Should I Do a Hard Launch or Soft Launch for My App?
You have many choices to make when you first start marketing a product. Some of these decisions will be dictated by your resources. Others will be...
3 min read
Written by Laura MacPherson, Apr 30, 2020
Well before you even have a product to market, you’ll want to create a mobile app marketing plan. Having a strategic plan in place will help make your product launch as successful as possible. In this post, we break down a marketing plan into a handful of must-have components.
There are three core components for any mobile app marketing plan. These components will support the marketing tactics you choose to use for your app.
A landing page is designed to either provide a source of leads for you to follow up with or to generate pre-sales. A landing page should be highly targeted to draw people in and only include the information required to convert to a lead or sale. An effective landing page includes an appealing headline, brief copy highlighting your value proposition, an offer, supporting images, a call to action, and a form to capture information. You’ll keep testing the components to see what resonates with your target audience.
Learn more about how to create an effective landing page for your app.
When you’re writing the content to go on your landing page, nurturing emails, website, blog posts, app listing, etc., you’ll want to be sure it generates interest and provokes action. Each piece of content should work together to form a net that draws people in — and not just any people, but the right people. Your content should appeal to your target audience in everything with a consistent brand message that lets people know that your app is right for them and why they should want it.
Learn more about how to craft an effective content strategy.
Email marketing is all about building a relationship by nurturing leads instead of going for a quick sale. Your landing page is the starting point for your email marketing as it provides the vehicle to collect email addresses. Once you have people sign up for your emails, your goal is to establish trust and engage your email list to build a strong following that wants to hear more. By the time you have something to sell, you’ll have a group of trusted followers eager to make a purchase.
Learn more about email marketing for a product launch.
There are over 2.2 million apps available for download on the App Store and 2.8 million on the Google Play Store. If you hope to compete, you must create a strategic mobile app marketing plan. Mobile app marketing starts with defining a target audience. Next, you’ll learn how to reach and communicate with prospective customers. Finally, you’ll analyze in-app behavior to improve the app and to move users through the acquisition funnel. The aim of any app marketing plan is to drive repeat engagement and to build a loyal tribe of advocates. Here’s how to do it.
Any good marketing plan begins with research including a good understanding of the market opportunity, your target audience, and competitive advantages.
Once you know your target audience, create a more detailed representation of your users, including their thoughts, beliefs, and feelings as well as their needs, wants, and fears.
Select a target release date, and work backward to create milestones for each task involved in the launch. While this release date doesn’t have to be set in stone, it will serve as a guide.
Establish your brand, raise awareness, and drive traffic through the content you produce. Include consistent messaging and use a consistent brand voice across all channels. Consider starting a blog to raise awareness and to establish expertise.
It’s important to drum up as much interest as possible as early as you can. Now it’s time to create a landing page or a website designed to entice and to capture interest.
Build a tribe of loyal followers from the people who express interest by signing up on your landing page. Nurture this group by continuing to offer them value.
Establish a promotional strategy including social media marketing across multiple platforms and establish relationships with appropriate influencers. Also, consider the use of paid ads to extend your reach.
Optimize your Google Play and App Store listings to rank higher in search results. Many people will find your app through stores and marketplaces. This will improve your chances of converting interested people to sales.
Once you establish all of these strategies and implement the tactics, your launch is simply a matter of continued execution. Try different promotional tactics like push notifications, and establish in-app communication with your early adopters. Set goals and track metrics to continuously improve the app based on customer feedback.
If you leave enough time before launch to create a mobile app marketing plan and follow the process including the core components, you stand a better chance of enjoying a successful launch.
Want to learn more about how we help clients build MVPs and iterate their products? Get in touch.
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