Whether your company’s big or small, whether you represent a tech or a lifestyle field, mobile marketing will become even more crucial for customer acquisition in the years to come as the marketing environment continues to evolve digitally.
In 2018, mobile ads accounted for approximately 63 per cent of digital ad revenue. The reason for this massive percentage is simple – the global mobile population reached 3.7 billion people in January 2018.
Global app revenue has also gone up, and the mobile app economy is booming. To reach a mobile crowd, you should definitely consider the addition of a dedicated app to your mobile marketing strategy. Making the most of this app, however, is guided by certain rules and principles.
If you want to make the most of mobile app marketing in 2019, you should consider the following rules and guidelines.
Do Know Your Audience
A good mobile app offers a tailored experience that addresses the specific needs of your audience.
To know your audience, you will have to collect a wide variety of information. The task can be accomplished via your social media presence, your website analytics, as well as via one-on-one interactions (for example, Focus Groups). Surveys and polls can be highly beneficial, especially if you provide the right stimuli for participation.
Once you have all of the required information, you can determine aspects of your mobile app and content that will yield the best results. You’ll get to answer vital questions about functionality, niche specialisation, content formats, whether the app will be available free of charge and exactly how the branded message is going to be delivered.
Don’t Utilise Old-School Advertising Methods
Your advertising strategy and content should be created specifically for the mobile channel.
Attempting to adopt old advertising and apply it to new media can result in a massive fiasco. You definitely have to familiarise yourself and keep up-to-date with new trends.
Mobile advertising, especially when you’re utilising an app, asks for a completely different approach towards content delivery.
Predictive analytics and segmentation make it possible to come up with specific native apps for different audiences. You also have an opportunity to utilise push notifications, text messages and other mobile-specific prompts that helps retain your audience and keep them engaged.
Consider specific content formats that are appropriate for mobile executions. Mobile-rich media, rewarded videos, playable content, ephemeral content and even mobile-specific games are all viable routes to consider and could result in a high return on investment.
Don’t Ignore the Work of the Competition When Developing a Mobile App
Your mobile promotional app isn’t going to exist in isolation.
Hence, you can’t ignore the work of the competition when you’re coming up with your mobile advertising strategy in 2019 and beyond.
While you may think that you have an innovative and incredible app idea, the chances often are that somebody else has already done it (and they could have done it better than you). Hence, you should always do research and competitor analysis before getting started with development.
Do Bold Implementations
Being an early adopter is a great thing, and even if you don’t believe your audience is 100 per cent ready to go mobile, you should definitely look to move forward in the direction.
The world is becoming more and more mobile-friendly. Even if the niche is a bit behind at the time being, it will eventually catch up. It’s much better to already have a developed and functional mobile app at that moment than to initiate efforts after everyone has seen the importance of mobile.
Do Have a Marketing Plan to Guide App Development
Having a mobile app for the sake of having a mobile app isn’t going to accomplish an awful lot in terms of growing your business popularity, brand recognition, and customer loyalty.
Effective advertising app development is guided by the right mobile marketing plan.
Before conceptualising the app, you should work on setting up your website and building your social media presence. This way, you’ll gain some experience with prominent digital channels, and you’ll also learn a bit about your audience through feedback, opinions and engagement rates left on posts.
Next, experiment with the optimisation of different messages and types of content, research the app store and know what your end goal is. Know your competition, see the dynamics of the landscape and get in touch with the right app development team to fine-tune the idea even further.
Do Measure and Track Performance
Mobile marketing provides real-time information about customer demographics and engagement levels. You can use this information to fine tune your strategy on the go.
Don’t be afraid to modify and update your mobile app based on the feedback you receive. Marketing is far from a one-time effort, and digital channels allow for a lot of flexibility. Regular version upgrades and changes in functionalities that people aren’t too keen to use can result in better reach and a higher long term ROI.
Don’t Be Lazy – Test Your App!
Quality matters as mobile users are becoming more educated and discerning.
Always test your app thoroughly before launching.
Customers aren’t the ones who should be informing you about bugs and ill-conceived functionalities. Such glitches can discourage people from interacting with your brand in the mobile realm.
While thorough testing will require time and it could eventually lead to postponing your launch, an error-free mobile app will help you craft the right kind of reputation for your business.
Mobile advertising and app development rank among the most effective and affordable advertising methods in 2019. Even if you’ve never done mobile marketing in the past, you can find success through the collection of customer data, thorough research and the development of a personalised project. But remember – marketing through a mobile app isn’t the same as marketing through your corporate website. You should be ready to view this opportunity separately to make the most of it.
Petra Šestak
Petra is an internet marketing specialist at Point Visible, a digital marketing agency providing custom blogger outreach services. If you are looking for informative blog content, then take advantage of Point Visible’s expertise and services.
