The First Impression Is Vital
Your communication with the app developer should not finish after its launch. Even if everything goes smoothly and your mobile application is popular among the customers during the first days of its performance, you need to consider how to keep the users interested in it further.
We want to give some simple tips on how to make an app popular after its launch and keep up its popularity. You will need your developer to make updates and modifications all the time, especially the first two months after its start, so bear that in mind.
Recent research has shown that about 80% of users lose interest in any new app after one or two weeks. So, you may ask, ‘How to make my app popular for a long time?’ The answer starts with the first positive impression that may keep the users’ interest longer.
Therefore, what do you need to consider to make a good first impression? The first thing is to explain why the application is helpful and provide clear and straightforward instructions on how to use it. Give examples of various scenarios in which the app can facilitate the customers’ life.
App developers should also take the importance of the first impression into account. Users should be positive about its usefulness right after the installation. Make the onboarding process for them as easy as possible. The clear and understandable interface can add a lot to this.
There may be a problem with making the first impression if the content is not visible at once. If users see it within its performance process, they may not understand how it works and how well they can use it. That is why all the parts and steps of the onboarding process should contain direct and real-time data.
If all the information is time-sensitive, users will see what to expect and how they can make use of the application right now. The clear presentation also helps explain the core functionality related to many external factors. Users can see what kind of content they can expect and whether it will solve their issues or meet all their needs. That transparency will increase the app’s popularity and, accordingly, the company’s revenues.
The Improved UI and UX Can Help a Lot
In general, how do apps get popular? There are several things to be sure about. First of all, users want the mobile app to work fast and seamlessly across all their devices. That is why the main goal of UI/UX is cross-platform compatibility. If everything works smoothly, it’s the best way to show the advantages of your app in comparison to the competitors.
One of the most important tips for developers here is to create a single APK (Android Application Package) file to work on multiple platforms. The most important benefit of such files is that the app can automatically be installed on a new device. A user will be delighted if all the necessary apps can sync with the platform immediately.
However, you may come across a serious disadvantage of the APK file - it can be rather huge if it contains a lot of resources and configurations. The phones with small storage will be slowed down.
That is why the developer should organize the code for simple portability across all the form factors. The app’s logic should be carefully separated from the presentation layer. That will allow you to alter either UI or UX without altering the entire underlying logic. Such a solution will also help to resolve one more issue - potential regression bugs.
Continuous Updates Attract Attention
You have developed your application with a great set of nice and useful features. You would like to show the advantages of all of them to consumers at once. Never do that. The best way to launch an app is to introduce the new features gradually. The initial version that is launched should contain a minimal set of such features so that you can update the app continuously. The users will get interested in these updates and be waiting for each of them with growing excitement. Provide such updates regularly. Get your customers prepared to receive such updates once or twice per month.
You can schedule the updates with several tools that will help you release them timely. You can utilize issue trackers that will prioritize the workflow and define the sequence of updates needed at the moment. You will organize and plan the new releases in accordance with your strategy and well-structured outline.
A well-established update rhythm will serve as a perfect personal motivator for users to keep their interest in the app. The developer should have an exact plan for releases. If they do not manage to complete some releases on time, they should be deactivated and not seen by a user.
You can also opt for automated testing of all the new features and follow the changes to the code to ensure that these changes don’t lead to the appearance of new bugs or prevent the older feature from seamlessly working.
Use a good issue tracker to plan and organize the next releases in accordance with the current and emerging needs. Reduce hassle and keep manual app management at a minimum.
Customer Reviews Do a Lot of Good
If you want to increase the App Store or Google Play ranking to make your app even more downloaded and frequently used, encourage the reviews from your current customers. These testimonials can discuss the positive user experience and speak about the app as a valuable tool for specific issue solutions. Other users will get inspiration to try the app as well.
On the other hand, such reviews can explain to you what works perfectly with your app and what does not. It opens a great opportunity for making improvements. Never ignore negative reviews. They signal some problems in your application’s performance that need to be eliminated. So, what to do if you see many remarks and dissatisfied comments in the reviews?
If you see the commentaries about one function and they are recurrent, you will get an idea of what your users like and what they feel confused with to add some prompts or helpful changes in the most strategic places.
Establish Good Communication with the Users
You need to know why your customers can abandon the app. According to recent Google research, the most common reasons are the lack of interest, lack of usefulness, and customers’ changed priorities and needs. All of them are rather subjective, and they may alter quickly over time. That is why it is important to be in touch with the users and detect why they are losing interest in your app.
The most rewarding way to promote consistent communication with your users is to involve them in the VIP beta-testing community. Such communities help developers and companies better understand the consumers’ needs, even if they occasionally change. As a reward, such beta testers can obtain early access to the latest app’s features and updates. They will be happy to participate in shaping the application and its improvement. Over time, they will become the best advocates for your app. You can use distribution channels from Google or Play Store for this purpose. The participants will receive updates immediately released for Google+ and meant specially for this beta group. This community functions as a convenient place for communication by leaving comments and making bug reports.
The simplest way to form a beta community is to spot the people whose comments on your app are mostly negative, especially if they are concerned about the design, and speak to them openly about what improvements they would like to see. Then, you can offer them to continue with their observations as members of the specific beta-testing community and check whether their comments were taken into account. When you have made improvements based on their notices, let them know about that and say thank you for their dedication and spending their time. In this way, the critics will turn into the most devoted advocates of your app.
Final Thoughts
You need to continuously work on hooking your users and potential customers not to let them lose interest in your application. You have to demonstrate to them that you are taking care of their concerns and wishes. If you are a business owner, keep in touch with your developers so that they can create the best approach. If you are a web developer, try to help the business to boost conversions by creating the most user-friendly and efficient apps and their updates to boost the users’ interest. You have to react directly to all the possible changes in the users’ needs and consider both their positive and negative experiences.
The team of professionals who specialize in creating the responsive web and mobile design, e-commerce, and social media marketing will be of great help.
The most important thing you should keep in mind is that leaving a mobile app on its own will lead to the client’s lost attention and interest in it, so all the expenses on its development will be wasted in vain. We hope these tips on how to make an app popular and feed the popularity for long will help you plan your mobile app promotion and support in the most effective and straightforward way to get the most benefits from it.
