Popular Mobile App Download Strategies That Work

Mobile apps are growing in popularity across the globe as user preferences shift from the desktop to the smartphone. As a result, it has never been more important for businesses to recognise the need for a strong and coherent mobile app strategy that maximises their results. With the holiday season approaching, many businesses are looking to their mobile app as a crucial marketing tool to help entice customers in the run up to Christmas. Mobile apps offer business owners many options in terms of how they choose to engage with customers through loyalty programs, shopping carts, food ordering systems and push notifications to name just a few.

However, before a business can market to their customers using some of the methods mentioned above they need to ensure customers are downloading the mobile app to their smartphone device. The focus of this week’s blog is to highlight popular mobile app download strategies that work for any business.

Every mobile app starts with an idea and usually the best ideas come from customers. Sending out a personalised email or letter to customers offering them an incentive to complete a short survey about your forthcoming mobile app is a great way to canvass opinions from your existing customers. Making customers feel part of the app creation process is a great way to promote the mobile app but also to make sure the app features are tailored to the audience.

Not every mobile app download strategy needs to conform to the status quo. The use of influencers to engage and sway customer behaviour is a powerful method for boosting download numbers. Think carefully about the core business values and reach out to influencers who share those values to build social proof that resonates with the core audience.

While the move from desktop to mobile is in full swing, it does not mean that businesses should neglect the opportunity to leverage their existing website. Having a pop up page that reminds customers of the mobile app is a great way to direct visitors to downloading the app. In addition, dedicating a section of the website to promote the mobile app is another great way to prompt users to download the app.

Having a mobile app is not a replacement for pursuing other marketing tactics when engaging with customers. In contrast, a mobile app should be considered an enhancement to the marketing activities of a business as it allows for deeper engagement with customers and the ability to localise marketing campaigns.

One of the popular ways in which a business can use email campaigns to promote their app is to include a link in the footer which redirects users towards the download page. With most businesses sending multiple types of emails each day, this presents the perfect opportunity to create awareness amongst customers.

We have all heard the popular saying, ‘a picture paints a thousand words”. The use of a video is a far more powerful way to promote a mobile app as opposed to a screenshot. Videos present a fantastic opportunity for any business to demonstrate the key features of their mobile app and to educate customers on why they should hit that download button. Once the demo video has been created it is crucial that businesses leverage this by including the video on social media as well as the website.

An out of the box idea to promote a mobile app centres on participating in app awards. The benefit of this strategy is that it gives the mobile app exposure and access to a potentially wider user base. Although awards are very competitive and the chances of winning overall are slim, just being part of the process can enhance the credibility of any mobile app.

There are more and more mobile apps being added to the App Store and Google Play each day, making competition intense in most categories. One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to have an engaging app icon that grabs the attention of users.

Social media can be a great way to increase the number of downloads for a mobile app by engaging with existing as well as potential customers. Since more and more people are turning to social media, it presents the perfect platform to showcase the benefits of downloading a mobile app as well as publicising the many positive testimonials that a particular mobile app may have obtained. Adding promotional app videos to a Facebook page or tweeting a download link on Twitter can help build awareness for a mobile app as well as start the conversation with customers.

An underestimated strategy for mobile app downloads focus on offline promotion. From simple posters directing people to download the app to frontline staff prompting customers, offline strategies can really help increase download numbers.

A key component of any mobile app download strategy is the use of incentives as a tool to get customers to download the app. For example, offering a percentage discount, a free item or indeed making a loyalty program exclusive to a mobile app are great ways to incentivise the download.

As we have seen throughout this blog there are many popular mobile app download strategies that work for every business and every situation. The key thing to remember when trying to maximise mobile app download numbers is to utilise a range of strategies that can target different types of customers. To find out how Eazi-Apps can help your business contact us today.