Apps are great for the mobile industry. On the one hand, for users, they offer the ability to test and try great content and at times, fulfil needs and features that might be lacking on your mobile device to begin with. For developers, they are an excellent way to see substantial revenues coming in. In fact, not only is app development a booming business, but is likely to become even more booming in the future thanks to the increase in smartphone adoption. The problem though with an increase in app usage, is there will be even more developers looking to also get in on the action and secure some of those revenues. Therefore, creating an app is one thing and ensuring downloads is another, but staying relevant in an increasingly expanding app market has never been more important.
So how to stay relevant? Well, that is the big question and there is no one trick answer. That said, there are a number of ways that you can increase the likeliness of your app staying relevant and these measures should be key to your marketing strategies for android monetization going forward. The first point to note when looking to stay relevant is to be relevantly priced. Not only should you make sure that your app is value for money, but also make sure that over time, your price does not become a stagnating feature for your app. Newer apps will become available and offer the same (if not better) features and therefore, your app pricing needs to adjust to remain relevant. That is, if you have an outright price for your app to begin with. The clear majority of app developers at the moment seem to agree that a freemium model is what works best with the option to purchase additional content after downloading. Which brings us on to the next point. Content. It is all well and good making a great app, but content will stagnate and users will become disinterested quickly. One way to maintain interest is to build on your app, include newer updates, new features, limited time games and bonuses. In short, engaging the user and the app (and contents) will help to keep your app relevant in the market.
While, most of the measures already mentioned look for ways to increase relevance after the fact, there are also number of ways you can make sure your app is better positioned for longevity during development. The first may sound obvious but is an essential, target the right audience. If you aim your app at the wrong audience for the content, then your app will not remain downloaded for very long. Find out who your audience is, what they expect and want, what will keep them interested and make sure your app ticks these boxes. Following on from this, don’t be scared to publicize your app as much as possible. There is no such thing as too much publicity, so hit all the review sites, make your own app blog, upload YouTube videos and tutorials. In fact, this last one, YouTube, is a great way to keep your users updated on new features. Making newer videos of what’s new may further help to increase relevance and retention after downloading. Lastly, do not be scared to enter into new territories. If your app starts to stagnate in one market, there is a whole world out there and many countries use their own app stores. So make sure your app is an international one and ready for a whole new wave of users. What is no longer relevant here, may just be what another regional market is looking for. Just also make sure that you tweak the content to be in-line with the expectations of the new regional users. After all, adjusting to the customer is the one consistent approach to app relevance and retention.