You must be thinking “app marketing specifics in here too?” Yes. That’s right. The mobile app industry is unique and has its own bits and bytes. And that includes social networks management, Twitter among them of course. If used right, Twitter can be a great, low budget, highly targeted tool to help you boost your app results. Here is what you need to know..
I honestly believe that Twitter is the weirdest social network of them all (and the others are not that sane either…). It’s a strange creature. Sometimes I think, hey, it’s the social match for people with ADHD, that’s what it is. Think of it, 140 characters max per Tweet, no filtering, almost no privacy at all, no barriers, crazy traffic and hashtags all over the place. If you are not born to it, and just visiting, you might think you’ve landed on a strange new planet, and that everyone around has gone bananas.
Twitter is not commonly used in some countries. That’s right. In Israel, for instance, Twitter is not part of the culture. It makes it hard for global marketers operating in “Twitter free” territories to professionally use Twitter as part of their strategy. But even for pros who are familiar with this great social network (I, by the way, have become an addict) and use it as their preferred social network, professional Twitter management isn’t easy.
Now, we are talking specifically here about mobile app marketing. So let’s consider the specific challenges of app marketing, and how we can approach them using Twitter. The mission here is to meet and exceed our app targets. After all, we, as an industry, don’t have that many tools where we can reach a huge user base potential with low budgets, right?
So let’s see how we can leverage Twitter for specific mobile app business targets.
Which target should we start with?
- Installs? For most of us, this is usually the #1 target. Well, excuse me for moving it down the list for the purpose of this discussion. Not because you can’t gain installs with Twitter, of course you can. But because you may first want to use Twitter to build your community, and communicate with existing users and potential users. Only then should you start with the “hard sale”. It’s just smarter this way and I’d argue it’s more effective.
- Increased app usage and engagement? Well, Twitter is a legitimate channel for this target. And a good channel for that matter. But, first you may want your users to follow you on Twitter, right? So this target can even be achievable via Twitter… Therefore this target cannot immediately be achieved through Twitter. It is sure not the “start today measure tomorrow” kind of tool for this purpose. Sorry guys.
- Monetize maybe? Right, monetization is a major part of the deal. But monetization is driven by installs and usage. Usually, they have to come first. For me at least. For sure we should not be starting with using Twitter for our monetization goal.
Seems like we need to temporarily put aside the distribution – engagement – monetization holy triangle, and think again how we can tackle this Twitter thing
OK, let’s put things in a sensible order: You may first want to plant the seeds to engage with existing users, then invest in building relationships (you know, communicate) with new, potential users (many time these can be followers of existing users). Then move to the increasing app engagement target. And only then, when everything else is properly taken care of, should you move to leveraging Twitter to drive quality installs. Just my two cents..
Now let’s move into the specific tips we have all been waiting for!
Tip 1: Make your Twitter page look like it’s for a mobile app – leave no room for confusion
- Include screenshots and visuals from your app wherever possible (the Twitter page header mainly)
- You can position the screenshot on a device outline – so it’s understood we are talking about a mobile app here
- Add visual elements (e.g., formal icons) provided by the app stores (e.g., “available on Google Play”…)
- Add the word “app” to your Twitter user name or first name in the profile (bestpuzzle@spuzzleapp)
- Add important keywords to your profile description (iOS, Android, mobile app, etc.)
- Use a download smart link in your description (one link that identifies the device and offers the relevant download page)
- You know what, take a look at the pages of some of the well-known apps. You will get the idea…
Tip 2: Plant the seeds – Develop Twitter viral features in your app
- Can you point your existing users to follow you on Twitter? Add a “click to follow” button in your app, make it bold (don’t put it behind the scenes) and promote it using in-app tool tips and/ or in-app messages.
- Once the user had completed an activity on the app (e.g., game level, content search, utility request, anything really) – gently pop up a “follow us to enjoy some unique goodies” message.
- Measure response rates. Why? Because after you’ve identified the response rate, you can incentivize users for following you (with a virtual goodie for example: “Follow us to unlock the next level” – you may need some advance Twitter integration). Then measure the response rate uplift.
Tip 3: In parallel, follow potential users to get them following you back!
- Can you identify your competitors? Similar apps maybe? Swell. The easiest way to increase your Twitter community of potential users would be to “copy” the followers of your competitors or those of similar apps. Go for active Twitter accounts, with significant volume of followers and nice activity rates.
- Use professional tools to unfollow those who haven’t followed you back… JustUnfollow is a popular one, but there are more.
Tip 4: In parallel, start Tweeting valuable info – make your followers happy
- DO NOT. I repeat, do not start immediately selling your app. Don’t ”download this…” or “install that”, instead follow quality content generators that are developing content that your target users will find interesting. For instance, if you are in the children games area, search for content that would interest parents (like child care, healthy food, educational games, etc.)
- Constantly hunt for relevant but funny content (written, images and videos)
- Measure here as well. Analyze your followers’ responses to your communication.
- Use professional tools to scale (publish messages in variety of social networks), to auto schedule your Tweets and generate reports. HootSuite is a popular one, but here too, there are more.
Tip 5: Time for some app engagement boost
- You can now publish some tips, news or general updates that are related to your app.
- Deep links are a good idea here (those are links to a specific location in your app rather than your app’s home screen)
- Always mix and match your communication – don’t include only engagement messages, but also funny, interesting, general relevant news. Create a reasonable blend.
- Need I mentioned the need to measure and analyze again?
Tip 6 and final: Now is the right time, go for the installs!!!
- Yes, you should now be ready to chase after installs. Your Twitter activity is up and running, you’ve got a good community to show for, and you can now welcome new comers.
- Why not try out Twitter ads? I am talking about promoted posts with a smart download link. These can create a nice ROI. Don’t wait for the coming soon Twitter install cards. Promotedposts can generate some nice traffic and a good CPI, assuming you target well. If you’ve managed to create a relevant community of potential users, you can start with targeting them. By the way, Twitter gives you an option of targeting your competitors’ followers, cool ha?
- Turn your existing app users to ambassadors by offering incents for those who Tweet about your app. Tell them about this option from the app itself. Offer some virtual goodies for sharing. This is a way to gain “free” lookalike ads… Here’s an example for a requested Tweet: “I installed this amazing iOs & Android kids puzzle. Download free here: link”
- I am aware of Twitter auto DM (direct messaging), and I have to say I am not for it. I don’t think it’s a good tool to gain app installs. The industry has turned it into a tool that’s too “spammy” for my taste. So in fact, I don’t think it’s a good tool for nothing at all, but that’s just me.
Wrap up
Twitter is indeed a long road to take. To benefit from Twitter activities, you need to think about your Twitter strategy, the actions you need to take by which order and the mobile app specifics we just discussed. And be patient – it’s a slowly cooking dish…
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