The very fact that you are reading this article means you have either decided to build a mobile app or have already got one developed for your business. Congratulations! You have made the right decision.

Here are a few statistics that tell you why your decision is correct:

Number of smartphone users worldwide from 2016 to 2021 (in billions)

App Store Revenue Forecast

By 2021, global consumer spending in the global app market will hit a mammoth $139.6B. These are some massive figures.

Also, as per Statista, in the second quarter of 2019, the number of apps on Google Play and the Apple app store, totaled 2.46 million and 1.96 million respectively.

But, with the popularity of apps, comes a huge problem for app makers and businesses. How do you compete? The number of apps on app stores will grow exponentially, so how do you ensure, it is your app that grabs eyeballs and users?

The answer lies in devising and implementing a mobile app strategy. Let’s look at some strategies that should be a part of your app promotional arsenal in 2019 and beyond:

1. Get Market and Competitive Intelligence

There is a tremendous amount of data available out there regarding your competitors and the market; getting this information to chart out strategy will be a big plus.

Research and evaluate the competition your app has. In this case, competition refers to apps that are targeting the same audience as your app. The idea is to get a perfect understanding of the kind of already available app features and usability you are competing against. This will help you identify app functionality that is yet unavailable, and which will differentiate your app from its competitors.

Market intelligence is yet another key aspect of drawing out a successful app strategy. The market in this case refers to the target demographic for your app, the number of users, their interests and preferences, their ability to pay for your app and more.

2. Pre-Launch Hype Generation

Now that you have business intelligence at your disposal (market intelligence + competitive intelligence), it is time to implement your findings.

If you are still in the process of developing your app, get started on generating some hype for it keeping your competitors in mind. E.g. make sure you hype up interest for that ‘one feature’ that can act as the game-changer for your app even in a crowded market.

Begin with creating a landing page for your app and start promoting this page across social networks. Also, implement a content marketing strategy that aligns with your app marketing goals. Begin with some blogs on your website about the app, with a link to its landing page. Also, publish some guest posts that focus on the various functionalities that the app brings to the table; but take an informational approach in this regard, rather than a sales-centric one.

3. The Launch – The News Must be Everywhere

Do you know that around 85% B2C marketers use social media publishing to get their message out there? So, clearly, it must be doing something right. It is imperative that you use social media to share news about your app launch.

Ideally, your social media strategy should also include paid promotions to ensure your message reaches your target audience. Also, make sure you have a PR strategy in place for your mobile app launch. Talk to leading publishers to check how you can get the news of your app launch published on their site.

You also need to double down on the promotion of your landing page, through SEO, content marketing and even SMM. Add a bit of PPC to the mix as well.

4. App Reviews Do the Talking for Your App

With the number of apps available on app stores, it makes infinite sense for potential users to first read an app review or rating on the app store or elsewhere, before they download the app. A good app review ensures your target audience will at least try your app.

Irrespective of the huge amount of storage space available on contemporary smartphones, this space is still limited. And, your target users are also suffering from what can be called ‘app saturation’.

So, start approaching app review sites when your app is published. The more the number of good reviews your app gets from independent reviewers, the better it is for your app.

5. Sustained Engagement

Even if your app is grabbing eyeballs, it is important to understand that app users are notoriously fickle. When a new app enters the picture, they will stop using your app. So, make sure that your app engagement strategy is on point.

Keep incentivizing app usage. Allow users to earn points or rewards that they can exchange for goodies or which allow them to access new app features. How you go about engaging users is your call, but you need to engage users consistently and continuously. Keep piquing their interest all the time.

6. Nothing will Work if the App is Bad

Bad apps don’t do well. Period. The key to a successful app is its build quality. Don’t build an app, just because it’s the in thing. Your goal should be to get a good app out on the market. Everything begins from there.

The app failure rate is very high, but most of the apps that fail aren’t built right. There are problems with prototyping, UX, UI and bugs. So, get this part right.

7. App Monetization

How are you going to earn money from your apps? What is the earning model going to be? Even free apps make money for you, provided you have integrated some app monetization strategies. E.g. in app advertising, in-app merchandising, paid features are just some of the many ways you can earn money from free apps.

Or you could take the paid app route, but in this case, your app needs to be really good. The choice is yours. But you need to think about the various ways to monetize your app at the development stage itself.

Conclusion

As you must have seen, these strategies are primarily about promotion, but we have included some other key strategies as well. These will have a bearing on app success. When you build an app, it is important to understand that development is just the start. To maintain app longevity, takes a lot of effort. If you are serious about your app, you will need to make this effort.

Author Bio

Vimal Shah is the Co-Founder of Agile Infoways Pvt Ltd, a web and mobile app development company. He has 15+ years of hands-on experience mobile app industry and heads the key technical and management operations at Agile Infoways.