What’s the most effective strategy you’ve used to market your company’s app thus far? Why?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
1. Tap Into Existing Marketplaces
Things like the Google Apps Marketplace or Salesforce AppExchange are full of leads actively looking for solutions to problems they have. We got our solutions listed in marketplaces like that and worked hard to optimize the listings. Now, they drive thousands of great leads to our site each month.
2. Drop Your Price
Dropping your application’s price to free can give your app a nice boost. There are many sites that track newly free apps, and people tend to download these apps because they feel like they’re getting a good deal.
3. Give It all Away
Sharing knowledge is a key part of our marketing strategy, both through content marketing (inbound marketing) and regular participation on podcasts. Our blog is where we write content for our customers, teach them things, talk about the entrepreneurial journey and profile some of our members. We’ve also been interviewed on more than 25 industry podcasts to share our lessons learned.
4. Provide Referral Incentives
Piggybacking off the success of concepts like LaunchRock, empowering users to share your app in exchange for true value is a new version of commerce that will thrive even further in the future. Groupon and LivingSocial do this very well by offering a free deal if you refer a certain number of sales. It’s the sort of win-win situation that everyone can enjoy.
5. Showcase Features to Influencers
Our company app, Humm Baby, allows San Francisco Giants fans to insert props into their photos. On opening day of the baseball season, we identified the top tech companies in San Francisco, found photos of their employees and used the app to enhance their photos. We sent them to the companies via social media and immediately increased the number of people downloading and talking about our app.
6. Offer a Free Upgrade
People are suggesting that app developers turn their software free. There is a more effective strategy, which has worked for Mavro’s apps. Keep your software at its current value, and market the app on social media sites, suggesting that potential users can have a FREE upgrade if they email the company, directly referencing the post. This concept is organic and healthy.
– George Mavromaras, Mavro Inc. | Praetor Global LLC.
7. Involve Your Local Community
Target local resources, such as regional media outlets, or host local events. This allows for direct feedback on your messaging, the refinement of your go-to market strategy and the ability to build word-of-mouth exposure. Overall, this helps in maximizing the effectiveness of global marketing initiatives.
– Andres Sosa, SquareBall Studios
