.

These can be asterisks or anything else you prefer. Try not to be too techy when talking about the bugs or features: most users will not understand that entire technical staff, so keep it simple. In the end do the same thing you do in your description, inserting call-to-action offering users to download the updated version of your app now.

You may think that some of these are just small details but it won’t take lots of your time to get this part right. In case you’re doing an update just to fix some bugs, you can also include info on what’s new is there in this version.

How and Where to Promote Your Updates

When releasing little bug-fixing updates, you may do it quietly. But when it comes to completely new outstanding features of your app, you have a great opportunity to talk with your favorite users as well as reach out to new customers. Here are some things you can do right now to start promoting your app’s updates.

Promo Codes Giveaway before Your App Update

In case your app in not brand new, you are not likely to use all those promo codes each time. But try to apply some of those promo codes before submitting your app’s updates to Apple Store. When announce about an update coming, give a link on Twitter/Facebook, where anybody interested can use the app promo codes. In case you have more than 1 app you can also consider a cross-promotion.

Control the Release Date

As well as for an app launch, if you want to communicate with your audience about an event, it’s better to set a time for that. Make things easier both for you and your customers. We recommend you to plan to do your submission 3-4 weeks before the moment you’d like to officially release your update.

Promote Your Update

If you have a blog, write a small post about the update.

It shouldn’t be difficult as it has to be a detailed version of what you submitted in the “What’s New” section of the App Store. Try to describe each feature you added and explain why. It will be also nice to insert a couple of screenshots, provide the link to the App Store, and motivate users to get the update.

Use Facebook/Twitter to tell about the app update

You can start talking about the update even before you start working on it. Just let people know when you’re going to prepare the new release (check promo codes info above). After you’ve released the update you can once again tell about it in the “What’s new” section, giving a link to the app’s page or your blog post.

Having a push notification system you can alert your users as well. But make sure to use it only for big updates that really improve your application and/or fix any major issues. People shouldn’t feel spammed.
Trying to be less intrusive you may consider the small popup that appears at first opening following the updates with friendly explications of what’s new there is for users who automatically download the updates.

One more thing you can consider for major updates is contact journalists and bloggers who can be interested in them. But make sure to do this only if your update is newsworthy, as otherwise, you’ll just spoil your relationship with your contacts.

If some bloggers reviewed an earlier version of your app and talked about something he didn’t like, make sure to let him know about the improvements you made to correct some features and you’d like these people to try and review the new version of your app once again.

Remember, updates are crucial for keeping your app alive on the market and are a perfect way to show your users that their opinion is important for you and you do your best to improve the app. Use this amazing opportunity to talk about your work and discuss what benefits your users can have by using it.

With almost every aspect of our lives turning to the small screen to set up inventive presence, success in the field is taking on numerous new implications, understandings, and interpretations.

READ ALSO: How do apps make money

But, how is it possible that mobile app developers are making record profits while, at the same time, the number of free apps on the market continues to grow? The answer’s simple. Most app developers don’t make very much money.

But when we are talking about startup beginners, they are considering themselves as extremely ambitious personalities on their first steps in this field. My tip is to layout your startup on the business model canvas first.

This is what business people naturally do, and a unique idea will take more time to be developed into something tangible, something that will have definite value for future users.

So, what does success look like in the mobile space? Sadly, there’s no distinct answer. Above all else, it depends on who’s inquiring. In case, you’re a startup, displaying a new application or a worldwide brand hoping to build up an overwhelming mobile presence. Your goals will be distinctive, and as a direct result, so will your meaning of success.

Though years, prior speculators looked for after applications with a substantial client volume and neglected those with a moderately little after, today’s existence is an alternate story. Industry insiders know the force of an in number client base, paying little respect to its volume – a dynamic group with intriguing practices and examples demonstrates that the item is promising. Engagement is critical, not the amount.

It’s all about realizing what your product requires. It is a picture of the product, and how the startup will function. You can figure out your ways of mobile application monetization, the value of the product, the target audience,  and the value of the product,  to exude it during marketing campaigns.

Or there is another view, if your product is a transportation application, it doesn’t help when clients download your application but don’t book rides. A quality client for you would mean one that connects into their credit card information and orders a cab. That’s what success looks like for you.

The main truth is that for apps, tons of installations may not be as successful as the numbers lead people to persuade. A strong base of users who are dynamic, contribute to the community, and make in-app purchases, ought to be your main purpose, and harnessing more of those users is your new understanding of mobile prosperity.

But then again, if you’re a traditional, non-digital brand, your definition of success and achieving goals may differ. It shouldn’t be a challenge for you to make a name in the marketing field when you have already a consumer base.

For brands, succeeding in the mobile sphere means applying an improved experience:

1. by using everything that mobile devices have to offer.
2. by providing customers an alternative platform to cooperate with the brand in a way that will hold them coming back for more and more.

In a recent discussion with a partner, she mentioned that she uses an app for an American food chain that doesn’t have an affiliate in her country. She explained, that this source recommends not only food products, but also offers free music and other entertaining content.

It is a perfect example of a label that succeeded in creating a strong mobile experience that provides consumers demand for value-added tax.

Whether you’re a mobile startup or a well-established brand, accurately defining your goals is a significant step on your way to mobile success. Start testing them with upcoming customers. You have a team. But have no strategy? That is a serious question.

Just having a team without a clear understanding of its strengths and weaknesses doesn’t mean much. Don’t rush into creating a mobile strategy without first taking the time to understand clearly where you should go.

It usually requires a lot of hard work to create an app, but nobody can say if it will be successful or not. Even with ample money and time invested, app developers cannot guarantee a successful mobile app. The reason is that app developers just can’t know exactly what their potential clients want to have in their mobile app.

Don’t try to create something you think people will like to use, you need to create an app you know people will like and use for sure. Actually, your idea doesn’t have to be perfect from the very beginning, but you have to be open to any further improvements and fixes in your app, if necessary.

But how to know what to improve and what has to be fixed or what do your customers want now? The only answer here is getting feedback.

Feedback is crucial. It will help you build an outstanding mobile app.

Why Feedback is Important?

It might be challenging to know what your customers will need from a mobile app. But no matter what your customers need now, the only way to know it for sure is to listen to their personal opinion.

And that’s true: only an active user can tell you what doesn’t work and what could be better in the app. Companies that ignore their customers’ feedbacks usually lose. Feedbacks left by your customers help drive your product roadmap to apply changes that are the most important for your customers. Everything related to mobile moves fasts and limiting the number of guesses you benefit from into a better product’s development.

Asking and replying to feedback is another great way to build a strong relationship between you and your app’s users and develop a community. When users see that their feedback is taken seriously, they are more interested in providing it and feeling more connected to your app.

Finally, always try to provide value. Show your customers that you’re listening to them. They should realize that you are attuned to their requirements and needs and will do your best for them.

How to Get Feedback for your Mobile App

There are various tools and ways you can use them for feedback inside your app. The first one is to include an easily accessible function inside the app that users can find and use anytime.

Another awesome way to ask your customers to leave feedback for you is to let them know that you want to hear it. Those guys who are really interested in your app will definitely read the release notes of each version. Include a message in your release notes that encourages the users to reach out and talk to you.

Your customers should know where they can leave feedback for you. You may consider the pointing method inside your app if you have it available. If not, point them to all the places where you are ready and listen.

Both of the above tips are great but they are more likely to work for a small group of your customer base, which is actively searching for release notes or just like to get in touch. Whether your option is to reach a bigger part of your users’ base, you should become really proactive and encourage your clients for leaving feedback.

But before discussing the best tools for reaching out to your clients, you should remember that there are places and times that are always better than others when it comes to asking for feedback for your application. Understanding the right time and place for promotion will help you to avoid the bad experience of using the app for any niche (community app, for instance).

You should realize that it’s not a good idea to prompt a new user to leave feedback after he’s just launched the app or he is in the middle of using it (i.e. checking out, playing level, writing a message). Otherwise, finding moments of possible confusion or moments of success can be the best times to encourage your customers to share their thoughts with you.

Once you’ve found the confusing moments, you can promptly fix them and if your customers are already happy with the product, you can enjoy more positive reviews in the app store as well. A win-win situation, isn’t it?
Asking general feedback is good, but sometimes you might need your clients to answer specific questions, which can build more structured feedback for you. Explore surveys, as this is the best tool for getting structured feedback.

Surveys are very popular because they help you to analyze the market as well as drive customers’ insight. Have ever noticed that many auto shops and restaurants have such surveys as “Did you find everything you were looking for?” or “How did we do today?”

These questions may seem very simple for a consumer, but for businesses, they are extremely important for understanding what to do to improve.

Speaking about mobile apps, the possible questions are:

1. What’s your opinion about the new feature we’ve just released? (include a few possible answers).
2. What new feature would you like us to include in the next update? (include a few possible answers).
3. How likely are you to recommend this product to a friend? (include a few possible answers).

The above suggestions can become a super way to receive reviews for your app, but that’s just the beginning. Think about going further by replying to the feedback and adding it to your product roadmap.

Responding to Feedback

Remember that all customers who leave a review drive your business forward and you should value any feedback, even if it’s full of criticism. It’s crucial to let your users know that they’ve been heard and their time and suggestion have been appreciated. Aim for turning your customers into loving fans.

When there are any changes or updates made in your app, give a credit. A credit may be thanking your clients in the update notes. You can even go further by reaching out to those who shared their opinion and thank them privately. Always leave your conversation open and encourage your users to share feedback at any time.

The main difference between successful and mediocre mobile app marketing is the correct goal setting. If your aim is getting downloads, you will hardly enjoy significant success. On the other hand, if you are looking for returning users, you are on the right path.

Experts say that notifications boost retention by several times. In this article, we are going to provide a few tips on how to make your push notifications amazing.

Push Notifications Best Practices

1. Permissions

If you ask your users for permission to send them to push notifications, you are trying to manipulate them. However, most apps fail here. Most users do not want to allow any apps to get access to their personal data. For example, Android’s permission system has some permission requests and clients feel uncomfortable about confirming personal data sharing.

How it works: to make privacy concerns less problematic, marketers should address the value of notifications they send making their push notification mobile strategy more user friendly. Ask your users what updates they are interested in to send them only relevant information and ensure their compelling experience.

Some marketers decide to send a request later. For example, if you have a messaging application, ask your users whether they want to receive notifications when their friends respond.

2. Clear Marketing Strategy

A marketing effort without a clear strategy is going around in circles. Mobile is the most performance-based platform, so you don’t have to speculate, but everything starts with creating a good plan. Mobile app marketers know that, but more often they fail to create a thoughtful push notification strategy for your app and, therefore, miss an opportunity to boost retention.

How it works:

• think about various push triggers
• user-behavior types you are looking for
• the goal you aim to achieve with push notification marketing and more

The smarter triggers you create, the more chances you get to receive user’s responsibility.

For example, if your app helps users register for contests and events, make a notification that reminds a user when the registration period is nearly over to let him/her have a chance to be on time.

3. Types of Push Notifications

Text notifications are things of the past because you can get to a brand new level today. Modern technology allows you to use more eye-catching messages including images to view in one single tap. It is a great possibility to turn a call-to-action into an action using interactive notifications that attract attention to what are willing to say, and the retention level will grow. Isn’t it great to create interactive and funny apps to ensure entertainment for users?

How it works: you can produce a stronger social aspect and increase user engagement by informing users that their friends use the application. A push notification that informs users of their friends’ moves and offers a further action such as “like” or “share.” It gives your push notification more value and creates a better engagement.

4. Timing

Time is everything. The right timing of your push ensures your app to have delighted users and less annoyed ones. Choose the most comfortable time for your notifications. That is, you have to avoid sending notifications at times when your users are probably busy or asleep.

Avoid disturbing your users, but also chooses the best time to connect them. To do that, you have to know who your audience is and what you are going to send them.

How it works: some experts say that the best time to send notifications is the afternoon. Thus, as has been mentioned above, the effectiveness of your push timing depends on your goal, the industry you are in, and your target audience.

5. A/B Testing

In the mobile app world, you have to test out and develop some options to every parameter described in this article. Obviously, to learn which method is the most effective, you should experiment and measure results. It is a never-ending process to become a regular part of your notification strategy.

How it works: it is crucial to test different approaches to push notifications and try different content, tones, and timing to understand what interests your audience the most. Realizing what makes your users respond to your offers may help you to develop the most effective communication strategy.

6. Content. How to write best push notifications texts

A simple fact is that the content of your notification should be engaging and very specific.

Follow this advice:

• Make sure to keep your text short and informative
• Include a clear call to action in your push messages
• Try to spark the interest of your users with a catchy joke or phrase.
• Use an element of entertainment, it holds the attention and remains in the memory.

In addition, one of the most important things to include in the message is personalization. Send personal messages that catch attention.

How it works: take a personal approach by using names and including details about the last activity user performed in the application. If you sell merchandise, and your audience is interested in specific items, note when they are going on sale.

For instance, the text of your notification can say the following: “Hi, Susan! The bag you have added to your wish list is on sale! Buy it now at a discount!” It is important to be soft. Be personal, but avoid treating them with scant courtesy.

7. Push Notification Segmentation

If you are going to provide personalized communication to your users, this is where you should start. Dividing your audience into groups, focus on certain characteristics and types of people you are appealing to groups can be focused on gender, age, interests, location, and any other personal data.

If you are going to take it to a higher level, you should address user behavior. Specific push notifications are used to learn the way users react, interact, and respond to them to find out how frequently and actively they use your application.

How it works: inert and engaged users should receive different messages. If you want to draw the attention of the inert users to your app again, you should send them notifications that include special deals to evoke their interest.

8. Frequency

Some marketers find push notifications very effective and, therefore, become too enthusiastic. Sometimes, it leads to sending an oversize amount of notifications in a short span of time. Unfortunately, this may irritate users and bring negative results.

A good strategy helps you to discover a perfect balance that will allow you to connect users without becoming an “overly attached girlfriend.”

How it works: you have to divide push notifications into 2 groups. The first group should contain messages that inform users about the action of other users (“Your friend Judy liked your photo”).

The second group should contain messages that information directly about the deals within the app (“Check out the new special offer!”). Users like to receive the messages of the first type, so you should be careful about how often you send the messages of the second type.

9. Prioritizing

If you have too many similar push notifications you want to send to the same user in a short period of time, and you try to avoid over-spamming your user, make sure to prioritize them and choose the most important ones. When creating a push strategy, a segmentation process could help you in this process and detect the issue in advance.

How it works: begin with separating specific notifications from the general ones and choose those messages that adhere to the users’ needs to the maximum extent. In case if you cannot decide which of them are of higher priority, try creating several seasonal versions of the general strategy.

10. Creativity

Obviously, the main aim of sending notifications is to get maximum users’ attention and engagement. For that reason, it makes sense to take your time and produce some creative and entertaining content. Come up with something unique and you will be more likely to amaze your audience. Don’t make your message very long, but try to make it memorable.

How it works: the ideas are endless. Make your content funny or rhyme to generate retention and communication.

This list is a checklist for beginners in the world of push notifications. To make sure that you are on the right way, we recommend you review this article from time to time. Keep on adjusting, testing, and measuring your results!

In conclusion

Push notification marketing is still growing and can bring significant benefits to your business. Try our best practices to gain the desired results!

If, in your opinion, mobile applications are exclusively for worldwide corporations and big-name brands such as Bank of America or Walmart, you’re totally mistaken. Nowadays, more and more midsize, and even small, companies are following mobile application development trends. Market conditions make the businesses think that an efficient mobile strategy requires more than just a user-friendly website.

Today you can mark that the biggest part of small companies you cooperate with in your day-to-day routine and have their personal mobile application. Be it a beauty salon downtown or a cozy corner coffee shop. These businesses hold leading positions in a particular field when it comes to getting their marketing strategy to the next level.

If you’re still confused about why building your own mobile platforms for business became so popular, here’re TOP 9 benefits of joining this club sooner rather than later.

1. Be visible to the clients constantly

Recent statistics say that the average American spends more than 2 hours using his/ her mobile device every day. In fact, only a handful of all mobile apps constitutes the main part of total usage. On the other hand, to find the application the user is looking for, he/she still needs to unlock, scroll, and glance over the device.

As humans mind record unconsciously every text, image, or catchy app icon, such simple scrolling down and up can be an advantage for your business. It works – even if this process happens unnoticed.

2. It provides you with a more direct connection

It’s simple. The application always displays on the device desktop. Moreover, in contrast with the website, the app can be opened with one easy tap. To find your page in the net, the user needs to open the browser and find the appropriate URL to bookmark it.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to develop an app

The app makes it much easier for clients to leave feedback or call you. Furthermore, all negative comments left on the site are visible to everyone. What about negative feedbacks submitted with the help of an app, they give you a chance to deal with client dissatisfaction before his/her opinion goes public.

3. Connect with on-the-go clients

The smartphone is one of the most personal technology tools we can have. Sometimes we keep it close to ourselves twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Statistics show that approximately 80% of the time spent on the phone is spent using applications.

4. Create a useful marketing channel

An application wears many hats: it can give general information about your company, show prices, provide users with booking forms, personal accounts, search features, news feeds, messengers, etc. And, what is the biggest benefit of creating an app, all this info is right at clients’ fingertips. With the help of push notifications, you have an opportunity to advance even closer to direct cooperation by reminding customers about your special sales, new products, and services.

5. Show customers that you appreciate them

When it comes to on-hand data and digitalization, in place of old-fashioned point-collection cards, provide your clients with the possibility to collect loyalty program bonuses via the mobile app. The result won’t take long, and you’ll get more downloads and more regular clients.

6. Increase your brand recognition

A device application for your company can contribute to your brand recognition. A created app is like a billboard sign: you can do with it everything that you want. You have all the needed tools to make it functional, user-friendly, stylish, and informative. But what your primary goal should be is to build an application that has all the necessary features your client will love. At the same time, it has to be well-designed and branded.

The more often users get involved with your application, the sooner they will decide to order your service. It’s called “effective frequency” in the advertising field: hearing and seeing your business brand about 20 times is what will get you really notable.

7. Improve your connection with clients

All the same, whether you’re selling a spa service or flowers, your customers need a resource to reach you without effort. Having a help desk or messenger in the application can change the way you communicate with the clients. For example, if you create a mobile app for your restaurant, the users have a chance to book the table with 5 clicks on your platform. No doubt, instead of phone connection the majority will choose communication via text. Building your business model around this principle – your key to success.

8. Win the market competition

It’s hard to believe, but today device applications at the small business level are still infrequent. Because of this, you can stay one jump ahead of your competitors. Be one of the first in your area to offer an application to your clients. Be sure, they’ll be amazed by your wise and farsighted approach.

9. Cultivate loyalty of customers

One more significant reason to create your own mobile application is customer loyalty. With all this information noise around like billboards, roadside banners, magazines ads, flashing signs, coupons, flyers, website banners, email marketing, and Facebook advertising we, as businessmen, slowly lose our influence on clients because there is a huge amount of commercial on every corner. On the other hand, it’s an auspicious time to make a true connection with customers. It leads them to become loyal users of your service.

And last, but not least, I don’t mean that a device application will save your company. However, it can be an excellent tool that helps you stay close to the users and be a “fingertip” away all along. I hope, with all these weighty reasons, you’ll look at your phone as a perspective for successful business management and effective client experience.

Not so long ago, app developers were all about deciding the success of apps based on analytics. The statistics were assessed to determine just how good an app was doing in terms of user appeal and feedback. At one time, developers measured the app’s overall success based on its ratings and the download count (or sales). These were key mobile marketing metrics.

However, these days there are better ways to assess the overall success of any mobile application. These marketing metrics are something every developer needs to know about if they are to decide the success of an application.

Every measurement shared here consists of a formula or a way of getting information that you can use to draw insights about the app and how well it is doing. You can figure out how much revenue an app is generating per user, the costs per loyal user, and the costs per install and compare it with mobile application development costs. 

The latter figures will reveal how successful you’re marketing is and if users are finding your app useful or enjoyable. You can also find out how people are engaging with the app, the parts of the app that are most enticing, and if your application requires changes or improvements.

1. Know Your ARPU

ARPU is an acronym for Average Revenue per User. The ARPU is broken down into a formula consisting of the amount of money the app generates within the framework of a set period over the number of active app users within the same timeframe.

Bear in mind that ARPU will be different for every mobile app category as well as for every revenue model. However, there are some comparisons that can be made that can prove useful in determining app success. ARPU by revenue model can help you take another look at the revenue brought in through advertising; fee-based downloads in-app purchases, freemium apps, and subscriptions for ease of comparison.

The ARPU can help you in finding out the average revenue the app is generating per user. The latter figure is important because you can use it in other metrics. First, in CPLU (Cost per Loyal User), you can compare the ARPU to the CPLU and if the latter is less than the former, you’re using your marketing methods correctly.

Essentially, it reveals you are generating more income than it costs to acquire the attention of the consumer. Next, in the Retention metric, the ARPU is part of finding out the lifetime value of those consumers you have as loyal users. Therefore, if you have an app that makes $0.50 a month and you retain a consumer for about 5 months on average, the lifetime value is $2.50.

2. Know Your CPLU & CPI

CPI is an acronym for Cost per Install. CPLU is also an acronym standing for Cost per Loyal User. The CPI is a formula that equals the advertising dollars you spend divided by the number of new installations you get within a given advertising campaign. The CPLU however, is the number of advertising dollars you spend divided by the amount of new and loyal application uses you get from the ad campaign.

These two figures can be used along with your ARPU to find out the return on investment you are getting from all of your advertising and marketing. For your marketing to prove successful, your CPLU needs to be less than your ARPU.

3. How Are Your Users Engaging?

Engagement is not something you can figure out by a formula, and it requires an assessment of how your users are making use of the mobile app in question. In understanding a user’s behaviors, you can get an inside view of what is most appealing to your users and what features may be unnecessary.

Engagement is an umbrella term covering a variety of user actions including an assessment of app screens viewed per session, the conversion rates, interactions, opt-ins, opt-outs, and session intervals and lengths. Let’s look at each of these analytics a bit more in-depth.

Customer loyalty measures how often your users return to the app and use it. Your customer’s engagement is vital to the success of the app, as engaged users are being called the bread and butter of an application’s overall success. If you have users that are remaining engaged with the app, it means they like what the app has to offer and are therefore more likely to spread the good word about the app to others – word of mouth advertising goes a long way in the mobile app industry.

What’s more, you can track the usage of loyal users over a longer time to see if trends in application development crop up or if the users repeat actions that may offer insight into how you can improve the application or enhance user engagement.

4. Know Your Love Ratio

The love ratio is a mobile marketing metric that’s been in use for a while and a broad assessment of statistics reveal that the answer is yes, just over 57.70% of the time. The measurement gives you a good idea just how much your users are enjoying the app and if the numbers are low it suggests you’ll need to make some changes to the app to make it more loveable.

Bear in mind, this figure can also vary if a person is not giving an honest answer to the survey and is just clicking on whatever answer will dismiss the survey question quickly. Despite potential biased answers and incomplete assessment values due to lack of user response, the Love Ratio formula still reveals vital information to the app developer, especially over the course of version histories and time.

5. Monitoring Retention Rate

There’s a formula for determining your retention rate, which is a metric marking the number of users you have returning to your mobile app on a weekly basis. Aggregate retention is the number of actives you have during a month divided by the install amounts during the same period. To determine what the retention rate for a specified time is, you need to note the number of app users you’ve retained by the end of a specified time and divide it by the installs during that period.

Broad statistics suggest that as many as 40% of mobile UX apps continue to use the app following the first 30 after the installation, but this number dramatically declines to a little as 4% within the year following the date of install.

The retention rate will allow you to define, not just how many downloads you have, but how many users you have. Even better, you can figure out active users over the course of time. Even if you have 100,000 downloads, 50% of that may have retained users over the course of time, and only by knowing your retention will you know how many downloaders actually remained active users.

When you know the monthly active users, you can use the figure to multiply it against the monthly average revenue you’re making per user to determine your overall revenue.

In essence, there are plenty of ways to measure what is happening with your mobile app. There are formulas you can use to find out user behavior, actions, and if they like using the application you‘ve created. A developer can then use the insights gained to improve the application and subsequently increase revenue.

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Do you have some troubles with sales in the iOS and Android App stores? Other sellers just get their success right away from the very start, but you still sold a minimum after a year of business? Well, you came to the right place to solve the problem. We have some interesting and helpful tips for you to help. These are the 5 main reasons why you have poor app sales.

1. No app marketing

The common and very often mistaken for fresh app producers is the conviction that their app is fantastic, and people will find it immediately after sharing it online. However, in a real-life everything is much more complicated. You should realize that there are billions of new apps and other stuff rolling in every new day.

Thus, the customer will never find, like, and pick up your app among thousands of others. Without a marketing strategy, you are just a drop in the ocean. So, you should find some effective way to present your product to the world and get the needed attention. For example, you can cooperate with other companies to start promoting your product and let people know and talk about it. Then, you can start a big sale to bring heat to the sales.

Not using proper mobile analytics tools is also a big mistake.

2. Not enough social media promotion for your app

Nowadays social media is a huge part of our everyday life. Everyone knows that Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and dozens of other social networks can hit big when it comes to your business promotion. They can be also a perfect way to build your communion with customers all over the world. You can find here some new clients, devoted fans, and regular clients too.

So, try to build some serious community with your social network page to turn these people into your regular customers and fans. Do not forget that these guys will bring their friends to your app shop too. Using Twitter, for example, you will learn how to communicate with modern customers and make your business grow like mushrooms after the rain.

READ ALSO:  Android app stores

3. No reviews for the app

So, if you know something about the world of the app business, you as an IOS developer, probably, dream about featuring your app by Apple. While you are looking for some special magic formula to make it happen, we should tell you that there is no formula. You should realize that Apple will get interested in your product only if there are a lot of positive reviews and feedback on your app.

No magic, business only. You can find a lot of various websites that can write great reviews on your product.  Even if their review is not very positive, you will get the attention you desire and it is the most important thing.

4. No design attention

You might invent a really great and useful app that can be very popular around the world. However, what’s about its design and usability? If your app is difficult to navigate with the pale interface, it is likely to be a flop. People don’t want to use programs that are not clear and simple enough. Everything should be done fast and easily.

Moreover, the look of the app should be really beautiful, stylish, and useful. If your design skills are too poor to make your app perfect, you should hire an expert. A professional designer or even a team of designers is the solution to your problem. Do not try to save your money with that, just make everything possible for your app to start selling as quickly as it is possible.

5. Your app is simply a bad app

There is no guarantee that your app is perfect and useful. You could spend weeks or months to develop it. However, it can turn out to be a failure. Yes, there are thousands of apps released every day. Most of them are just nothing special. And a typical customer will always see that something is wrong.

So, to avoid such situations, you should ask yourself a few important questions. Ask yourself about the problem your app is designed to solve. Are there any other apps that can do the same job? Is your app better than others? For example, you can invent a cool calculator. It is great. However, there are thousands of such apps on the market. Thus, your app needs to be unique to be a success. You should make something really revolutionary new in this field to get the deal.