Rebecca Borison wrote a great article on app marketing for Business Insider about the game Blek, and how co-founder Denis Mikan figures he managed to get his app into the #1 spot on the Apple App Store for 20 consecutive days.
Mikan says the app got early attention from the press, always a good thing, but points to the strength of their video. According to Borison’s article, “Mikan believes that releasing a promotional video is what really got things rolling.”
My agency / production company Supercool has been making video game trailers, app trailers and video web series for publishers like Capcom, THQ and Atari as well as apps like Acting Out! and Color Splash Plus FX for several years, and I couldn’t agree more.
Videos are visual, and they grab a potential user’s attention, and have the potential to go viral.
Even more importantly, if done right, they simultaneously show you the game or app experience and get you excited, without your ever having to download the app. Then, based on the video, you can decide if it’s worth your while
According to the article, “Since hitting the top chart four weeks ago, Blek has been downloaded more than half a million times. “
That’s very impressive.
So what’s the magic formula for getting featured on the App Store? I don’t think anyone knows for sure, but where we’ve seen the greatest success in promoting apps and getting downloads is through a combination of :
- Good PR / press mentions
- A very cool app trailer / promotional video that inspires people to want to download it
- A solid social media presence and community for sharing
- Easy sharing built into the app itself
- A great app
That’s really the easiest way. Make a really good app. Everything after that is all about pulling attention to it via video, PR and social media, and getting people to play and share.
In the process, if you can get the Apple App Store to feature you, that will help!