The key to succeeding online today, is to go viral. Being viral means that everyone is looking at what you have to say, and has plenty of comments of their own. If you are developing an app, you need to create a viral app, if you are interested in any type of success. Viral apps are the kinds of apps that users will happily share across the internet. These are shared in social networks, through emails, chats and also by word of mouth.
They are considered as a high achievement in Google Play and also in iTunes. A developer with a viral app will not need to pay a lot of money to market his app. This is because some users will spread the app through word of mouth, which is even more powerful than any marketing strategy. This is excellent as people today literally ignore ads they see online however useful such ads can be. Besides, ads cost too much for web developers. Creating a viral app that will spread faster than gossip requires more than you can give to an ordinary app. You need a good plan of social interaction inside your app. Here are some effective strategies that can help you create a viral app:
1. Give your app virality
Your app needs an aspect of virality in it to encourage interaction and entice people to participate. This is not something that you think about after the launching of the app, because it is not a marketing strategy per se. Rather, it is something that you think through the development of your app from scratch. To start with, your app should have something valuable to share, which can attract many users. Those sharing need to feel great about it, therefore give your app something valuable that will keep them sharing to enjoy a reward, even if it is just a great feeling. It also needs to be easy to share with others and for people to join. You can have a reward system for those users who share it. This way, it will be hard to lose users as you gain more.
2. Make the sharing process easy
Sharing will make your app go viral, therefore provide easy to use and understand sharing buttons that your users can navigate. You can also make it easy for them to share in more than one social networks at once. This way, they will not spend more time sharing than using the app and enjoying its usefulness. It is essential to understand that different users may by using different social networks. Ensure that the way sharing is done, make it easy for them to reach out to all their family and friends. The sharing channels have to be relevant to the content of the app though. You can add images and social actions depending on the platform that users are sharing to.
3. Give your users total control
Many mobile app users love it when they have the freedom to use the app as they please without having interruptions from the developers. Therefore, giving them some freedom to use your app can make them love it so much, to the point of sharing it widely and making it viral. You may need to consider cutting back on the in-app purchases if you want your app to go viral, especially if these will limit its overall use.
This also ties in to the capability of your app. You have to be transparent about what your app is sharing so that they will have enough reasons to share it out to their friends and family. If by any chance they will see something they do not like about the app, they will not use your app. They might even give negative feedback, killing your project on the spot. Be upfront about what the app is all about.
Some viral apps will even tell their users what they will be sharing in the app even before they sign up. Others assure their users that they will not share their account details unless the users are previously notified and approve. This kind of assurance gives the users a feeling of belonging and the joy of knowing that their details will remain safe as they enjoy their app.
4. Bring your users back
Your users will keep you in business for as long as they continue using your app. For this reason, you should do everything possible to ensure that they will stick around a little longer. When you are around for a while, more users and other people watching your app from afar will start saying good things about your app. It is because staying power is an indication of quality and popularity.
This is the word of mouth marketing that is more effective than any form of marketing and it can increase your profits in a short period of time. It is therefore important to think more about the people who are already using your app other than those who have yet to join in. You can keep them glued through valuable notifications that will motivate them to use your app even more every day. Provide useful tips that will encourage them to use your app and keep sending useful messages, friendly reminders and probably rewards if they invite their friends to use the app. Be careful though because some notification and messages can be very annoying and this can affect your app negatively. Your users can choose the kinds of notifications they want to receive so that you will not spam them.
Making your app viral is not something that you think about after the creation and launching of your app; it has to be inbuilt into the app’s core functionality and in its features too. There is a lot to do in order to make your app go viral, starting with a clear idea and a very smart design.
