Competition is fierce in the app markets, your app has to stand out for its quality and powerful brand image.
According to Statista, at the end of 2020 there were already more than three million apps on Google Play and 2 million on the Apple App Store. And this number is growing rapidly.
At Monedata we believe that there is market for excellent applications that offer a great service. But this must be accompanied by a consistent and quality brand image.
What is branding and how can I use it for my app?
Branding is the set of strategies to create an identifiable brand image, from the logo or colors, to the credibility and uniqueness of the brand. Your brand must tell a story and must have a motive that encourages it. This is what Tom Peters explains it in his book The Heart of Branding. Branding is what will make your app reach the right person and become a user.
Here is our advice on how to get there:
VISUAL ELEMENTS.
The design of the graphic elements of the app must communicate what it represents. Good graphic design is straightforward and clear, unique, impactful, and consistent. Here come into play the logo, the typography, icons and the colors.
Currently, there are many companies that are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs with their visual image, with budgets to suit all pockets. Whether you decide to hire one of them or to do it yourself, we recommend that you do the following:
- Analyze your app, use the previous questions from the downloadable image.
- Do a little research on other apps that inspire you. See what they do well, what catches your attention and translate their good practices into your brand image.
- Look for inspiration in markets like Creative Market or Envato, search for “branding.”
Once you have a list of elements, create a branding template (in Canva you have many options, both free and Pro). Place all the elements in your template and analyze their coherence and if they communicate the image you are looking for.
The elements that your template should include are: app icons, colors, typography, graphics and animations, images and videos for app markets.
TIP: Use custom icons and illustrations to stand out from the competition.
It is very important that all the images you are going to use, whether they are photos, illustrations or icons, have sufficient resolution and do not look pixelated.
APP BRANDING TECHNIQUES
Choose the appropriate keywords for your project.
Before writing the texts for the markets or even for your landing page, choose a set of keywords that represent your app. Consider the following questions:
- What words define your project?
- What words are compelling about it?
- What words will your potential users search for?
Also consider words related to the name of your app and even some variants of it.
Copywriting
Copywriting consists of writing persuasive texts. In this phase of your project, it can help you choose the name of your app, its tag line and the tone of your texts.
Keep in mind that the texts that appeal to emotions are the most effective.
When choosing a name for your app, consider the following factors:
- It reflects what the app consists of.
- It is available in the app markets.
- You can buy a domain for your landing page with that name or some variant.
- What presence does that name have on the Internet? There may be other projects with similar names or even mean something in another language.
When you write the tag line, use your keywords. It should reflect what the app consists of and what value it brings. Remember to use emotions.
The tone of your texts should reflect your brand, it can be fresh, fun and more or less formal. The tone establishes the relationship that you are going to have with your users: close, professional… It is important to keep it consistent across all your channels.
Promote user interaction.
The main purpose of an app is to satisfy its users. If you also get them involved in it, you will build loyalty. You can use small strategies to achieve this, such as giving them the option to customize the appearance of the app, activate and deactivate certain functions or give them rewards.
Another important factor is to have an open and easy communication channel so that they can notify their problems and suggestions to you. Not only does it make them feel like part of the development of the app, but it will also allow you to make improvements that you may not have considered.
Make it easy for them to give their opinion and express themselves both in the comments area of the markets and on social networks. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get new users. You can add a pop up after several hours of use of the app so that they leave you an evaluation, and also the links to social networks.
Gamification
Use game strategies such as challenges, bonuses or badges to motivate your users. Additionally, a positive user experience encourages users to share their progress with their friends.
Update your app periodically.
An app is something alive that evolves and improves. Fix bugs and add improvements and new functions. Listen to your users and give them what they need. Your app must work perfectly and offer a simple and effective experience.
If you are monetizing with Monedata, keeping your app updated will give you more profit. To know more read the following article: Why is it important to keep the Monedata SDK up to date?
Differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Add value to your app by offering the highest quality. Analyze the following:
- Usability, is it simple and intuitive to use?
- Value, does it really deliver what it promises?
- Indispensability, does it satisfy a need of my user?
- Originality, is it unique and original? What does it provide that other apps do not?
- What makes my app stand out?
SOME MARKETING STRATEGIES
App marketing is a set of actions designed to reach new consumers, who will download your apps and become loyal users.
On the one hand, it consists of capturing the attention of potential users, and on the other, offering an app that adds value and they want to use regularly.
How to reach new users?
According to a Google study, the main ways to find apps are the following:
First of all, the word of mouth, so it is important, again, to offer a great experience to the users of our apps so they will recommend it.
Second, searches in the app store, for which it is essential to work the ASO or App Store Optimization to appear among the first apps in each category or in the recommendations to customers.
To know more about how to optimize your ASO you can visit the following article where we give some keys on how to do it.
In third place, we find the search engines. A good landing page for our app can benefit you to get more users. Visit our article about it to know how to design an effective landing page. Another option to appear in search engines is to invest in advertising on them. Your ads will appear in related searches or to users with similar interests to our apps.
Analyze your results.
To know what works and what doesn’t in your marketing strategies, you must analyze the statistics of your apps. This will help you choose future strategies and discard what is not giving the expected results.
Help your users to take advantage of your app.
This is a great app retention strategy. Once the user has downloaded your app, help them understand how it works, all the features and functionalities it has and how to get the most out of them.
This can be done through tutorials, a good help page or help center or your newsletter. If you add new features or improvements to existing ones, be sure to inform your users.
To learn more about how to grow your users, visit our article: Strategies to grow your apps.
USEFUL READING
Mobile app usage — Statistics & Facts by Statista.
Mobile App Branding: Tips, Strategies and Examples by Tubik Blog.
6 Creative Stages of Branding Design: Step-by-Step Guide by Tubik Blog.
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