While December is a time for holidays, app developers and marketers know that December 25 is unofficially App Developers’ Day.
Millions of people all over the world just got a brand new mobile device. They’re off of work, hanging out with their family, and half the day is dedicated to ingesting ginger cookies and eggnog. There couldn’t be a better time to play with the new toy. So they start exploring, discovering and downloading new apps, and filling their new phone with the most memorable apps from their previously loved device that is already collecting dusk in the kitchen junk drawer. On Christmas Day 2014 in the US, Flurry tracked 2.5 times as many installs than the average daily number for the first three weeks of December.
So is your app ready for this potentially momentous day? You’ve probably tried the obvious changes. Many apps update their graphics with holiday images or send holiday cheer through push notifications, but this won’t set you apart.
This year the Apple App Store is closed between Dec 22nd and Dec 29th, so there so there isn’t much time to implement many new design changes anyway, but worry not. Even if you miss the App Store freeze, we have a few marketing tips to make sure you make the best out of Christmas day.
The trick is knowing the answer to this question. What will make a user download your app if they are getting a new device on Christmas?
They already know about your app. This is a gimme. Make sure that users who already have your app install it when they get a new device. You can help by reminding them how much they love it by showing them ads on social channel and making it easy to find in the app store by having clear descriptions. Facebook has great options to allow you to boost a post or do app install ads for your Facebook fan pages. Prices are higher on Christmas Day, but being one of the first apps someone installs on their new phone may be worth the higher price. Another way to remind your existing users how much they love your app is sending them an e-mail with a Holiday promotion.
They are bored and looking for something new A new device is great, but apps are what make the mobile experience great. Users are going to search for the latest app they can enjoy on their upgraded device.. How can you make sure users find your app when they are searching for something to distract them from their food coma? If you have not been around for long enough and Apple has not chosen to feature you, you can try improving your ratings by asking your existing users for ratings to boost up your rankings. You could give your top users a reward for a rating (Branch dashboard is a good place to figure out who those top users are). Additionally you can also use social medial install ads on Christmas Day to make sure you are top of mind for new users as well.
A friend tells them about it. When you think about what makes people love and engage with your app, think about content. Remember that users are not looking for apps themselves, they are looking for interesting content and your app is just the wrapping around it. Whether it’s shopping for a new dress, playing a new level in a game, watching a movie, listening to a song, or get some food delivered, your content should be what shines. Good content is more likely to be shared, so make sure your content is shareable. Ideally, for every new user you acquire on Christmas Day, they will share your app with others.. And to make every user experience perfect, make sure to use deep links to your app content to make sure new users get to the content that was shared with them on first install.
Here at Branch we hope you have an awesome App Developers’ Day with lots of new installs and growth. We can’t wait to see what you build!