App Marketing, Stop Throwing Your Money at the Problem

Monday, March 3, 2014

The value of marketing for app developers is undeniable. So why do so many app developers find it tough to get on board the marketing train early? It’s natural for the development process to take precedence, but as competition between apps is strikingly high (Gartner says that 102 billion apps were downloaded globally in 2013), developers should be fighting harder and earlier to be heard over their competition.

Incorporating marketing into your strategy from the get-go is essential, but more importantly, you should make sure you choose the right people to help you market your creation. You have devoted blood, sweat and tears building your app, so why hand it over to just any marketer and hope for the best?

This is an all too common pattern I’ve seen in my role as Deputy CEO at DMG, a full service provider of digital advertising solutions. We manage over 10 billion mobile impressions monthly and each of our marketing experts interact daily with app developers who hope to usurp some influence over the market and land their app on “top ten” lists.

But in our experience, a stark contrast can be seen among developers who play an active role, as opposed to those who watch from the sidelines.

In such a competitive ecosystem, even the most seasoned developers are faced with marketing challenges. A well-planned marketing strategy, developed in correlation with marketers with a real understanding, will generate good results and help monetize your in-app traffic, ensuring growth and profit.

The Right Marketer For You

You’ve invested endless hours creating an app so finding a marketer that meets your goals is not a decision to be taken lightly. The world of app advertising is crowded and complicated so you should make sure you examine thoroughly both the companies and their performance.

Many will claim they have the best in-house technology and that they have a long record of success. We say – do your homework. Make sure that your app will benefit from their efforts, technology and experience. This may seem like a tedious task but there are three main characteristics you can arm yourself with when assessing app marketers to identity the perfect fit - communication, efficiency and transparency.

Communication - The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus once said that you should “listen twice as much as you speak.” This adage is one every developer ought to keep in mind. App marketers are tasked daily with following the rise and fall of campaigns and, as such, app trends jump off the charts, clearly depicting what’s worked and what hasn’t in your app’s space. From the beginning, a well of knowledge is at your fingertips – tap into this!

Play an active role in your app advertising alongside app marketers, develop both long term and short term goals, take heed of remarks they deliver regarding creative, budget, timing, target audiences or their advice in providing lifetime value to your app. Once you’ve listened, return with well thought out feedback for every twist and turn of your campaign journey. Forming a relationship of collaboration permits marketers to advise strategy changes in a timely way and thus ensures the best return on your investment.

Value for Your Buck - Efficiency should be high on the list of criteria when searching for the right app marketer. Regardless of how big or small budgets may be, each cent should be well spent and deliver real value for your app. App marketing platforms that deliver hundreds of media sources aggregated in one place are a prime example of achieving a large reach while only having to track one campaign.

Your app marketer can provide creative solutions you may not have thought of including strategic advice, proprietary technology and even something as simple as one-on-one feedback. For instance, a good app marketer should be able to offer you consultation and advice on how to best monetize your app. Utilize everything app marketers provide to extract the most out of your campaign and of your marketing experience.

Transparency - Even though this is last in the list, transparency may be the most important criterion when choosing an app marketer. Take off the blinders. Yes the space is complex, but this should not deter you from understanding exactly what your campaign is doing and how your budget is being spent.

Backend technologies such as dashboards promote transparency as they paint a real-time picture of the app campaign and where each impression or download comes from. I cannot stress this enough - when it comes to transparency, being an active participant in your app campaign will only further the achievement of your marketing objectives.

I will leave you with one final thought. Having devoted so much time, effort and money developing your app - do not just blindly hand over your money and hope for the best. Marketing should be thought of as a critical element - just as crucial to your app as the color used for the UI.

With one million apps currently in the Apple app store and 700 new apps submitted each day I urge you to incorporate marketing into your strategy and to get involved with your advertising campaign. Demand better communication, efficiency and transparency - as that is the only way your app will become the app for that.

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