Control the 5 stages of app marketing, how to promote apps, how to promote apps, and steps to promote apps

1. Overall Logic

There is only one logic in running an app market, which is location and display, and we aim to optimize our location in all major app markets. All work in the application market is based on location. Since application markets are comprehensive, there is no targeting of users, so everything is for display and position. For specific applications, the goal is to achieve the best position in the category list, have user data of millions or even tens of millions, or occupy 80% of the market share. According to product stability and user data, formulate various stages of promotion, and work backwards to determine the required promotion budget based on the number of users to be reached, the proportion of paid promotion users, and the cost of activating each user.

It should be noted that the application market is just one of the channels. As the user base continues to increase, the promotion cost will become higher and higher, and eventually a promotion bottleneck will be encountered. Therefore, at each stage of application market promotion, it is necessary to cooperate with other channels for promotion, such as social media, event planning, cooperative application resource exchange, ground promotion, etc., and constantly adjust the proportion of each in the overall promotion to achieve the lowest cost and the best effect. Generally speaking, in the early stages, you should pay attention to trial and error and evaluation of various channels to find the channel that suits you. Only in this way can other channels quickly make progress based on past accumulation when the application market encounters promotion bottlenecks.

2. Stage Control

The phase overview is as follows:

Note: There are five major markets for inflating traffic, including Baidu, App Store, 360, Android, and Wandoujia. Daily brushing refers to the amount brushed in each market every day. Adjust the proportion of brush volume in each market based on the specific volume.

● Inflating traffic: Baidu, App Store, and Android, 40 yuan/10,000; 360 and Wandoujia, 80 yuan/10,000. Application fees are calculated based on the most expensive market.
● Evaluation: 2 yuan/evaluation. All the markets that can do business have been reviewed. The main Android markets include Baidu, 360, App Store, Android, Wandoujia, Anzhi, 91, App Store, Tao App, Huawei, Lenovo, Nduo, and OPPO, a total of 13 markets, with 10 reviews for each version, for a total of 130 reviews. Each IOS version also has 10 reviews, 4 yuan per review. Therefore, the evaluation fee for each version is 300 yuan.
● Evaluation fees: The evaluation fees need to be determined in conjunction with the monthly product iteration plan.
● Paid promotion: Estimate paid promotion investment based on the percentage of paying users and CPA. The CPA is calculated based on the average of Android and iOS, which is 2 yuan for Android and 4 yuan for iOS. It should be noted that CPA will become higher and higher as the user base increases. The specific form is as follows:

Each stage is introduced in detail from five dimensions, including stage goals, quantity estimates, promotion strategies, promotion budgets and data recovery.

1. Online preparation (2-3 weeks)

● Product familiarity: product functions, market analysis, user needs, and competitive product analysis.
● Plan determination: 3-month operational goals, including product goals, brand promotion goals (publicity points, slogans, media), product iteration goals, and user quantity goals.
● Basic materials: basic display of the application market (title, description, keywords, tags, classification, screenshots), determination of operational functional points within the software (application evaluation, application recommendation).
● Team communication: Communicate smoothly and explain your part of the rhythm plan and where you need help from others one by one. Have a clear concept of the overall operational rhythm.

2. Product testing - seed stage (daily activations 20-100, KPI monthly activations 500, cumulative activations 1,000, 1 month)

① Stage goals

● The product is stable, iterates quickly, and the core functional points are stable.
● Optimize the application market foundation to pave the way for market cooperation and editor recommendations.
● User loyalty, forming the first batch of seed users and forming user research documents.
● On a daily basis, familiarize yourself with the product, study users, and research the market.

② Quantity estimation : Based on the product’s historical user data, estimate the data after the new product is launched.

● Data source: product work, Umeng data and background data.
● Registration process: The old version does not require verification code registration. You just need to enter your mobile phone number, click Next, enter your password, click Next and select your avatar and nickname to complete the registration. The new version does not require verification code registration. You just need to enter your mobile phone number and password, select your avatar and nickname, and you can register. Comparing the old and new versions, there is no obvious change in the registration process, so the activation registration conversion rate for the new product is set to be slightly higher than the old version.

③ Promotion strategy

A. Android Market

● New product launch: Apply 10 days before the app goes online.
● New product recommendation: Apply after the new product launch.
● Topic application: Find similar applications, set up contact forms, discussion groups, WeChat groups, build connections and become familiar with their applications.
● Market optimization: After the new product is launched, it will be ranked in 5 major markets in terms of volume, evaluation, ratings, and category charts.
● Preparation for traffic exchange: Find 5 traffic exchange applications with similar user bases, the same target audience, and no competitive relationship.

Note: Main markets include Baidu, App Store, 360, Xiaomi, and Taobao App.

B. Apple Market

● Display content, ASO optimization, evaluation, and market research.
● Promotion budget: real volume 1000; fake volume 10,000, 60 fakes per day. The amount of brushing is 72 yuan. In addition: Evaluation 300 yuan/version ● Product improvement: user usage path, user feedback.
● Data monitoring after market optimization to check the market and product’s ability to attract traffic.
● Research thematic cooperative products, familiarize yourself with their functions and user groups, and strive to find points of cooperation.

3. Promotion test - free promotion (200-500 activations per day, 10,000 cumulative activations, 1 month, join in the exchange)

① Stage goals

● Conduct trial and error in Android market promotion and form free promotion experience documents. On the one hand, we can see which markets are suitable for us, which free resources are beneficial to us, and do further market research. On the other hand, check the product’s ability to attract traffic and how to plan events.
● In the Apple market, continue ASO optimization, evaluation and scoring, and market research.
● Continuously study the promotion strategies of competitors, conduct in-depth research on users, research market cooperation entrances, and continuously improve the inclusion position in major markets.

② Quantity estimate : 200-500 activations per day, 10,000 cumulative activations, and 100,000 brush volumes.

③ Promotion strategy

Mainly for the Android market. The free resources in the Android market include: first release, special topics, free activities, special policies, and app exchange. In addition to the marketplace, try other channels. For example: social media, application cooperation resource exchange, and event planning.

● Application exchange: First, to test the product's ability to attract traffic; second, to detect which software is suitable for cooperation and what the points of cooperation are. 5 confirmed swap applications per week.
● Special policies: Meizu adaptation, Baidu in-app search ● Activity privileges: Apply for free market activities and privileged gift package activities, as well as application brand resource replacement and software internal activity planning.
● Special application: In addition to maintaining good contact with the joint application, you must also build good relationships with the market liaison person.
● Channel trial and error: Try social media and understand various payment channels.

④ Promotion budget: RMB 10,000. The number of swipes is 100,000; 600 swipes per day. The amount of brushing is 720 yuan. In addition: evaluation 300 yuan/version.

⑤ Data recovery: Summary of free market promotion: the volume brought by various free promotion methods and the volume-bringing capabilities of each market.

● Exchange summary document: record the historical exchange effects to see which applications are suitable for us and which are not. Extract characteristic maps suitable for volume exchange applications.
● Event planning document: Analyze the activities of competitors and summarize the experiences that can be used for reference.
● Channel trial and error expansion: Based on the trial and error expansion of other channels, we can find the promotion channels and entry points suitable for our application.
● Understanding of paid promotion: Understand the various existing channels for paid promotion, find out the general promotion principles, quotations, volume, CPA, suitable objects, and form a preliminary summary document.

4. Promotion test - paid promotion (daily activation 500-1000, cumulative activation 100,000, 3 months) stage goal

Try various payment channels, evaluate the return on investment of various channels, and form a paid promotion document.

● Paid channels: Evaluate the promotion costs and effects of different channels and ultimately determine the appropriate channels.
● All data have reached the basic level of the industry: including new additions, activity, retention, and user behavior.

① Quantity estimate : 500-1000 activations per day, and 100,000 cumulative activations.

② Promotion strategy

● Product recommendations: Apply for product recommendations in major markets.
● Market exchange: Understand the exchange policies of major markets, determine the standards for resource replacement, how much volume we need to bring, and how they can return the volume. Finally determine the appropriate application market.
● Paid activities: privileged gift packages, in-app points draws, registration prizes, etc.
● Market samples: Evaluate the market samples that are most suitable for us and conduct trial launches.
● Advertising platform: mobile advertising platform (Tencent Guangdiantong, Baidu Mobile Network Alliance, Sina Fanstong), mobile advertising alliance (Duomeng, Youmi, Limei), application software cooperation (Toutiao, Momo).
● Brand cooperation: Exchange resources with other applications and summarize and analyze cooperation points.
● Market cooperation: Continue to explore various cooperation entrances in the market and continuously improve the position rankings.
● Event planning: Based on the summary document of competitor activities in the previous stage, plan a few events yourself and see the results. Try to find an activity experience that belongs to our application.

③ Promotion budget

● Cumulative activations: 100,000 real amount; 250,000 brush amount; 1,000 brushes per day.
● Marketing expenses: 1,200 yuan for brushing; 81,000 yuan for payment; 27,400 yuan per month; in addition: 300 yuan/version for evaluation.

④ Data recovery: payment channels, effect summary documents.

● Event planning documents.
● Brand cooperation documents.

5. Growth stage (daily activations 1,000-5,000, cumulative activations 1 million, 12 months)

① Stage goals

● The number of users surges and the data curve becomes steeper.
● Improve and fix the paid promotion experience of the previous stage.
● Improve and summarize event planning and brand cooperation.

② Quantity estimate : 1,000-5,000 activations per day, with a cumulative activation of 1 million.

③ Promotion strategy

● Continue with various aspects of the previous stage, including payment channels, event planning, and brand cooperation, and continue to improve.
● Market cooperation, dig out every nook and cranny, and display the included positions and rankings to achieve the ultimate.
● Make use of social media and find a way forward.

④ Promotion budget

● Cumulative activations: 1 million real volume; 2 million fake volume; 1,000 fake volume per day● Market fees: 14,000 fake volume; 2.025 million paid; 168,750 yuan per month. In addition: evaluation 300 yuan/version.

⑤ Data recovery

● Paid promotion, event planning, brand cooperation, experience is fixed.
● On social media, there can be one or two great activities executed and implemented.