Inbound Marketing for Mobile Apps: Key Principles to Follow
Outbound marketing, the cost-intensive marketing comprising large-scale media campaigns, large outdoor display ads, and movie commercials, has already been replaced by smarter, less expensive, and more engaging inbound marketing focusing on digital channels. Well, inbound marketing has been the most popular form of marketing for websites and web-based business brands for years.
But time has changed since mobile apps taking over websites and web apps. Inbound marketing is no longer just considered effective for websites but also for mobile apps as well. Presently, all successful mobile apps across the niches depend heavily on inbound marketing. A mobile app development company in the USA knows how important a role plays by inbound marketing to reach audiences far and wide.
But how can inbound marketing help app marketing? What can be the right strategy and the most helpful measures to make inbound marketing successful? Well, let us explain the essential ways inbound marketing can help app branding and app marketing.
Focus on Content Marketing
An essential thing in inbound marketing is content. You need to deliver relevant and useful content to the users that create value and make them feel interested in your app. When it comes to content marketing as an inbound marketing strategy, keep the following principles in mind.
- Your content strategy should be user-centric and relevant to the context in which users will take an interest in your app.
- Try to create a variety of content instead of just focusing on text and bypassing video content.
- Instead of telling your target audience about how your app can help in words, use short video content explaining the value of your app.
- Instead of using tall claims to describe and designate your app, describe your app with the context of lived experience. Use storytelling and user-generated content to explain the app’s benefits and usage contextually.
Push and In-App Messaging
Email marketing for website marketing, in-app messaging, and notifications can do the same for apps if you know how to utilize such messaging features for mobile app marketing.
Push notifications and in-app messaging can serve the purpose of email marketing for mobile apps. But this requires a very articulate and well-thought-of marketing strategy.
- Using push notifications first, the app marketers should try to create a good number of subscribers. For this, you need to explain the benefits they get by turning on the push notifications.
- Secondly, have a clear strategy to engage users with well-written push alerts in-app messages coming loaded with compelling calls-to-action buttons.
Use Earned Media
Every marketer wants to make their product featured in media publications to boost organic downloads. But since such media publications are often expensive enough as a paid channel, we suggest focusing on earned media. Here we explain some ways to be featured in media publications without or with little cost.
- Provide incentives to your followers, peers, and loyal users for sharing the content and spreading the word effectively. For instance, you can give discounts for making friends sign up for the app.
- Contact influencers with a carefully crafted marketing message along with incentives. When industry influencers blow out your message, you can easily draw attention from publications.
- You can also affiliate with another app with a different offering and combine marketing efforts in some channels. This can also enhance your chances of being featured.
Utilize Social Channels
Social media presence and creating social buzz are the most important activities for inbound marketers. First of all, social media platforms come as free channels with little or no demand for investment. Secondly, through social channels, you get ready access to your target audience. Thirdly, they have already been proven as the most effective marketing channels for all startups and ventures with a little investment portfolio.
Let us explain the two leading social platforms and how you can use them for inbound marketing.
Twitter: This micro-blogging platform can be tremendously effective in keeping your users informed about every development in your app. It is also effective in creating a niche industry audience and building a Twitterati society around your app brand.
Facebook: It is the loudest and most popular social platform with resends from every business niche. Facebook and Messenger together can be a handy tool for content marketing, creating a solid audience, and driving revenue. It is also the most used social channel to help users log in with a click. The platform can be utilized for both paid promotion and free social marketing.
Instagram: This Facebook-owned social channel emphasizing images and visuals is overwhelmingly popular for consumer brands of all niches and continues to lead among social channels in terms of business conversion.
Conclusion
Inbound marketing can look less expensive, but it needs more expertise, grit, and skills than just hiring a professional marketing team. For mobile apps, inbound marketing success largely depends on how compelling a content strategy you have and how you can make an appealing brand presence quickly.