Mobile App Marketing: 4 Most Common Mistakes
If you’re in the mobile app business, you’re probably aware that app marketing is an essential tool for your success. New apps are being uploaded to iTunes and Google Play every day, and there is a good chance that many of them are similar to yours. If that’s the case, don’t worry, just get a sensible marketing plan in action and you can still beat the competition with a successful marketing strategy.
That being said, we’ve had many apps come to us for help in building their app strategy that have similar issues. These a common mistakes that almost every app makes, so if any of these mistakes apply to you, remedy the problem if you can before you move forward. We’ve seen every type of app make these mistakes, including Games, eBooks, Photo and Video, Education and more. Below is the list, feel free to comment with your thoughts.
1. App name has already been taken.
iTunes and Google Play let developers upload apps with similar or even identical names to other apps that were there previously. The negative affect this has on marketing for your app, is that if someone goes searching for your app in the app store or even online, odds are the previous app will pop up first. Let’s say someone reads a press release or sees your app in an ad, then texts or IMs the name of your app to someone else, and that person searches for it and finds a different app – that’s a huge marketing loss for your app and free marketing for the other. Research your app’s name thoroughly before you start a marketing campaign. If the app name does already exists, there are methods to get over that hump and beat the competition, but you’ll need to address the issue first to strategize a plan.
2. No “Big Picture” Strategy
Successful app marketing campaigns tie multiple resources together, including advertising, press releases, blogs, social media and more. We’ve come across hundreds of apps that will put out a press release, have a Facebook and Twitter page that they update every so often, and maybe do a light ad campaign, but the success measured doesn’t equal the effort. The most effective marketing campaigns have a “big picture” where all of these assets run together, work together, and drive the message home that the target audience needs this app. A simple social media page, feature on a tech website, or ad campaign won’t do: you have to build a story to captivate your audience and blast it out through every outlet possible.
3. Poorly Run Ad Campaigns
In-app advertising is a powerful addition to your marketing strategy, and if utilized correctly, will get your app thousands of downloads and high store rankings. The best ad campaigns continue to garner downloads even after the ad funds have been spent. Unfortunately, many ad campaigns don’t maximize their success because they are poorly run and/or executed. Traits of unsuccessful ad campaigns are high CPI, targeting wrong audience, unengaging ad, and more. Make sure your ad campaign is free from these problems to ensure your ad money is well spent.
4. No App Marketing Experience
Not everyone can simply just pick up the marketing ball and get it rolling. Just like anything else, if you want to run a successful marketing campaign, make sure whoever is running it for you has previous experience in the field. Great marketers are essential aspects of your campaign, because they know how to avoid pitfalls, create great ideas, and know when to stay on course and when to change the path. The best plans are executed by the best people, so make sure the person, or group, in charge of your app marketing campaign are top-notch.
This article has been brought to you by Carson Barker, CEO of APPSPIRE.me. Carson Barker is the owner and founder of APPSPIRE.me, a leading mobile app marketing agency. He has been working in marketing for over 7 years, and has created and executed dozens of successful online and real world marketing campaigns for business such as The Associated Press, Open Labs, FramesDirect.com, and many more.
