How to Advertise Your App: Four Lessons from the Best

As we continue to adapt to our increasingly digital age, not having an app for your business may well be the one thing holding you back. There are plenty of statistics showing how reliant we all are on apps — for example, the average person uses nine mobile apps every day, leading to 30 apps used per month. However, in order to get people using your app in the first place, you will need to put the effort into marketing it properly.

After a surely stressful time designing and developing it to perfection, the last thing you’d want is to have it buried in the app store without downloads. And, considering there are 2.8 million apps in the Google Play Store, and 2.21 million in the Apple App Store, that may well happen. Advertising your app well requires explaining what your business does, and how the app provides the ideal solution to the problems it’s looking to solve. And when it comes to marketing for apps, it’s a good idea to learn from the best.

Use animation to bring the app to life

Video marketing has come a long way since infomercials and TV shopping, and video content is now considered key. YouTube is the world’s most visited website, and with YouTube’s monetization policy, which includes mid-reel ads on videos which clock in over 10 minutes, viewers will see at least two video ads for every video watched that’s longer than that. That’s a lot of advertising and screen time which your potential clients could be looking at. But customers need to know how your app works, and simply having someone demonstrate it on screen may be too much in the mold of traditional teleshopping, and could turn viewers off.

Instead, you could bring your app to life by showing the entire user journey as they move through it. This method has been well showcased by Velocity, a “London-based tech app, aimed at the luxury lifestyle market”, which focuses on users speaking with app agents to find experiences suited for them. With a focus on one-of-a-kind experiences for clients, it was crucial to have an advert that captured the attention of as many people as possible, while highlighting the magnificence of what is on offer. The animation experts at Frantic took on this challenge to fully immerse the ad viewer into the app, taking them on the complete journey through to the final product.

Highlight how you’re making a difference

Many businesses, both large and small, give back to the community, whether through charity donations or raising awareness of issues with thought-provoking campaigns. If one of your company’s missions is to give back, highlight how you’ve done this, and the positive difference you’ve made. Back in 2017, Chappy — the global gay dating app — unveiled a worldwide campaign to show how dating app users regularly face prejudicial language and attitudes.

Known as the ‘Don’t Be A D!ck’ campaign, the project aimed to highlight the underlying racism, ageism, fat-shaming, and other negative experiences, with co-founder Jack Rogers promising to create an online environment that’s “safe and fun” for everyone in the dating community. And in 2019, the same company launched a partnership with leading LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, which was highlighted through the ‘Chats for Charity’ campaign. Every chat session initiated on the app raised money for the charity, encouraging users to chat more and hopefully find the one, while still allowing them to feel philanthropic.

Build an online community

Customer engagement for any brand is crucial to its success, as it creates a sense of community, which in turn leads to brand loyalty. This could be anything from an in-app forum where users can discuss your product and industry, or a loyalty programme to reward active users and customers. It’s important to focus on this from the start, as an active and loyal following for small businesses can very well be the thing that ensures your survival. If your customers feel cared for and listened to, they’ll be much more likely to continue doing business with you.

A perfect example of where this has worked is with Monzo. The app-based bank initially relied on word-of-mouth marketing, going hand-in-hand with the bright coral-coloured cards which served as a conversation starter, community meet-ups, and hackathons. Until recently, this tactic was responsible for 80% of Monzo’s growth, and the company ensured that its users were kept happy by having employees respond directly to any questions, queries, and general conversations between users under the app’s ‘community’ tab. By adopting a more sincere approach, users felt cared for, and like they had a personal connection with the brand, which is now one of the leading digital banks in the world.

Consider influencer marketing

In a time where we all spend more time browsing social media, whether to get our news or for shopping, influencer marketing has become ever more prominent for brands. These revolve around individuals with a significant number of followers, with whom you are able to advertise via a simple collaboration. In fact, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, two-thirds of marketing professionals actively engage with influencers for content promotion.

If you’re still not convinced by the investment of working with someone who has more than a few thousand Instagram followers, research by the Influencer Marketing Hub has found that businesses are making $5.20 for every $1 they spend on influencer marketing. These collaborations can be anything from a short video of your chosen influencer explaining how your app works to a few social media posts and campaigns shared to both your channels.