After months of hard work, brainstorming sessions, and countless tests, your app is finally live! Nevertheless, despite your best efforts, the app store downloads aren’t rolling in. What gives? No worries, we’re here to help you turn things around. With a few simple steps, you can boost its visibility, increase purchases, and skyrocket its success. Welcome to App Promotion 101! Grab a notebook and a pencil, and let’s dive into some effective and actionable tips you might be missing in your marketing strategy.
Quick Dive: What Is App Store Optimization (ASO)? 📱
💡 Key Insight: App store optimization refers to the process of enhancing an app’s visibility and ranking, increasing discoverability, conversion rates, and user acquisition to improve its overall growth and sustainability.
📌 Why App Store Optimization Matters in App Promotion
By knowing the ranking factors that influence search results such as descriptions, downloads, and user reviews, you can strategically boost your app promotion with data-based information. This leads to better overall performance and higher conversion rates.
With over 2 million apps on Apple’s App Store alone, competition is fierce! ASO helps you target the right audience by integrating strategies such as keyword research (which we’ll dive into later) to make it easier for users to find your app and choose it over countless others available.
Working on ASO consistently can help maintain your app’s relevancy, ensuring it stays top of mind for potential users. Moreover, by incorporating relevant keywords, you can help boost organic traffic and installs, setting your app up for sustained success over time.
5 Game-Changing Tips for App Promotion 🚀
Now that we’ve gone over some ASO basics, you may be wondering “Ok, but how do I promote my app?”. Look no further! These app promotion tips are designed to unlock your project’s full potential, turning the casual browser into a customer. Let’s dive right in.
5. Translate / Localize
So, you have your app, but that’s it: you have one app. Translating your app’s content into different languages can help you reach users worldwide, target local keywords, and expand your market by aiming at yet-untapped opportunities and potential customers.
Now, to guarantee a seamless user experience (UX), there are a few pointers you’ll need to consider for a multilingual app. First, let’s dive into a quick comparison between translating and localizing:
Translating an app’s content involves converting the text, words, and phrases from the source language to the target language.
Localizing your app focuses on adapting the entire experience to fit the cultural and linguistic preferences of the target audience to fully resonate with their context.
Ideally, as you think about how to promote an app in a different language, you’d want to ensure it feels natural and intuitive for users in the target language. Thus, pay close attention to:
🌍 Cultural Differences
Noted, your app’s content must be culturally relevant and appropriate. Take into account that certain phrases, images, colors, and symbols may have different meanings for users. Additionally, your app’s features need to align with the target location’s local standards such as date formats, units of measurement, and legal requirements.
🌐 User Interface
The parameters mentioned above, such as symbols, text, and colors, will influence the design stage of your app. Consider aspects such as search filters, character length, and width restrictions as you strategize with developers, creatives, and designers about how the final layout and content need to look.
🤖 Technical Solutions
Do consider conducting thorough testing with your team to identify and fix any issues related to translated content, localized features, layouts, and standardized software. You want to ensure your app performs well in all target markets to deliver a polished, user-friendly experience.
💡 Keep Reading: How to Align Your Content & UX Marketing Strategy
4. Icon Design
If your app has been out for a while, you might want to skip this tip. However, if we’re talking about a recent launch and you don’t have a large user base yet, you should reconsider your icon design as you go through how to promote an app. Here’s why!
As with a logo, it’s one of the first things customers notice before even reading about your app and its features. So, for app promotion, you want to ensure the icon is not only visually appealing but also representative of your brand. A good design is engaging and relevant, encouraging users to learn more about it.
🌟 Design Checklist
So, as you navigate through how to promote your app, consider this quick checklist for your icon design:
✅ Match the current operating system design.
✅ Be scalable and maintain its legibility when resized.
✅ Don’t add exceeding detailing that may overwhelm audiences.
✅ Stay consistent with the branding of your app.
✅ Maintain a unique design that conveys your app’s purpose.
As we’ve mentioned, when focusing on app promotion, it is incredibly important to give the best first impression possible. So, what better way than to start with your icon design? 😌
💡 Friendly Reminder: Your business logo is as equally as important as your app’s icon. Get the full scoop on how to create a professional design and boost your branding like an expert with Placeit by Envato.
3. Screenshots in Context
Of course, your screenshots say everything about your app. Now, think of it this way: having a beautiful concept art commissioned might sound tempting, but is it effective? It’s better to show that your app is being used in context. That way, customers can envision how your app’s features can enhance their everyday lives.
We’ve written a post on how to make app store screenshots to show you how iPhone mockups and related images can increase downloads. As a tip, your best bet is also to choose one screenshot per app action or feature to make the most of each visual asset and clearly showcase your product’s functionality to potential customers.
But wait, there’s still more to uncover! At Placeit by Envato, we’re proud to introduce you to the largest mockup library online. Browse through our digital mockups and find the perfect fit for app promotion and boost all your marketing channels with professionally made visual assets.
Whether you’re looking for app demos, iOS screenshots, or iPhone mockups, our ever-growing collection is packed with all the resources and assets you’ll need for your next project. Take a peek at some of these striking options for app promotion! 😊✨
🌟 Tackle the million-dollar question “How to promote my app?” like a pro. These are the ultimate elements of a perfect product mockup and how to choose the best assets for your brand.
📌 Heads Up: For the next section, we’re going to focus solely on the Apple App Store to illustrate how its algorithm works and why keywords play an important role as you learn how to promote your app.
2. Keywords
💡 Key Insight: The App Store algorithm considers several factors such as your app’s rating, primary categories, description, keyword relevance, and user reviews to determine its ranking. Similar to how Google works, this helps boost your app’s visibility by impacting the search results.
What do keywords have to do with app promotion? Well, by incorporating relevant search queries, you improve your app’s discoverability targeting users who are most likely to download it. Ready for your app to get the attention it deserves? Here’s what you need to do:
🔎 Search for Relevant Keywords
You can use online tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush to monitor important search queries and traffic insights within your niche. As a general guideline, aim for keywords that have a good search volume and low competition. Consider that while popular, general terms often have highly competitive rankings, so it’s best to use high-intent phrases.
🚫 Avoid Trademarked Terms
Don’t use competing app names, company or product names, trademarked terms, or other protected phrases and third-party materials in your description to avoid getting your content rejected by the App Store. This practice is highly discouraged and could potentially lead to infringement issues.
✏️ Write a Compelling App Name, Subtitle & Description
This is an important aspect of app promotion as the name and description highly influence how people discover and perceive your product. Let’s go over a few basics so you can nail down your app’s reach!
Up to 30 characters.
Aim for a simple, yet distinctive and memorable name. Avoid being overly general or using terms that are highly similar to other existing app names.
- Up to 30 characters.
- This is a short summary that details your app’s value proposition. So, skip generic descriptions and focus on highlighting your product’s unique features in a way that resonates with your target audience.
- Up to 4,000 characters.
- Remember, less is more! Your description should be a concise and informative paragraph that lets potential customers know what makes your app stand out. As a tip, make sure to start with an engaging opening sentence that hooks your audience—it’s the first thing users will see before they decide whether to tap and read more.
✅ Select the Right App Category
Your app’s primary category will describe its main purpose and core experience: is it a finance tool, an educational resource, or a fitness tracker? As you ask yourself “How can I promote my app?” think about which categories users are most likely to search your product on. If needed, research how similar apps are sorted to know where your project would fit best.
🤯 Looking for more inspo on how to promote your mobile app? You might enjoy reading these Crazy App Marketing Ideas That Worked!
1. Ratings & Reviews
Ratings are another factor the App Store considers when ranking your app and boosting its visibility. As a starting point, you can encourage your current customers, friends, and family to add reviews. You can bet they will have something nice to say! A short message asking them to review your app after using it for a while will go miles toward lifting its image.
Of course, there are other app promotion strategies you can implement to engage with your customers and drive reviews:
📱 Leverage social media to reach a wider audience.
🌐 Position your app through an SEO-optimized website.
💬 Network with fellow entrepreneurs and focus on word-of-mouth marketing.
⭐️ This is just a quick sneak peek of 7 Tips for Promoting Your App without Money. Head over to the blog to unlock all its expert strategies!
Promote Your App Today With Placeit! ✨
As you can see, getting your app to the top spot requires strategy, creativity, and doing your homework, AKA research. After going through these tips and insights, you’re on the path to a successful app promotion!
Remember that with Placeit by Envato, you can access all the tools and resources you need for your business. From visually stunning digital mockups to show your app in action to eye-catching social media templates to boost your marketing efforts, we’re here to make your app get the attention it deserves. ✨
🌟📱 Did you enjoy this app promotion post? Dive further into how to promote your mobile app with 3 App Fails & Their App Marketing Teachings, Designing an App Screenshot that Drives Conversions, and App Marketing Strategies to Upscale Your Business. Got any app marketing-related topics you’d like us to tackle in the future? Let us know in the comments!
