Extending The Momentum of Your Newly Launched App

Posted on January 31, 2013
By Shringar Pangal, Senior Product Marketing ManagerSenior Product Marketing Manager

Yes, you have a great app, but are you sure users are seeing it? With the number of active apps crossing 760,000 on App Store and 675,000 on Google Play, every new app is facing severe competition to be discovered. With an average of 921 new apps being launched per day, an app stores is an ocean of apps that is growing larger by the day and the threat of being lost amidst the crowd is very real.

So, how do you stand out? How do you get discovered? The three main ways for you to get more installs would be to

1. Increases the chances of your app being found on the app store and hence increase your organic installs
2. If you have other apps, then cross promote the new app on the other real estate you own on the other apps
3. Paid advertising methods such as Display Advertising, Incentivized Advertising etc. Obviously, your strategy will need to take into account all three ways to get the best impact.

However, it is important to understand the confluence of the organic and paid installs. While initially you will start with more paid installs than organic installs, there will be a time when you reap the benefits of the paid advertising by seeing a spike in the organic install rate. The number of organic installs should overtake the number of paid installs and you can begin reducing the amount spent on paid advertising. However, to ensure that you maximize the reaping the benefitsstage, it is important to get the strategy of your initial paid advertising right. Here are a quick 5 points on what you should keep in mind while launching an ad campaign for a new app

1. Run a mix of ads  There are different ad formats that perform differently. Apart from regular banner ads, create HD ads that can be served on the double density devices such as iPhone 5. Interstitial ads are also an extremely powerful way of engaging users and have seen to have high CTR. You also want to consider refreshing the ads every two weeks to reduce user fatigue.
2. Provide ample information on the ad. There is a fine balance of information, which if provided, can sway the user to download your app. For example, if your app already has a user rating, then it is important to showcase this rating in ads. It has seen that users who see a rating in the ad tend to click on the ad more than on ads that do not have a rating
3. Target wisely Over targeting is usually the cause for limiting the full potential of advertising. While you make sure that you reach the right audience, remember that this stage is about generating awareness. So do not restrict your campaign to too small an audience and experiment with a larger audience. But be sure to target the right OS version and devices. You will be surprised with the amount of ad dollars being spent on devices or OS versions that do not support the app.
4. Run a test campaign Each app is different and each region is different. While there are a lot of best practices, your app will have its own nuances and learning curve. So before you have a big bang launch in all markets, try to set aside a small budget and time for a trial campaign to see what works. This will help you find the ideal spend and target CPI, the audience segments that work best etc. Work with your ad network to analyze the data in detail.
5. Track track track Most important is to track and get as much information about your paid advertising as you possibly can. This is a wealth of information that will influence and provide direction for the rest of your advertising strategy. It is important to know which are some of the best tracking solutions in the market and then make an informed decision that works best for you.

In this blog, I have only scratched the surface on the points mentioned above. In subsequent blogs, I will go into each of the bullets in detail with supporting data. Read on for more. Click here to read the next blog in this series