Launching a mobile app is more than designing a beautiful user interface and coding killer functionalities. For a product to be successful, your target market needs to know about it. But what's the best way to spread the word about your new app? 

Marketing a mobile app can get costly if you throw spaghetti on the wall and hope that something will stick. Knowing which marketing channels to invest in can help you gain traction and maximize your budget. Let's take a look at some essential app marketing channels:

1. Word-of-mouth Marketing

Ask your friends and family to spread the word, download the app, and post reviews. This low-cost tactic can help you boost your app store ranking, which is affected by the number and velocity of downloads and the number and rating of user reviews. However, this method isn't scalable and can only take you as far as your Rolodex would go.

You can take word-of-mouth marketing to the next level by building a loyal fan base and asking them to post reviews and share your app with their peers, as consumers consider opinions from someone "just like them" 14% more credible than a brand employee.

2. App Landing Page

A landing page is your home base where you can showcase the app's features and offer engaging content to entice more people to download. A website allows you to build SEO juice and drive organic traffic so more people can find your product. You can also use a landing page to build buzz pre-launch and collect email addresses to support your marketing campaign.

When creating a landing page, include relevant keywords and a call-to-action (e.g., sign up to get launch notifications via email or visit your app store listing.) Follow SEO best practices to drive high-quality traffic to the site to optimize your ROI.

3. Influencer Marketing

Build buzz and attract more visitors by reaching out to influencers, media outlets, and bloggers who align with your brand philosophy and are trusted by your target audiences. This tactic can help you build buzz, generate backlinks, and get genuine reviews. 

Choosing the right influencer is the key to maximizing your ROI. They should have a good reputation in your niche and be known for sharing relevant and valuable content. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get celebrity endorsement—micro-influencers who have a genuine bond with their audiences and high engagement rates are often more effective.

4. App Store or Play Store Feature

Optimizing your app store listing for organic search is essential. Take your app store presence to the next level and stand out in the crowded marketplace by getting your app featured on the App Store or Play Store. Users who view featured listings have a high intent to download while getting highlighted by Apple or Google further reinforces your credibility. 

Put in some elbow grease to get your app noticed: Contact the Apple or Google editorial teams, add new features regularly, position your app against trending topics, leverage new technology, and design an eye-catching icon that stands out.

5. In-app Messaging

Use your app as a marketing channel to retain users, ask them to post a review, and encourage them to tell others about your app. Make sure to address all critical bugs before asking for a review and time your communications mindfully to avoid pestering users.

In-app messaging offers a great channel to build trust and relationships with existing users and increase your retention rates. Share new features, communicate app issues proactively, offer assistance, and notify users about upgrades. Also, segment your users to deliver the most relevant content and offers at the right time.

6. Social Media Marketing

You can amass followers, get the word out about your app, and scale your campaign through social media marketing. Focus on posting content that educates and entertains to build rapport with your prospects and followers. Don't forget to optimize your profiles with a call-to-action that points users to your app store listing.

Use the appropriate hashtags to get in front of the right people, establish a regular posting cadence, and engage your followers in conversations. Also, analyze your performance to identify the best time to post and the most popular types of content to fine-tune your strategy.

7. Paid Online Advertising

While paid ads require a higher level of investment, they can generate almost-instant results by driving traffic, increasing downloads, and jumpstarting your SEO. Besides Google Ads, podcast advertising, and social media sponsored posts, try ad networks to reach a niche audience (e.g., Applovin or Chartboost for games) and rank-boosting campaigns (e.g., NativeX or Kiip Rewards) to drive a spike in downloads.

Advertising is essential for scaling your marketing effort. Be prepared to have enough budget to get your campaign off the ground to achieve economies of scale and collect enough data to inform your strategy, learn about your audience, and optimize performance.

8. Content Marketing

Publishing relevant and engaging content on your website helps you attract more users, build credibility, boost your SEO, and get found by more people in the long term. Content marketing takes time, so don't expect it to take you from zero to hero in a week. But when done right, it's a marketing channel that'll keep on giving.

Invest in keyword research and identify topics your target audiences are most interested in. Don't forget to promote your content via email, social media, and guest blogging. You can also use paid ads to drive initial traffic and boost your SEO juice.

Which App Marketing Channels Are Right For You?

When you choose app marketing channels, you should consider these factors:

• Cost: How much time and resources can you invest in the channel to optimize its performance? For example, you need a substantial budget for online ad campaigns to gain traction or the time to post content to implement an effective SEO strategy.

• Time: Do you need to see results right away? Content marketing can yield a high long-term ROI but takes time to gain traction. On the other hand, paid ads require a healthy budget but can achieve results more quickly.

• Scale: Is the channel scalable to meet your marketing objectives? Some tactics (e.g., word-of-mouth marketing) are cost-effective at a small scale and great for taking your app off the ground on a shoestring budget, but you can't scale it to achieve world domination.

• ROI: How much will it cost you (think time, money, and effort) to achieve conversion, and how much profit can you generate per conversion? Design a revenue strategy to ensure you aren't losing money on every user you acquire.

Identifying the most effective channels to market your app must be part of your digital product development process. Without a sound audience & revenue model, you could risk having a killer app that only you, your cat, and your mom will know about.

That's why we bake marketing strategies and performance tracking into our digital product development services to ensure that your app will reach your target audiences and achieve your business goals. Get in touch to see how we can help.