So you have created an awesome mobile app with fantastic features and mesmerizing graphics. It’s intuitive, it’s high performing and yes, it’s satiates the demands of your target customers. But what next?
The next step is to promote it. And you need to do it rather quickly and most effectively! There are lots of ways and there are lots of tricks available for every app developer.
But none has faster visual impact than videos.
So continuing on our series of app promotion, in this post we will focus on the power of videos for app marketing and promotion. We will talk about why exactly your app needs a video, what your video should have, and then how you can use it to market the app.
“Over 85% of the country’s Internet users viewed online video content in September 2012 alone.”
Related Infographic:
Mobile Marketing Mania | An Infographic
Why you need a video for your app?
There are a number of reasons why you need a video to promote your app each revolving around the concept of increasing user engagement. So here are a few reasons why you really need a good video for your app.
Trying you app without trying your app
There are thousands of app in the app stores. People don’t like to first download them then try it then check whether it is useful or not. A good trailer allows your potential users to check out your app without actually downloading it. Screenshots and app description convey what your app does, but nothing conveys the use of an app better than the actual video of that app in action.
It is easy to share and easy to present
Its way too easy to share and circulate a video than actual content pieces. Average customers don’t like to spend long boring minutes on reading text. Videos on the other hand are preferred worldwide and very rarely do people leave a chance to go through a short attractive video.
One more thing- a really creative video is easy to make and has a big chance of going viral. And nothing get more downloads than a video gone viral.
Good For branding
Videos instantly connect your app as a brand or your company as a brand. It increases the authenticity of the app and shows that you are serious about the app and can handle app building pressures.
“About 46% of people say they’d be more likely to seek out information about a product or service after seeing it in an online video.”
SEO Benefits
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and every other major search engines now have special tabs or features for videos and everyone knows that YouTube is now a second search engine. The fact that Google and YouTube are connected gives you added bonus in SEO perspective. So not only a good video gives you access to an entirely new audience but also cements your reputation with search engines.
Genuine downloads
Without a video, people would have to download the app, try it and if it’s not what they want they will delete it. It may get downloads in short run but what’s the use if they end up removing the app from their phones within few minutes after installations? A trailer video allows your visitors to see what they are about to download? And when they download it, they would stick with it for a long while because they know they have the right product.
Consumers love it
Everyone loves a good video. Nobody nowadays prefers to read lots of text but everyone likes to watch videos. Thus videos have a greater visual impact, induce more call-to-actions than texts and help you communicate with your customers better- all in one stroke.
Ingredients of a great video
We advise hiring a good service if you don’t have much experience in creating a video. But no matter what service you use or if you even decide to create one yourself – and it’s not that difficult once you put your mind to it – here are some tips that will help you in creating an awesome video.
Research on your audience and purpose
The first step is finding the answers to these two questions
- Who would I want to watch this video?
- Why should I make the video? Purpose?
Answer to the first will depend on the app that you are building and it’s the question that you would have asked yourself while making the app itself. They why is another matter? In addition to the above mentioned points about why you really need the video here you would have to decide what exactly you want to achieve with the video. This will decide the theme of your video.
There is more than one way to entice your audience. For example you can create a good tutorial, or a funny video to make it viral, or a documentary kind of video to attract professionals of the field.
Your video is more of a sales pitch condensed in 30 to 90 seconds. A salesman has his or her own style. So should your video exhibit its own unique style.
Plan a script before shooting
A planned script can cut of lot of time to create your video, trust me. While creating the script keep in mind the above two questions. However there are few few other things not to miss:
- Placement of brand logo
- A call-to-action like ‘download now’, ‘join us today’, ‘like us’, ‘join the revolution’ etc.
- Some important features that you need to highlight no matter what
- A overall message that shows the usability of the app
Your video should have all the above mentioned features to make it effective for your app. A planned script is equally important if you are on a deadline or if you want your team to work smoothly and efficiently.
“Video is now the sixth most popular content marketing tactic, as 70% of B2B marketers use some form of online video with their overall strategies.”
Timing is important
As I said call-to-action are important but timing of features is also important. The general trend nowadays is that the call-to-action is usually set at the end of the video but it’s all about your creativity.
Simplicity
Simplicity is the key to every successful video. Don’t go crazy with special effects or add unnecessary video effects just for the sake of it. The skill is all about conveying a message in as simple and creative way as possible.
Stuffing the video with useless effects and flashing your logo without any finesse may instead end up damaging the reputation instead.
Trailer videos should be short, nothing more than 2-3 minutes. Anything longer may disinterest viewers before they even reach the call-to-action. Also long videos are not very interesting to show in meetings or conferences.
Show the problem, its solution, and where the app fits into it
You created the app to solve a particular problem. Your video should highlight what the problem is, and then show how your app is solving it. The video should show the app in action and how it is actually solving the stated problem and how much problematic it would be if you don’t have the app.
How to use your app video for promotion
Till now you would have gotten the general idea about app promotions. If you need a little more in-depth reasoning, we suggest that you check out all the articles of our App Promotion series. But here are a few ways how you can best leverage your video for promotion.
Uploading on Video platforms
As said earlier, YouTube is now like a second search engine. So whatever video you make, it is should be uploaded on YouTube and shared every where possible from there. And not just YouTube, but other famous sites like Vimeo, Dailymotion and Yahoo! Screen.
“YouTube averages 4 billion hits each day, and 61% of B2B marketers leverage YouTube to extend the reach of their messaging and brands.”
Sharing on Social Media Platforms
Your marketing is incomplete without the use of social networks. So as soon as you have a video and a link for the video, start sharing it on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all other social networks. Make your video viral.
A major feature on your website
In our previous article on App website we talked about how important a video is. Now you know. So put your video on your website, and that also at a good prominent position so that it can attract viewers instantly. Study shows that the probability of the user actually watching the video increases by 40% if it’s put in first or second fold of the website.
Mass media advertisement
Now if your video is good and if you have a good sized budget, you can run an advertisement campaign using the video. YouTube is a great place to start, it has good reach, good ROI, and you can start campaigns easily. But you can always go with TV ads, especially if you are targeting local areas.
Public conferences, events and shows
Imagine your trailer video in the next MacWorld event or an awesome branding video in the next android event. Exciting isn’t it? That’s what these videos are all about, to highlight your app. Sometimes it’ about getting the attention for the app, other times its building upon the brand name of your firm or product.
“On average, mobile viewers watch videos that are three times longer those on PCs and laptops, and the number of mobile viewers are expected to reach over 54 million by the end of 2012.”
Conclusion
Video is a really powerful way to show what your app is all about and why people need it. Making a video on the other hand is not that easy. We recommend hiring professional services but you can also setup your own team and make a video on your own- all you would need is a script, a camera, some actors and a great video editing software like Adobe Premier, Camtasia Studio, or AVID media composer. So get going; Lights, Camera, ACTION !!!
Rachit Agarwal
