Marketing iPhone AppsLondon iPhone Developer meetup, 5 May 2010

Agenda

1. Who are Teletext Mobile?

2. Developing an app you can market

3. Marketing the app you’ve developed

Mobile strategy and development for AND

177,000 downloads

63,000 downloads

1,000 downloads

Launches in May 2010

28,000 downloads

52,000 downloads

171,000 downloads

1. Strategy development2. Industry relationships3. Product development4. Developer relationships5. Group advertising deal6. Marketing assistance

Teletext Mobile manages:

*Download figures as of April 2010

Apps launched since January 2010*

Biggest publisher of 3rd party mobile applications

Teletext Mobile aims to be:

By 2011, Teletext Mobile aims to be the biggest publisher of iPhone apps in UK and potentially Europe, with a portfolio of mobile apps across all platforms and categories.

Agenda

1. Who are Teletext Mobile?

2. Developing an app you can market

3. Marketing the app you’ve developed

Why build an app?

Coming up with the idea

Some things to consider…

Cycle of development

TOP TIP: Don’t think about marketing when you launch an app, but when you first have the idea.

Develop an app you can market

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Define your target audience and the issue you’re solving, and boil the app down to a simple proposition.

All your marketing collateral will fall out of this proposition:

• Key features• Design• App store description• Press release info• Word-of-mouth soundbite• Etc etc

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it enough. – Einstein

Develop an app you can market

2. MAKE IT SOCIAL & VIRAL

Any marketeer will tell you that word-of-mouth is the best way to get sales or downloads.

• Make the app good enough to share ;-)

• Let people share via text, email, and social networks.

• Make what/how you’re sharing reflect the product. Eg. if it’s a game, share your scores – have a leaderboard and provide an opportunity to challenge someone. If it’s a music app, make it collaborative – let people create joint playlists.

Develop an app you can market

3. REGULAR UPDATES

When you plan the app’s features, structure deployment from the start.

Updates don’t need to be significant but makingthem regular is key to ongoing engagement.

• People who have got it rediscover it.

• People who haven’t got it, get it. New features give people something to tell their friend.

Oooh, Spotify now has Social Profiles! Download the app so I can send you

my playlists.

Pitching an app to clients

If you don’t want to pay for it, how do you pitch it?

Most clients will want:

1. Clear opportunities for data collection.

2. On-going engagement with consumers. How can your app build brand loyalty? How can it promote new products?

3. Find a principle, go niche. Leverage a successful principle like Foursquare and tailor it to the brand’s desired audience; for instance by creating a branded urban art discovery app. Engage a community, share the brand.

To get a client to buy or sponsor an app, it’s key that your product builds long term-value.

Agenda

1. Who are Teletext Mobile?

2. Developing an app you can market

3. Marketing the app you’ve developed

Are you ready?

Things to consider before publishing your app.

1. Don’t go to market with a product you are less than happy with. Online reviews exist forever and can ruin a good idea. BAD REVIEWS WILL KILL YOU.

2. Think carefully about your iTunes listing strategy, i.e. the app description and screen shots.

• Be simple and clear: focus on communicating benefits and USP’s.

• Add keywords to your listing – it’s App SEO!

• What does your audience expect? Be careful to manage expectations: many bad reviews are a result of overpromising or customers having (unrealistic) expectations that aren’t met.

Done! Now what?

Whatever you do, don’t just publish and pray.

Remember: success breeds success.

When planning your marketing, it’s important to build momentum quickly.If you start with a bang you’ll rate higher in download charts and get more app store love.

Here’s what you should look at to market your app, from time consuming but cheap solutions down to more risky/expensive options with a high impact.

1. Social Media and Digital PR

2. Traditional PR

3. Digital and Mobile Advertising

4. Print Advertising

1. Social Media and Digital PR

1. Email your friends and family! Ask them to spread the word and post positive reviews.

2. Post your app to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin; ask your connections to retweet or share.

3. Engage influencers and bloggers: @mikebutcher, @technokitten, @ew4n, @jamescameron

4. Post your app to App forums and groups: LIDG, Smartphone developer group, M-Football

5. Email review sites and app blogs: FreshApps, AppVee, AppTisk, 148Apps, iusethis, MacWorld, theapplicationreview.com

6. Attend events, such a the London iPhone Developer Group, DevDay for iPhone, etc.

7. Enter developer competitions: App Circus, App Star, App Factor

8. LISTEN and ENGAGE

2. Traditional PR

Traditional media are all over iPhone apps, providing plenty of opportunities to get your app placed.

If you’re sending out a press release…

1. Read! Which publications would promote your app, and where? Get an understanding of what particular journalists or bloggers are interested in.

2. Journalists look for a hook. The Lonely Planet apps had over 3 million downloads when they made them free for the week followingvolcano eruption in Iceland: ash clouds stirring up the ‘Appmosphere’ makes a great headline. What’s your hook?

3. Focusing on an exclusive post/article can get you more press than a blanket email. It pays to be strategic.

Traditional PR can play a huge role in getting mass scale downloads.

Digital & Mobile advertising

The benefit of digital and mobile advertising is that it can be highly targeted.

80% of application discovery happens on a phone (Source: AdMob)

Build a roadblock – a relatively small budget can go a long way if you spend it quickly.

Print advertising

1. Follow the money – look where networks spend their money. They spend a lot of time on developing the best ways to sell their products and services, so if they’re advertising in print it’s probably worth it.

2. Follow the crowd – 30% of Metro UK readers own a smartphone, and they are TWICE as likely to own an iPhone compared to readers of other newspapers.

3. Print advertising WORKS – we have found a single ad in Metro UK can double app sales in a day.

Don’t dismiss print advertising.

WIN a publishing deal with Teletext Mobile

Enter your unpublished iPhone or iPad app and we’ll make it famous!

The winning app will be promoted through in a PR & social media campaign, and across DMGT assets including Daily Mail, Metro, Motors, Jobsite, Findaproperty, Local People, and Teletext Holidays.

The next deadline is 9th May 2010.

For more info…

WEBSITE: www.appfactor.co.uk FACEBOOK: AppFactorEMAIL: contact@appfactor.co.uk TWITTER: @appfactor