Mistakes made while marketing mobile apps

Having a strategic mobile app marketing plan is quite important if you want to have a successful marketing campaign. The technique of optimizing mobile apps so that they rank high in the search engines (of mobile apps) is called App Store Optimization (APO). Your aim is to reach high in the search engine of these mobile app stores because only then will you be recognized by your customers. A true understanding of your consumer trends and keywords are very crucial factors. One common mistake made by businesses is that they don’t use APO to its fullest capacity and thus, miss out on the opportunities that would cause their apps to be recognized among their target segment. Keeping that in mind have a look at the common mistakes made by mobile marketers:

Not having a proper APO plan

Often, the data collected by mobile marketers maybe insufficient. This is because they either miss out on collecting crucial information regarding consumer trends or they fail to recognize the trends. In a proper APO plan, there must be a proper title for your app, usage of relevant keywords and provision for ratings and reviews. Deciding on a title that customers can relate to is very important. That is why it is said you must have knowledge of proper keywords, because to decide on the title, you must have a good APO plan.

Not having a proper pitch

Having an effective pitch is very important. Whether it is for sending messages to a prospective client or to develop a marketing plan, you need to have a good and effective pitch. You might be excited about your app, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your customers are going to be excited about it. You have to highlight on the uniqueness of your app when you pitch it for sales, but do not go overboard with it. The pitch should have a link to your app, a few screenshots, promotional videos and ways in which your customers can contact you.

Your marketing doesn’t get you into top charts

Every developer wants to get his app into the top charts. Companies with deep pockets do that by paying money, but small-to-medium-size-businesses may not have the financial capability to do that. So when you build a marketing strategy, make sure it uses all the major channels to help spread the message. Your strategy must include judicious use of content, SEO and social media platforms. If your app is made for a specific niche of audience, you must make that fact clear right from the day 1 of marketing.

Not using the app as a way to communicate to your customers

Just because an app that you released previously was a huge success, doesn’t mean the app that you are going to release in the market today would also be accepted. You need to open channels of communication so your customers would relate to you. When you release an app, it is like having constant communication with your customers, so exploit it completely. You can answer their queries, issues and suggestions and listen to their pulse all the time.

Not realizing that the mobile industry is constantly changing

The face of mobile app marketing scenario is constantly changing and new advertising channels are being explored all the time. The number of new apps being introduced on a daily basis is also tremendously high. Exploit new channels and avoid the ones that are getting obsolete every day. Stay on the edge of competition everyday and observe what is happening before charting a marketing plan.

Failing to targeting correctly

As there are plenty of advertising channels, it becomes increasingly difficult for marketing agencies to ensure that they reach the right target segment. Failure to ensure that an ad is directed towards the right target segment results in a failure of the marketing campaign.

Not collecting enough data in order to target the right people

If marketers do not have provision for collecting sufficient data regarding customer behavior they will not be able to chart their marketing plan successfully. This would result in failure to reach the precise audience who actually use mobile apps. Proper data collection is extremely important.

Still depending on traditional marketing techniques

Traditional marketing techniques are non mobile-specific advertising channels, for example, PPC campaigns and online banner ads. These strategies might have worked in the past, but they will not work now because they were intended to impress a very broad segment. While some people may be able to connect with your message, a good majority of them will not understand what you are saying. So you have to target mobile campaigns that would resonate with the consumers of today and their needs. Mobile ad networks, real-time bidding platforms and social media platforms are the best channels to target your people.

Failing to track and optimize marketing campaigns in real time

It is imperative to keep checking the effectiveness of campaigns at timely intervals. The tactic that may have worked when the campaign was first initiated may not be that good after a few runs. Marketers must employ someone to observe the changing trends in marketing campaigns and adjust accordingly.

Conclusion

Thinking that the mobile interface is a miniature form of a desktop is a mistake. Companies often make the error of having fancy graphics and design on their apps making it difficult for the user to load it. Such an app will not even function on slow internet connections, and so even when you have marketed it well, make sure the app doesn’t have any unnecessary features that will make it slow.

Interesting links about the topic:
Biggest Mistakes in Mobile App Marketing
10 Mistakes to Avoid while marketing an app

Pictures: Flickr.com/ Aristocrat/ Conference/ 3D Bullseye


The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.

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