Social Media Marketing Blog

In the recent months and weeks, getting an iPhone application approved by Apple has turned into a daunting task. Truthfully, the 14 day waiting period no longer exists…21 to 28 days is more realistic, only to find out your application has been rejected for one reason or another and then it’s back to the drawing board.  During this time of submission and re-submission and….. re-submission, developers seem most focused on just clearing this hurdle of acceptance and not of the even greater struggle which ensues immediately after.

Okay, so Apple has accepted your iPhone application….now what? How are you going to distinguish your application from the 100k+ applications already in the Apple Store? Let’s face it…it is the goal of every application developer that their app makes it into Apple’s Top 100 but this isn’t going to miraculously happen without taking the necessary steps which I will outline below. Bottom line is this…. You can have the most unique, innovative, life-changing application around, but without the right marketing and promotion your idea is just as good as the worst application in the Apple Store. 

Eight Steps to Giving your Application a Fighting Chance…

1. Create a landing page or website for your application. It is imperative that you have a web presence for your application. Sending out the link to your application in the app store is NOT going to cut it. You need a website which captures the visitor and compels them to download your application on the spot. If the visitor leaves your site with their interest some-what piqued but not convinced, you’ve lost a downloader.  Create an engaging website with a call to action.

2. Send out an Email Blast. As soon as your application is accepted by Apple, your first move should be to your email account. Send out an email blast with details of your application and include a link to your website or if you do not have a website, send a link to your application in the Apple Store. Send this to all of your contacts and ask that they forward the link along to their contacts.

3. Create a Facebook Page. Most people who own iPhones will also have Facebook accounts. Create a Facebook page for your application and invite all your FB contacts to become a fan of the page. Once your friends fan your page, this action will appear in their news feeds, and their friends will be made aware of your fan page and so on.  Facebook is very viral in nature and so take advantage of this great resource.

4. Twitter. In addition to Facebook, Twitter will be a great resource to you in your marketing endeavours. Create a Twitter account for your application. Customize the design so that it stays consistent with your website. This will help in creating brand awareness. Twitter will allow you to “follow” up to 2000 accounts before you are shut-off. Search for people who are likely to be most interested in your application (this will be your target demographic) and follow them. Hopefully, they will “follow” you back and thus become acquainted with your application.

5. Send out a Press Release. A press release will help alert the news media of your application. There are thousands upon thousands of news outlets looking for stories to cover. If you’ve got an application which interests a particular news outlet for one reason or another, chances are they will want to cover your story. HELP THEM, FIND YOU with a press release. You can compose a release yourself and then submit it to any online press release distribution company (who will distribute the release on your behalf) OR you can hire a company with experience in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to write the release for you and submit it on your behalf.

6.  Advertise your application on a Social Media Website. Facebook and MySpace offer two of the BEST do-it-yourself advertising networks. Through these social media websites you can EASILY and I repeat EASILY create an advertisement for your application and advertise towards your target demographic. You can choose who will see your advertisement by age, interests, workplace, relationship status, and much more. You can set up a daily budget for your advertisement and run it for as many or as few days as you would like. Take advantage of Facebook’s 350 million users and MySpace’s 200 million active users.

7. Advertise your Application on other Websites. Search for other websites who target an audience similar to the audience who will be interested in your application. Email the website’s point of contact or webmaster. Inquire about advertising on their site with a small graphic ad or text link. You can either offer to pay for the ad on a monthly basis (don’t be afraid to negotiate or haggle) OR suggest a link exchange. Offer to place a link to their site on your site and in return you will receive a link on their site.

8. Run a Promotion. One of the best ways to attract users is to incentivize them. Set up a promotion and offer your users an incentive to download your application. Perhaps you will send your first 100 downloaders a free t-shirt or small gift card to the itunes store or a free pizza, etc. Promotions can be VERY powerful marketing tools. Get the word out about your promotion through a social media site.

Following the above eight steps should give any application a leg up on the other 100k+ applications which are currently flooding the Apple Store. For more information and advice on how to effectively market your application please contact us at Pearse Street Consulting or email Amy at amy@pearsestreet.com .