How Do I increase installs For An Android App With Low Investment in Promotion

Android app promotion can be very difficult, as you really have to find the right group of people who will be interested in using your app. Even if you have a lot of hype at the initial launch, without a set market segment, yours users will taper off quickly after the initial excitement wears off. This is something we saw very recently with Meerkat; they had a massive launch but quickly died out, raising important questions about how to sustain app promotion and app marketing.

One main channel of app promotion is through the app store. However, ranking in the app store is generally a flawed process, as it is very difficult for many developers to get people to rate the app. Instead what ends up affecting your app ranking consists mainly of the name the app, keywords, and the app's description. Getting featured on the Apple App Store and getting Facebook ads are also great ways to aide with visibility and spreading awareness. As well, having a celebrity endorsement or having notable tech blogs review the app are both amazing for app promotion. But most importantly, you really want to do the homework behind your android promotion- do the research, do the user-testing, identify your target group. A simple but effective way is just to go on twitter and find a group of people who might want the app, and begin reaching out to them

Promoting an app can be challenging, but here are several steps that can help you boost those desired downloads:

1. Implement ASO (App Store Optimization). It’s pretty basic, doesn’t cost anything, except your time, and it actually works. Make a bright app icon, upload compelling screenshots, and reply to reviews your app receives. From my experience, a sincere reply can even turn a 2–3-star review into 4–5-stars. Ask your friends to rate your app (even 5–10 is enough) to start the momentum. Rating is important - work on it.
2. Publish your app on a variety of app catalogs and sites to catch more prospective users and add links to your Play Store page which also affects your position a bit. You can also contact niche blogs to get more exposure.
3. Engage community. Find relevant communities (or start your own) and become an active member. Really put effort into helping others, and later on ask them to check out your app. This way you not only get android installs, ratings and reviews and links to your app page, but most importantly to get valuable feedback.
4. Build refferral program within the app. Turn happy users into brand ambassadors by giving them an incentive (or at least an easy way) to share the app with friends.
5. Run paid campaigns. The most effective way to boost downloads is to run ads. UAC on Google Ads is the easiest to set up, Facebook Ads give you more flexibility with targeting and testing, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc can also be ROI positive once find the right approach for your app.