How to promote APP efficiently? Cleverly use 2 major channels!

In the promotion of APP, the selected promotion channel determines the main source of users and the quality of users. APP operators should comprehensively select appropriate promotion channels based on budget, cost, user group positioning, APP positioning, channel attributes, difficulty, etc. to achieve the best promotion effect.

At present, there are many channels for APP promotion , including in-app, new media, app stores, alliances, etc. Today, I would like to focus on talking about the promotion channels within the APP and new media .

APP in-app promotion channels

It refers to the internal promotion of the APP, including banner position, Push message push, startup page ads, floating icon ads, pop-up ads, etc.

1. Banner position promotion: Most apps will leave a prominent area at the top as a display for activities, notifications, brand information, advertisements, etc. This is the banner position we often mention.

Several information display pictures can be placed in the banner position at the same time, using a carousel method. Every few seconds, the system will automatically switch to the next picture. The continuous loop playback makes the entire APP page dynamic and immediately catches the attention of consumers in the static environment.

Promotional points: It can be used to promote internal APP activities, new feature launches, etc.; the style of the displayed banner image should match the overall page, and the color scheme and text size of the image should not appear abrupt; the display copy of banner advertisements, activities, etc. should be concise, powerful, highlight the key points, and be eye-catching.

2. Startup page advertising promotion: refers to the transition page that pops up when the user starts the APP for the first time or exits and then starts the APP every day, before waiting to enter the home page. The startup page usually stays for 3-5 seconds.

APP startup page advertising promotion

Promotion points: It can be used as a promotion channel for brand advertising, APP activities, and functional point display (such as the promotion of the year-end inventory activity on the Oxygen APP startup page in the above picture, and the brand promotion of the 6th anniversary celebration of Renrendai APP); because the APP startup page only has a short display time of a few seconds, and only one display page can be set, so the copywriting and the entire page design must be controlled well;

Finally, a "skip" button must be set so that users can manually click "skip" to immediately close the startup page, avoiding forced acceptance and causing user disgust.

3. In-app pop-up promotion: refers to the pop-up activities, advertisements and other floating pages that are automatically triggered when the user completes a certain operation on the APP page. It is usually displayed in full screen, with the small window in the middle being a clickable image page, and the surrounding background set to be transparent so that the underlying homepage is visible.

In the picture below, the pop-up pages of Renrendai APP on the left and Amazon APP on the right popped up when I opened the APP and entered the homepage. Using "new user benefits" to guide unregistered downloading users to complete registration is an effective way to increase the conversion rate of new users.

In-app pop-up promotion

Key points for promotion: For the promotion channels for internal APP users, different pop-up contents should be set according to the different attributes of users (region, gender, etc.) and different operation behaviors (registration, login, adding to shopping cart, payment, leaving message, favorite, rating, etc.) to carry out precise promotion.

In addition to being designed and developed by APP developers themselves, this type of triggered pop-up promotion can also be quickly generated and integrated into the app with the help of third-party tools. Select small or large image display format, select the trigger conditions (login, registration, payment, etc.), it will be triggered according to the user's actual operation (such as popping up after completing payment); select the trigger user (all users, provinces, gender, etc.), it will be pushed to users who meet the conditions (such as popping up only for users in Guangdong Province).

（Activity page）

In addition, pop-up ads must have a conspicuous close button, such as the "x" in the picture above, to give users the right to choose independently and feel that the APP respects users, without being forced or vague.

4. Push message push: refers to the active message push by APP developers to users' mobile devices through third-party tools, which is displayed in the user's mobile phone notification bar and desktop APP icon (digital red dot reminder).

Message push can reach all authorized APP users at one time, achieving true full coverage; facing precise internal user groups, it avoids the waste of resources on irrelevant users caused by the asymmetry of message push. Message push plays a very important role in the operation and promotion of APP. It can wake up dormant users and increase user activity; it can also drive the use of functional modules, especially new module experiences.

Promotion points: Push can push a wide range of content, which can be freely set by APP operators, including internal APP activities, new notifications (new function launches, product updates, arrival notifications, etc.), information messages, advertisements, etc.

When using the message push channel for operations, you need to pay attention to the following points: make targeted push notifications to make users interested or find them useful; write good message push copy to increase users' desire to click; the frequency of message push should be appropriate to avoid causing disturbances; do a good job of scenario-based message push and push messages out at the most appropriate time. Don’t try to overdo it by making users dislike and resent push notifications, leading them to uninstall the app.

This is the end of the analysis of in-app promotion channels. Now let’s take a look at the new media APP promotion channels.

APP new media promotion channels

1. APP content distribution channels: Content operators create articles related to the APP or containing APP brand information, and put them in large quantities on APP vertical platforms and self-media platforms, and disseminate them in the form of free submissions (mostly dry goods).

This free channel promotion can save certain costs; in-depth content can allow the audience to understand the APP in more detail and bring in high-quality registered users. However, more professional content producers are needed to continuously produce relevant articles.

Free content distribution channels include APP vertical platforms and self-media platforms (Toutiao, Baidu Baike, Yidian Zixun, Sohu Public Platform, etc.).

2. Off-site promotion: Use Baidu, 360 and other platforms to do Q&A and keyword ranking, so that the APP brand words can be widely exposed and guide users to search for the APP.

For example, you can create brand entries on Baidu Encyclopedia, 360 Encyclopedia, Hudong Encyclopedia, Sogou Encyclopedia, MBA Think Tank Encyclopedia, etc., to display the APP's most important product information, functional highlights, and development history, which serves as a window for potential and new users to understand the APP and increase brand exposure. In addition, doing Q&A on platforms such as Baidu Knows, 360 Q&A, Soso Q&A, Sina iAsk, Zhihu, etc., and using the APP brand words is also a means of exposure.

3. Weibo promotion: It is a series of APP operation and promotion using the Weibo platform.

There are three main ways to promote:

1) Apply for an official Weibo account for the APP, include the APP brand name, and have a dedicated person responsible for operation. To position the official blog well, should we follow the official route and mainly publish APP-related content or develop in multiple directions and release official + unofficial content interspersedly... No matter what, you must be good at using Weibo to build good relationships with users and interact well with fans.

2) Use big Vs (KOLs, Weibo celebrities) to promote APP activities, brands, etc. This is a paid promotion method, and most APPs use this promotion channel to carry out certain activities, launch new versions/new features, and do event marketing.

3) Place advertisements on Weibo’s banner, sidebar advertising space, and the startup page of Weibo’s mobile app.

4. WeChat promotion: mainly promotion through two major channels: WeChat official accounts and WeChat groups. Apply to open a public account named after the APP (choose a subscription account, a service account, or both, depending on your own situation), then push APP-related news and publish activities in the public account to become the official publicity channel of the APP.

For WeChat groups, you can set up an APP communication group and include users who meet certain rules (registered users, paying users, event participating users, etc.) to facilitate user management and promotion. For example, a certain gaming app can set up a group for exchanging experience in completing levels. At the same time, APP operators can join more related industry groups to promote the APP.

5. PR communication: It is to spread the APP brand through soft articles. The most common one is PR publicity after the APP activity, which further expands the impact of the activity and increases brand awareness. At this time, it is necessary to clarify the channels where the event PR draft will be released:

Free channels: forum platforms (Baidu Tieba, Tianya Forum, QQ groups, WeChat groups, etc.), self-media platforms (Toutiao, Baidu Baike, Yidian Zixun, Sohu Public Platform, etc.), Weibo, WeChat public accounts, etc.

Paid channels: comprehensive portals (such as Sina, NetEase, Sohu, Tencent, Baidu, Xinhuanet, People's Daily Online, Phoenix Online, etc.), Weibo/WeChat KOL placement, traditional media (newspapers, etc.).

Author: Event Box, authorized to be published by Qinggua Media.

Source: Activity Box Operation Society