As an app developer, you‘ve probably wondered how to make your app stand out in a marketplace crowded with over 5 million competitors. The hard truth is that superb engineering alone is not enough anymore. The key is strategic marketing and promotion.
This is where specialized app promotion services come in – companies that focus solely on launching mobile apps to market success through proven marketing strategies.
In this comprehensive guide, we dive deep into everything you need to know about leveraging app promotion to realize your true growth potential.
What Are App Promotion Services and Why Do You Need Them?
First, let‘s understand what app promotion entails.
App promotion services handle all aspects of marketing mobile apps across paid and organic channels with the end goal of:
- Driving maximum visibility and discovery by potential users
- Generating high-quality user growth
- Improving app store search rankings
- Building lasting brand awareness and community
Here are some shocking app industry statistics that prove why app promotion is non-negotiable:
- There are over 5 million apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store combined as of 2022 (Statista)
- An average app loses 77% of its daily active users within the first 3 days after install. (Forbes)
- Of the top 10% of mobile apps with the most installs – only about 11% generate sustainable revenues. (CNBC)
Clearly, standing out requires robust app store optimization, marketing, advertising – which app promotion companies specialize in.
We dive deeper into the data:
| Play Store Apps | Apple App Store Apps |
|---|---|
| 3.3+ million | 2+ million |
With so much competition, partnering with app marketing services has become almost mandatory to succeed.
Here‘s what they can accomplish:
✅ Generate thousands of high-quality app installs per month
✅ Land you on the first page for your target app store search keywords
✅ Build an audience of engaged users across social channels
✅ Lower customer acquisition costs drastically
✅ Drive exponential revenue growth
Intrigued? Read on as we explore the best strategies and companies in detail.
Types of App Promotion Services
There are several specialists app marketing firms offer to propel client apps to success.
Let‘s analyze the most popular app promotion options:
App Store Optimization (ASO)
ASO centers around optimizing your app‘s visibility in its store listing page to maximize organic user acquisition.
👉 How ASO Works
ASO experts fine tune critical listing elements like:
- Title & Descriptions: Pack with relevant keywords
- Icon & Screenshots: High quality, eye-catching
- Reviews & Ratings: Boost through campaigns
- Localization for target markets
This leads to higher rankings, clicks and downloads.
👉 Use Cases
Ideal for new apps starting out with limited budgets but need initial discoverability before paid promotions.
👉 Examples
Apps like Pinterest, Tinder, Spotify focused heavily on ASO early on.
👉 Statistics
- 52% users discover new apps through app store searches (SensorTower)
- Optimized metadata can increase download conversion rates by 10-30%. (Upland)
👉 Expert Tips
- Track keyword rankings weekly to gauge success
- Test out multiple title & icon variations
- Analyze top competitors for keyword gaps
- Refresh screenshots/videos capturing latest UI upgrades
With relevance and conversion optimization, ASO builds lasting organic visibility.
Initial budget: ~$500/month
Social Media Marketing
This focuses on strategic social media promotion to drive app installs, engagement and sales from platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
👉 How It Works
- Audience identification to determine best-fit user profiles
- Crafting ad creatives optimized for conversions
- Managing paid campaigns spreading awareness about your app‘s value
- Developing organic content and influencer networks on social channels
👉 Use Cases
Great for consumer apps already at scale needing amplified word-of-mouth and visibility. Games/e-commerce apps benefit hugely.
👉 Examples
Starbucks saw 90% more app downloads from social app ads vs non-paid. (AdWeek)
👉 Statistics
- Social app ads generate 65% higher retention than generic Play Store ads (App Samurai)
- 53% of online adults use social channels for purchase decisions (HubSpot)
👉 Expert Tips
- Test both landscape video and vertical creatives
- Promote limited-time discounts/rewards
- Retarget engaged users across channels
- Partner with relevant influencers to co-create content
Budget: ~$2000+ monthly
Influencer Marketing
This utilizes relevant ‘influencers‘ on social media to promote apps to their highly targeted follower base.
👉 How it Works
Brands partner and sponsor influencers to organically showcase and talk about your app to drive credible reach and installs.
👉 Use Cases
Influencer marketing works well for consumer apps seeking authentic word-of-mouth at relatively low costs.
👉 Statistics
- $9.7 billion estimated spend on influencer marketing by 2020 (BusinessInsider)
- 72% of consumers trust influencers over brands (TalkWalker)
👉 Expert Tips
- Assess influencers holistically – engagement, quality and followers
- Get very clear on guidelines, expectations and deliverables
- Focus on affiliates over one-time sponsorships
- Track install volume, cost per conversion
Pricing: Starts ~$500 per post
Content Marketing
This focuses on strategic content creation to attract and inform potential users about your app.
👉 How It Works
Content marketing titans craft various app-focused content assets like:
- In-depth app guides, ebooks
- “Behind the scenes” app development videos
- Expert interviews about app features
- Viral giveaways and contests
- Apps related quizzes, surveys
- Popular use-case pitch decks
These assets aim to present your app as an authority. Content is then distributed through SEO, social media and influencers.
👉 Examples
Hubspot grew its traffic by 1900% with blogging ([Hubspot](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ Evergreen-Content-examples-list)).
👉 Statistics
- 90% of buyers consume between 5-16 content pieces before engaging with sales (Smart Insights)
- Articles over 1,500 words get over 70% more links/shares (BuzzSumo)
👉 Expert Tips
- Audit competitors and industry leaders for content ideas
- Promote assets through email, social media and PR
- Gate gated content like tools, ebooks to capture lead data
- Have a content promotion budget for paid amplification
Starting budgets ~$1000/month
There are many more emerging app promotion channels we have not covered including SEO, paid search/display advertising, email marketing and PR – which warrant dedicated guides by themselves.
But this overview equips you with a primer of the most ubiquitous options – so you can build effective marketing strategies.
Now the natural question becomes, which channel(s) should you double down on?
Here‘s a comparison chart to help decide:
| Cost | Speed | Results | |
| ASO | Low | Slow | Sustainable |
| Social Media Marketing | High | Medium | Temporary |
| Influencer Marketing | Medium | Fast | Spiky |
| Content Marketing | Low | Slow | Sustainable |
As this comparison shows, identify channels best aligned to your:
- App goals: Do you want channel loyalty or income?
- Resources: What‘s your marketing budget range?
- Timelines: Are you eyeing short term spikes or organic growth?
Layering channels strategically is key for ROI.
Now that we‘ve covered the main buckets exhaustively, let‘s look at finding the right service partner.
How Do You Pick the Ideal App Marketing Firm?
With so many app promotion services out there, evaluating team capabilities diligently is key before signing contracts worth thousands.
Here‘s an 8 step checklist:
1. Define your app promotion goals
Be crystal clear on targets before starting out. Quantify intended milestones:
Do you need your app to hit 100,000 installations in 6 months?
$50,000 in sales revenue through social media alone?
Top #5 category rank on the App Store charts?
These tangible objectives will drive your provider partner selection, campaign designs and ongoing success measurement.
2. Understand pricing models
App marketing providers either charge based on:
- Monthly service fees
- Cost per install/sale or other conversion event
Go for partners who provide complete transparency into pricing. Hidden costs or opaque billing models are definite red flags.
3. Verify case study results
Any vendor worth their salt should be able to provide quantified results from past app promotion campaigns.
Look for:
- Concrete client examples similar to your app
- Proof of KPI improvements across installs, rankings, sales etc
- Client testimonials validating quality
These credibly justify expertise to accomplish your goals too.
4. Review platform breadth
Ideally, pick players provide integrated services executing across top channels like:
- App store optimization
- Social media growth
- Influencer and content ecosystems
Having wider capabilities to pivot strategies is key to maximize success.
5. Evaluate team experience
This plays a major role in campaign quality. The best firms have:
- Demonstrable app marketing backgrounds
- Category/vertical-specific expertise
- Clean track records and client satisfaction
Such specialized experience gives higher confidence for desired outcomes.
6. Assess communication structures
Be extremely clear on operating processes for transparency including:
- Single point of contact
- Campaign tracking access
- Frequency of results reporting
- Contingency planning
You should directly oversee spends to address issues proactively.
7. Audition automation capabilities
Sophisticated internal tools for intelligence gathering, ad serving, analysis should be table stakes.
Ask about martech used to streamline optimizations and scale processes cost effectively.
8. Confirm compliance
Any dependable agency should follow best practices like:
- Secure data privacy
- App store policy compliance
- Ethical, transparent communication
It‘s vital you remain legitimate always – even as growth accelerates.
While evaluating alternatives, maintaining this strict criteria guarantees you pick a true partner invested in your app‘s success.
Now that we‘ve covered selection best practices extensively, let‘s look at examples of apps that got it right.
Real-World App Marketing Success Stories
The best way to assess potential impact is studying apps that leveraged specialized promotionservices correctly to explosive growth.
Let‘s analyze two such breakout examples.
Case Study 1 – Dating app goes from 5000 to 5 million users
A leading dating app partnered with a full stack mobile growth agency to amplify their initial organic traction.
The tailored 18 month strategy focused on:
- Precision user acquisition through social media ads
- Targeted push notification campaigns
- International expansion reaching 20 more countries
- PR outreach around funding announcements
Results
- Additional 5+ million high-LTV app installs
- $5.3 million in incremental revenue
- Raised $12 million in additional VC funding
This was possible only by having marketing experts manage factors beyond engineering like creative messaging, technical marketing analytics and global localization – proving how app promotion can unleash true potential.
Case Study 2 – Indie game goes viral with influencers
A fun hyper-casual mobile game lacked initial visibility despite positive user feedback.
By collaborating with an influencer network specialized for the gaming vertical, it expanded reach tremendously through creator partnerships on YouTube and Twitch.
Outcomes
- 800,000+ new game installs in 4 months
- Top #3 Paid App ranking in the U.S. App Store
- $120,000+ in additional revenue
This exemplifies how niche app marketing services tailor-made for your domain can produce winning results.
As these real-world examples demonstrate, partnering with expert app promotion services could be the defining catalyst to realize breakout potential for your app.
Key Takeaways
With 25% higher costs per install and lower app engagement rates over the past year, app visibility is at an all-time low. (Adjust)
This is why app creators can no longer handle marketing single-handedly.
Collaborating with specialized promotion services levels the playing field allowing you to:
- Come to market strong even without prior audiences
- Expand visibility across channels simultaneously
- Continuously accelerate user acquisition
- Keep costs under control despite scaling spend
- Hit #1 in category rankings faster
So align with marketing experts matched to your app early on. With custom strategies tailored to your strengths, any app can punch above its weight to profitability.
The 150,000 apps that will get funded this year have potential – but need promotion muscle to back their vision. (TechCrunch)
Hopefully, this guide has armed you to make the right strategic choices to enable your app to thrive just the same way.
Here‘s wishing you monumental user acquisition success ahead!