While nobody can deny that Mobile has altered the landscape of communication, what we are now witnessing is the growth in the mobile app development market. Mobile overtook desktops as people’s preferred device to access the internet. Mobile internet is growing at the expense of all other media as the majority of the internet usage is through mobile devices.
Mobile apps continue to achieve major milestones illustrating their popularity and with this new avenue, it has opened new opportunities for retailers, publishers, marketers etc.
Developing a mobile app is the not the only step, perhaps, it’s the first step towards success and as a developer, you need to think from user’s perspective as what makes them click the “download” button. You need to make your presence felt in the niche market so that users can connect with you. Leave no space for mistakes and before the completion of the process ensure that you have marketing tactics ready in your arsenal so that you can shoot the moment your app is ready. However, deploying reliable mobile app marketing strategies gives you an edge over others making users to click the download button more often.
Since it has become a popular medium, there’s a thin line that you shouldn’t cross to avoid making mistakes that will prompt them to seek alternatives.
So here are some Don’ts in front of you that you should avoid at any cost.
Apps are not the simplified version of websites:
Apps are not mini versions of websites. Though, they are the smaller version of websites enabling the exact features and functionality but navigating through a mobile app is completely different as compared to desktops. Both of them offer different navigation experience, therefore, should be treated differently.
You cannot emulate all the functionality of a website in an app as the screen size shrinks and so, do the input feed and any disturbance in user experience will make users quickly discard the app. What you can do is to first, analyze which functionality you need to focus on and how you can present the mobile version without missing out on anything.
For instance, you can have a look at Facebook. The Facebook website uses column layout for displaying content in the center and advertisements in sidebars on the left/right while on the other hand, the Facebook mobile app displays only the main content providing users with a streamlined view.
First App Development followed by marketing strategies:
Developers often think two steps ahead of time, though, sometimes it could lead to unfavourable results. The aim of mobile app marketing is to let customers know your services so that it could sell itself and even before commencing the development cycle, they start thinking of how to cash in their efforts. That’s where you need to pause, instead of dreaming of impressive download figures focus on mobile app development.
Just develop a great app back it up with an effective marketing strategy it’s as simple as that. This is imperative to ensure the long-term sustainability of your business.
Downloads are Good but retention is better:
The download figures can be impressive but that figure doesn’t solely determine your app’s success, retention does. For a real and long term sustainable profit, you need to work towards better retention i.e. keeping users who have used your app once. The lifetime value of users is one of the important metrics to evaluate performance and profitability. Keep users engaged and provide them with reasons to keep coming back. You can implement user engagement resources such as subscriptions, push notifications, in-app purchases etc. and retain your user base.
Neglecting ASO(App Store Optimization) :
Don’t make it hard for people to finding your app as there are other applications in the App store. Just like we have SEO(Search Engine Optimization) for making websites visible on search engines, we have ASO(App Store Optimization). You need to optimize your app to make it discoverable. Have right keywords, title description in your app page and have high search volume.
There are some tools like SearchMan, MobileDevHQ, Appnique for improving ASO so that users will easily find your app in the App store.
Just a reminder that ASO varies from platform to platform(iOS or Android) so ensure that you tailor to the specific ASO of the different platforms.
No, I don’t need Feedback:
You have to communicate with the audience to understand their needs as well to know where you can improve. Feedback and reviews let users share their experiences and through feedback, their voice can be heard. Let customers communicate to you through perspective, feedback, queries and views as this will ensure that your time and effort is well invested.
After all, retailers who address their customer’s concerns and issues continue to enjoy a better customer base and better retention.
Create a powerful mobile app and then put in your app marketing efforts, this way you add value not to your business but to users also. Put all the metrics in the right place and let your app connects you with millions of users.
There are some pitfalls that you should avoid at any cost. Invest in research and analysis and spend some time to drive your mobile app marketing strategies.
