There’s no question that mobile apps help to promote small businesses and the products or services they offer. However, getting your customers to use your app can sometimes be an uphill battle.
It’s important to understand the role your mobile app plays in your bigger inbound marketing strategy. Last year, time spent on mobile apps surpassed the time spent on desktop Internet usage, this means it’s more important than ever to invest in mobile app development. However, once you have a mobile app, how do you get your customers to use it?
Here are three ways to get your customers to use your mobile app:
1. Get it out on social media
The influence social media marketing can have on the success of a business is no secret. Whether your app is your business or promotes your business, promoting your mobile app is imperative to its success. Lucky for you, there are a few ways to promote your app on social media.
First, include your app in your existing social media marketing efforts. You can alert your existing audience to your new app by posting about it on Facebook and Twitter and including download links in your description boxes. However, self-promotional content on social media can get old quickly and decrease the credibility of your business. Try sticking to an 80/20 ratio of non-promotional to promotional content.
Second, you can pay to promote your app on social media. App install ads have been great for app developers on both Facebook and Twitter as they are much more cost effective than banner ads. App install ads have lead to more than 25 million app downloads on Facebook and account for over 65 percent of Twitter’s ad revenue.
Third, you can offer social logins to use your app. Social logins allow your customers to have a more personalized and secure experience within your app by eliminating the need to create a new profile. Instead, your app pulls data from Facebook, Twitter, or Google and creates a more engaging experience for your customers. According to Adweek, people who login to apps through Facebook spend more time and money within that app compared to those who do not.
2. Optimize your app in the stores
Similar to the need for SEO in driving web traffic with search marketing, you need to optimize your app’s listing in the app store. This includes selecting the right name for your app, using an interesting design for the app icon, and writing engaging copy in the description box. There are a lot of hidden gems in the app store, if your app is one of them you need to be ready when a new user stumbles upon your page.
Further Reading: Introduction to App Store Optimization (ASO)
3. Turn your customers into advocates
While selling yourself is great, someone else selling your business is even better. There are a couple of ways to convert your existing customers into advocates for your product, but the best way is to have a solid app. If your app is well-designed, engaging, and useful, you might get someone to download it. If you respond to requests and reviews and adapt your app to the feedback you’re getting, you’ll get someone who will download your app and tell their friends about it.
Another way is to remind your customers to rate your app in the app store. There are surprisingly few reviews in the app store compared to the number of downloads. Most users need a little nudge to get them back to the app store to rate your mobile app. Fortunately, if they’ve already downloaded your app, you have a direct link to them to remind them. More app reviews leads to a better app and more downloads.
Investing in mobile app development says a lot about your business, however, getting customers to use your app requires an inbound marketing strategy tailored towards this new marketing channel. For more information about mobile app development, contact us today.
