Talk to any person with a mobile phone, and a social media network is likely one of their most used apps. In fact, in one survey, 90% of respondents listed Facebook as an app they use every day, with Instagram coming second at 49%. It makes sense, then, to grow your own app by reaching out to those who already use them, right on the platforms where they spend the most time. Here’s how.
Increase App Visibility
Social media accounts are free to create and use, so that provides a huge pool for you to reel in your audience from. There are more than three billion social media network users worldwide, with 9 in 10 of these individuals using mobile phones to access them. Here are three ways to carve out your own space on the internet and get your app seen:
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A Strong Visual Identity
What sets your app apart from the multitude of others on the marketplace? To differentiate yourself from other apps that boast similar features, cultivate your visual identity online and keep it consistent with the feel of your user interface. Sticking to certain design choices in posts makes your app more distinct and lends it credibility. Some ways to do this: Feature your logo in profile pictures, cover photos, and image borders. Use similar typography when adding text to posts. Keep a limited color palette for graphic design that complements what your app icon looks like. Make the process easier by having a photo editing app with what you need on hand.
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User-Generated Content
Reposted content from users who mention your app is the new form of customer testimonial. Whether you screenshot or repost from Instagram, create graphics to upload on Facebook and LinkedIn, or retweet on Twitter, letting the wider social media landscape know how well your app works acts as digital word-of-mouth.
Make it easier for both you and your audience to find content related to your brand by creating a branded hashtag. The hashtag can be as simple as your account name or your app’s name, but the important bit is to use it consistently in the original content you share on social media. Reinforcing this hashtag—and creating new ones for campaigns or events—makes tracking so much easier and you’ll be able to quickly find user-generated content and contest entries (if applicable). So, when creating captions, think about how you can incorporate your brand hashtag seamlessly into the sentence—or, if that isn’t the case, always find a space for it at the end.
Customer Service and Reputation Management
One thing that businesses tend to forget about social media is that more than the posts and self-promotion, what matters to those who use it is the interaction. Now, you won’t have to dole out surveys or send emails to learn what users think about your app, and likewise, you won’t have to jump through hoops to respond to them either. Here are three ways to monitor how your app is doing.
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Online Reviews
Don’t be scared of reviews, and don’t activate the option to hide them. They’re a barometer that gauges app performance and a way for you to pinpoint its most prevalent issues for future fixes. Additionally, having visibly good reviews matters—According to Adweek, 50% of consumers actively seek out online reviews before deciding on something and 63% trust businesses that have overall ratings of four out of five. So as part of your daily monitoring routine, check any new reviews that arrive and respond to them with thanks (yes, even the negative ones).
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Social Media Listening
What is social media listening? It’s monitoring social media channels for mentions of your app’s name, official hashtag, and related keywords and locations. Using your preferred social media management tool, you can set up feeds for monitoring what’s said about your brand as well as what’s trending within your industry. This helps with finding people to interact with on social media as well as populating your own feeds by sharing relevant news or blog posts. This way, your account shares value. Using the search functions and checking out what’s trending on each platform can also give you an idea of what to talk about in the future.
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Open Communication
Keeping your brand open to communication with your users on social media is critical to your success on the platforms. According to Social Media Today, it has fast become the default mode of preference for people who want to raise concerns, with 67% of consumers using social media for customer service and 60% of them expecting a response within an hour. Engage with your user base on accessible platforms like Facebook and Twitter and encourage them to report any bugs or issues with your app. Not only will you get information on what needs to be fixed, but you also show how much you care about your audience’s opinions.
Social Media Advertising
Last, but not least, did you know that 78% of companies use paid advertising to earn app installs? While the ability to gain users organically is a big plus to social media’s effectiveness as an affordable marketing tool, it doesn’t hurt to give those efforts a push with the addition of social media advertising. All social media channels have some form of paid option, the most useful of which are links to website pages, but when it comes to growing your app Facebook and Twitter have different ad options specifically tailored to mobile installs. Using these platforms will enable you to choose where to place your ads, what they look like, how often they appear, whether they appear for iOS or Android users, and more.
Convinced yet? Make proper social media management and brand-building a standard part of your digital marketing playbook. Growing your mobile app through social media will take some effort, but you can reap the rewards as long as you keep maintaining your stride.