Marke ng Your Mobile Applica on for Maximum ROI

Marke ng Your Mobile Applica on for Maximum ROI

There are two concepts of marke ng to discuss here: Mobile marke ng and marke ng your mobile app. Mobile marke ng includes a comprehensive list of marke ng tac cs that includes mobile applica ons. Marke ng an app is like launching a new business and requires a plan to be successful. Both concepts are discussed here with more emphasis on marke ng planning, strategy and tac cs. Marke ng Your Mobile Applica on As indicated earlier, if you have wri en a business plan, the marke ng plan is a cri cal component within the plan that should have iden fiable and measurable success metrics associated with it. Outlined here are the components of the marke ng plan and what is needed to properly launch and sustain momentum in exposure and/or sales. Whether your app is free or is fee-based, understanding your target audience is paramount for success. Listed below are elements of a marke ng plan process that you should take into considera on and iden fying the tac cs that you should employ to achieve desired results. DISCOVER Set Goals - What will be your measure of success? Goals should be realis c and objec ves must be measurable and me-specific. For marke ng mobile apps, there are three ways to measure success: 1. Sales: Direct sales revenue generated from your app. 2. Exposure: Number of downloads / popularity / membership / etc. 3. Referrals: Number of customers who share your app with others and refer business to you Understand Your Target Audience Define your audience and get a good understanding of who they are, where they are, demographics, what media they absorb, and how best to reach them. Understanding customer behavior and how to influence it needs to be incorporated into your marke ng plan.

Know Your Compe on Use a SWOT analysis method to determine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportuni es and Threats. Understanding your current compe ve landscape is important in developing business and marke ng plans, as well as se ng goals and objec ves. It tells you where you are and where you need to go in the future. DEFINE Now that you have established your goals and objec ves, understand your target audience, and are informed on the compe ve landscape, you are ready to define the right marke ng mix you will need to deploy. Your plan could include a comprehensive, mul channel marke ng mix, or may be appropriate for only a handful of programs and this will depend on what the DISCOVER phase uncovered. Defining the strategy for each tac c in the complete marke ng ecosystem is the next step in the process. DEVELOP Once the marke ng tac cs have been defined and iden fied on what would be the most effec ve, the next phase is to develop the mechanics for each tac c. This is where the real work begins: planning, producing and publishing. All marke ng ini a ves require an individual plan of execu on. Outlined here are some of the major tac cs to employ with checklists to gain the most visibility in marke ng your mobile app.

Social Media Social media is cri cal for promo ng your app, pos ng to every site, and any associated groups, channels, networks, forums or repos ng to blogs. Create pages/profiles/boards dedicated to your app and its focus including all the majors such as: Facebook, Twiter, LinkedIn, YouTube screencasts, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ etc. Checklist: 1. Determine which social media pla orms are included; strategies may vary with each 2. Use key messages / create value proposi ons and benefit statements 3. Keep consistent on crea ve elements across all pla orms to establish branding 4. Determine and create a schedule of call to ac on programs: contests, surveys, promo ons 5. Keep posts/tweets/comments relevant: covert vs. overt 6. Promote downloads and good reviews 7. Mul media gets no ced use dynamic content such as videos / graphics / photos 8. Associate with a cause / social outreach program 9. In addi on to links to the app stores, provide links to relevant stories, ar cles or news 10. Track your insights and success metrics with each pla orm PR & Media Management One key area of marke ng is media awareness for your app. There are several vehicles for ge ng the word out to the appropriate media and some are free. The Business Wire is great but very expensive. You can get similar exposure through Vocus, PRMac, PRWeb, or PRLog at a lower cost or for FREE. Back links are another way to generate coverage. Iden fy key media within your industry, circle of associa ons and network and submit the press release online through their website. MOST sites actually have a place to do this and will post your release if well wri en, interes ng and newsworthy to their audience.

PR Checklist: 1. Create top er and secondary media list with links to editors. 2. Wri ng a good press release is an art. Make sure your release follows the right format and there are resources online that can help here. Media alerts are much shorter with a different format and are used to update press/media on news not for major announcements. Make sure your release includes a link to the app store/s. 3. Write a boilerplate which is the who, what, when, why and how of your business / app. This is always at the end of any release or media alert and should be short and concise. 4. Including photos and videos with your release gives it a 40% higher chance of ge ng viewed AND read. 5. Send emails directly and personally to key editors with your release a ached with an explana on and personal note. These editors can usually be found online within the site. 6. All of the online PR distribu on services have metrics and analy cs so check these throughout the day and/or week of your announcement. Read numbers are just that someone read your release; Impressions mean that someone has seen your release / not necessarily read it. 7. Set Google Alerts with the name of your business or app so that you get daily emails of any pos ngs that occurred. 8. Remember to post any news/publicity that you get on all your social networks, website, and ask your friends, family and network to also re-post as well. 9. Follow up with editors a week or so a er the release and see if they want any more informa on or if they are interested in an interview for more in-depth coverage. 10. Thank editors for coverage. They will remember you!

Email Marke ng Email marke ng has become very sophis cated and encompasses MANY elements when using marke ng automa on so ware (MAS). The cost and complexity of these MAS solu ons can dras cally range and should be researched for the best fit and price. Remember the an -spam rules apply here too so any imported database of leads will need to have opted-in. There are some companies that provide email marke ng services that are basic in func onality like Constant Contact, Ver cal Response or Mail Chimp and the cost will depend on the number of emails sent. The MAS solu ons have mul -layers of capability and typically include a monthly subscrip on fee and include CRM integra on, landing page crea ons, nurture /drip campaigns, analy cs, and can be custom designed for automa on. Some of the major solu ons are offered by Marketo, Eloqua, Hubspot, Act-On, Infusionso and ExactTarget. Email campaigns through these methods are called Inbound Marke ng because they drive customers to you through a strong call-to-ac on that results in a desired outcome, which in this case is to promote and download your mobile app. Checklist: 1. Offer: In addi on to promo ng your app, provide an incen ve that is of value to en ce engagement that is relevant to your applica on, such as newsle ers, recipes, coupons, workshops, events etc. 2. Call-to-Ac on: Provide a link, text or email to facilitate ge ng the offer. 3. Lead Capture: Have a way to capture the lead through a form that asks for per nent informa on you will want to have for future marke ng opportuni es. 4. Fulfillment: Once the lead has been secured, now fulfill their request with the offer made. 5. Follow-up: Always follow up with a thank you / fulfillment no fica on to close the loop.

Adver sing Adver sing budget may not be an op on, but it can be a great way to elevate your posi on in the app ranking charts. There are services from various companies who have exper se in this area, but remember to align business goals with budget here. Look at mobile ad networks for the best traffic sources, real me bidding pla orms and consider working with companies that specialize in mobile adver sing such as Google. Pay per click adver sing on social media sites and key websites are obvious choices along with mobile adver sing through ad networks. The chart below from Google explains the impression rates between the media formats. 1. Use keywords in ad copy for SEO op miza on 2. Ver calize your ad for a specific audience / industry / media outlet / social site 3. Define goals and don t forget the call to ac on 4. Try A/B test campaigns for specific me periods to see what works best 5. Monitor analy cs instantly and repeat success tac cs 6. A CTR (click through rate) over 2% is good but not very effec ve unless the reach is huge

Video Rich Media Video is another cri cal component that can be used for a variety of purposes and is rated the most popular marke ng vehicle and is shared more o en than any other medium. Videos were ranked 6th in effec veness as a marke ng tac c, behind social media, newsle ers, blogs, case studies and ar cles on one s website, but well ahead of many other tac cs according to the study of more than 1400 B2B marke ng professionals according to a study conducted by Content Marke ng Ins tute. The monthly audience for online video content is steady at around 180 million people. 76 % of Americans watch video now on mobile devices, 30% more than they did a year ago. Video content for promo onal, adver sing or educa onal purposes should be a required component for your digital marke ng mix. Videos that show the features and func ons of your mobile app, or a video case study of usage goes a long way in en cing more people to download. And of course when used in conjunc on with social media the viral impact can be huge! Websites Websites are the gateway for lead capture, promo on, exposure and sales so ge ng your SEO op mized should be a top priority. Effec ve SEO doesn't just help increase your search rankings, it also improves your en re website from the viewpoint of search engines as well as your visitors. Websites are changing and it is becoming increasingly important to mobilize the format. Cost of development has decreased but capability demands are increasing. 1. Content is king the most cri cal component of your site this is the why people visit your site. Good content will be widely read and widely shared by others, o en on their own websites, crea ng vital link-building opportuni es. Update your content frequently to focus on the latest informa on in you niche. 2. Create a Niche-this may limit your audience, but more importantly, minimizes your compe- on. Become the thought-leader on your subject ma er and you will quickly gain a loyal audience and followers. 3. Key Words - Use key words wisely by doing research on the latest trends and informa on, and use tools such as Google's Keyword Tool. Sca er them strategically throughout your content, your headlines, and your sub-headers.

Mobile Marke ng When your app is downloaded by customers, it becomes a marke ng pla orm to launch any type of loyalty programs built-into the app func onality defined below. 1. Push No fica ons Text Alerts These messages get get sent directly from apps to promote products, events, updates or any vital informa on. When people download your app for the first me they can choose to opt-in to these alerts. Keep in mind that an -spam laws are in affect here as with email marke ng and it would be a liability risk to send text alerts without approval. Some apps will have customers opt-in twice to be sure that they have permission. 2. Coupons Promo ons: Geo-based, or loca on-based coupon offers, mobile check-ins or limited me discount specials can also enabled within some apps, again with opt-in permission. Customers unlock by "checking in" at your business. These marke ng tac cs are known as brand loyalty programs because they keep customers engaged and will hopefully influence buying behaviors to get customers to purchase products or services. 3. QR Codes: Some apps have a QR code scanner built into the func onality. QR codes are a great way to engage customers to link to informa on, videos and any other dynamic content. QR codes don t have to be boring black and white pixelated boxes anymore. They can be custom branded and unique with logos incorporated in them to make them much more graphically interes ng.

E & M Commerce E & M Commerce sales channels are growing exponen ally with mobile commerce leading the way. Online or mobile shopping can be another revenue outlet for retailers and se ng up these storefronts is no longer difficult. These numbers (source: Google) reflect significant ways mobile has changed how consumers are shopping. 66% of users have browsed products with the inten on of purchasing online while 40 percent have purchased a product in a physical store have researching it online, up from 33 percent last year. Overall, the numbers suggest that the trend toward online shopping is con nuing, with 36% shopping more online and less at physical retail stores this year. The biggest reason for doing more mobile shopping is convenience, with 44 percent saying this was their biggest mo vator. DEPLOY This is the ready-set-go phase of the plan which means that its me to pull the trigger on all the work that you have defined and developed. Review objec ves, incorporate any feedback, make refinements and launch each program as scheduled. The marke ng budget will most likely be the catalyst that defines which marke ng tac cs get deployed, however more money does not necessarily equal more results. This is why the discovery phase is cri cal since it will impact how you define each strategy and the desired outcome of these programs which are all measurable. DELIVER This final phase is where you ask the ques on on whether your marke ng tac cs delivered the results that you defined as goals in the Discover phase. Analyzing success metrics in each tac c should be an on-going exercise and course-correc on should take place along the way. Not all tac cs will be successful all of the me. Determining the right mix of tools to deploy in this marke ng eco-system for your target audience will be the challenge, but rewarding when successful.