If you are a startup founder, just completed your app development process, or are in the process of launching your mobile app with essential features only, soft launching is the ideal user acquisition strategy for you. In this article, I have covered the top 9 ways you can soft launch your MVP app, while marketing it for the future.
Website for Brand Awareness
First and foremost, create a website for building your brand. Hire the website development company dubai that suits your budget and build a custom website. You can do this even before your mobile app is out in the market. Talk about your app’s anticipated launch dates, features and benefits, announce competitions and blogging opportunities, find people for beta testing and so on.
When you’ll have a website for your mobile app up and running, users will already be familiar with what your product has to offer. This familiarity even before launch will keep your users coming back to see if the app has already launched – and you’ll ultimately find users to gather real feedback for tests and improvement.
This website should look like your product’s corporate profile – with mission, vision, problems it will solve, core values of your app business, funding requirements, impact you are creating and future plans for the product.
Social Media Marketing
After you have created a corporate profile in the form of a website, it’s time to build your social media handles and LinkedIn business page. Start with LinkedIn – create a page while adding your logo, company information, contact details etc. Then create pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Once you have these handles, integrate them on your website too.
Now it’s time to post engaging and informational content about your mobile app MVP. If you want to build anticipation:
- Create intriguing teasers and trailers hinting at your app’s features and benefits.
- Run countdown campaigns generating excitement before your official launch.
- Host contests and giveaways to collect email addresses and build an early adopter base.
As a quick tip, use attractive visuals and captivating captions that resonate with your Dubai audience. Also, utilise Arabic for descriptions and interactions to connect with local users.
After you have launched your MVP, you can keep the page alive by sharing users’ different experiences, how your app helped them solve their problems and reviews and testimonials. Also consider posting user generated content.
Search Engine Optimization
Most web developers in Dubai operate as full-cycle tech companies, and can offer you app marketing packages. If your web developer, the one that built your website, provides this facility, go ahead and ask them to utilise organic search engine marketing techniques for your app.
In search engine optimization, you create helpful, valuable content around the most relevant search terms in your industry. Start with creating 10 article topics that your app’s target audience might be interested in reading. Ideally, these should be the answers to questions they are asking. Then ask your digital marketing company to find relevant keywords. Create answers around these keywords and publish. This way, you’ll start attracting search engine traffic organically – and this will increase the number of downloads for your app.
App Store Optimization
App Store Optimization is very close to search engine optimization – but instead of search engines like Google and Bing, you optimise your app listings, screenshots, and description for the stores. App store optimization best practices should be completed before publishing on Google Play and App Store.
Here are top 4 best practices for increasing the ranking of your app on Google Play and App Store:
- Include your primary keywords in your app title and description, but make sure it also reads naturally and entices users to download.
- Choose relevant categories and tags on the App Store and Google Play to help users find your app.
- Your app icon and screenshots are the first thing users will see, so make sure they are high-quality and visually appealing.
- Use your screenshots and video demo to highlight the key features and benefits of your app.
Google Ads
If your mobile app already has competitors, then running ads on Google is the quickest way to get users for your app. Google Keyword Planner is free – use it to search relevant keywords for your app.
Now there are two ways you can utilise Google Ads: one is to run ads on search engines and the second is to run ads on Google Play store. Both can be economical or costly depending on your niche – but a strong strategy can help you optimise costs.
Beta Testing
When you are launching your app MVP, announce it in the form of a beta test. Incentivize users for downloading your app and leaving honest feedback. This incentive can be in the form of discounts or coupons (ideal for ecommerce apps), freebies of trial products, free trial period for premium features, or downloadable digital planners and posters.
Networking
Attend industry events and conferences to connect with potential users and investors. One such tech exhibition is held in Dubai and attracts the attention and foot traffic from global businesses: Gitex. Gitex typically takes place during the third and fourth weeks of October. As an app entrepreneur, you can choose to go as an exhibitor and showcase your app as a solution to a pressing problem – attract B2C and B2B leads. Or, you can go as a visitor, meet people and soft pitch them to invest in your app’s MVP to scale it to a full-fledged product.
Community Marketing
Join relevant Facebook groups and LinkedIn communities in Dubai to discuss your app’s target niche. You can also partner with local influencers to spread the word and generate buzz.
In addition to Facebook and LinkedIn groups, you can join Reddit and Quora communities. These platforms have millions of traffic – and you’ll easily find small forums to generate discussions around the problems and soft pitch your app. You can also find beta testers in these groups who’d be happy to help you with feedback – and in real time!
Wrapping up…
If your app MVP is still in making, you can create a complete pre-launch strategy utilising social media and websites. This way, you can build anticipation and create a list of users who can be early adopters. While you are launching, remember that publishing your app is just the beginning – with an MVP, you can’t really stop marketing, testing, improving and scaling. Keep gathering user feedback, solve issues users highlight in the review section and take a better rating again!
