Creating an app and publishing it on the app stores has also become easier over the years. For instance, with AppMySite you can make an app within minutes and submit your app to the stores with minimal effort.
However, developing an app is just half the battle. The other half begins once your app is live on the app stores, and it is time to gain some eyeballs.
There are around 2.87 million apps on the Google Play Store and 1.96 million apps on the Apple App Store. Therefore, in order to stand out and stay ahead in the competition, you will have to act proactively.
If your mobile app is live and you are looking for a wholesome post-app launch strategy, then you have arrived at the right place.
So, scroll through and take the post-launch measures discussed here to ensure a robust launch and a good and strong start for your app. Let’s begin:
Invest in strategic PR, events, and demos
According to Clay Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, 95% of new product launches fail. You obviously do not want your app to meet a similar fate.
Therefore, in order to ensure that your app launch is a success, you must invest in strategic post-launch branding, amplification, and marketing. All of this should be backed by heavy research and extensive study, and you must not spend “too much” as it may hamper your other strategies.
However, with a calculated approach, you can emerge as a winner. For instance, you can have proper launch events and post-launch functions where you meet people one-on-one and tell them about your app.
You can have an influencer launch your app after a proper marketing hype and buzz or think out of the box. Also invest in good PR and get articles about your app launch published on some great websites.
Next, you can create a demo or promotional video for your app and send it to your email subscribers. If your app has a learning curve to it, then make it a tutorial, else just add fun elements to the video and make it promotional. Additionally, you can also add early bird discounts to inspire people to download and test your mobile app.
Suggested Read: A to Z of influencer marketing for promoting your mobile app
Inform existing and educate new customers
An existing customer is worth more than a new one. Implement this golden rule and try to get your existing customers to try your mobile app first. Offer discounts, deals or loyalty reward and get them onboard.
You can also make them your beta testers and take their advice in addition to features or making corrections to the mobile app. As discussed above, send out emails and push messages to notify your existing customers of the app launch.
Next, you can parallelly tap into social media or run ads to amplify the reach of your mobile app. Catch hold of your existing audience and then move to attract the new ones through proper branding and advertising.
You can also create buyer personas and then use them to plan your marketing moves. Pick a problem your potential customers might be facing and then tell them how your mobile app can solve those problems.
Suggested Read: What are user personas and why are they important?
Start collecting and processing data
Data is the king in the age of technology and the process of collecting significant data should begin from day one. Start with defining your success metrics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and then keep track of those metrics.
This will help you keep a track of your growth rate and learn about the impact the app is having on your overall business growth.
You can track several metrics like:
- New users
- Install rate & churn rate
- Top acquisition channels
- First week engagement & retention rates
- Fist week revenue
- Response to marketing endeavors
- Top features, products, blogs, pages, etc.
- Lowest performing content and pages
- In-app and app store reviews & ratings
- Bug and crash reports
Also track metrics that are unique to your business and matter for you in the long run. Keep monitoring for a period of time and use the data to make new business decisions in an informed manner.
Suggested Read: All you need to know about mobile app analytics & user data collection
Invest in ASO (App Store Optimization)
This is one of the first things that you should take care of. App Store Optimization (ASO) is a mandatory step for earning good ranks and visibility. In fact, ASO is for apps what SEO is for websites.
So, ensure that your app listing across all stores (Google Play Store and Apple App Store) is optimized and all the elements are chiseled to perfection. This may include steps like choosing the right app name and screenshots, writing a compelling description, and more.
You can go ahead and create social media pages if you do not already have them and try to align your pages names with the name of your app.
Make sure that the icon that you have designed stands apart and grabs the attention of potential app users. You can also create promotional videos or hire professionals who ace at optimizing your app for better ranks and visibility.
Suggested Read: How does App Store Optimization differ for Google Play and Apple App Store?
Collect reviews and ratings
Besides getting all the feedback from your beta testers, you can also start asking actual customers to rate their experience of using the app. While this may sound as a step “too early” for a new app, it is highly important.
It gives you ample time to make enhancements before the footfall increases and your flaws are exposed to a larger audience. Besides, ratings, reviews and feedback will also be important for you in the long run.
Collect the feedback and also incentivize users to share their experiences if you can. Maintain constant dialogue with your customers across channels and take every review seriously.
Implement changes wherever reasonable and then go for follow-up reviews and feedback. This will keep the momentum going on for you and will also keep your customers feel engaged and important.
Suggested Read: Know how ratings and reviews can optimize the success of your mobile app
Market and endorse your app
Your customers will not come to you themselves. You will have to reach out to them and inspire them to download your app and use it. So, go ahead and make use of multiple marketing and branding methods.
You can start with social media promotions and email marketing and target your existing and lapsed customers as they are more likely to show immediate interest in your app. After that, you can go ahead and target the new users and grow the presence and popularity of your app.
You can also run loyalty and referral programs and make your users feel rewarded for returning to the app or sharing it in their circle. This word-of-mouth marketing will do wonders for your brand and take your success several notches up.
Think of new and innovative ways of promoting your app and keep your users’ interests spiked up. You can go through the blog suggested below and get some ideas for promoting your mobile app.
Read in detail: Popular mobile app marketing techniques – The complete guide to success
Make subsequent changes to the app
Keep improving your app and your branding & marketing techniques.
This is the ultimate mantra of success for any app owner. Your responsibility does not end with launching your app, nor does it end with a few marketing and promotional initiatives.
In fact, it is an ongoing process and must be dealt with utmost dedication. So, keep monitoring the feedback and success metrics of your app and make changes and updates accordingly.
Keep rolling out the new versions of your app every now and then as it will not only give a boost to your app store visibility, but also keep your users amped up. It will keep them content and inspired and make them feel that you value their feedback, and are working to constantly improve and enhance their experience.
After a specific period of time, you can also update design and feature elements that fail to perform too well, and upgrade with something more lucrative and worthy of garnering good reviews and ratings.
Suggested Read: Understanding software version numbers: The complete guide
Wrapping up!
That was all for now! Go ahead and implement the strategies listed above and you should be able to make a strong head-start. Be consistent in your efforts and steadily scale your way to a good number of downloads and overall success.
However, if you think that your app has become stagnant and you need to give it a makeover, then sign up for AppMySite and give your app the uplift it needs.
Here, you can also turn WordPress to app and build an app for your website, at a price less than a conventional app makeover.
So, go ahead and checkout the platform. It is free! Add your live Android and iOS apps to create an AppMySite project or start from scratch to experience code-free app building at its best.
