Unless you’ve been MIA for a few years, you’re probably already well aware of the impact content marketing has been having for businesses.
A Content Marketing Institute survey found that 76% of B2C organizations are using content marketing, though the discipline is still relatively young and developing for many of them.
App owners are also turning to content marketing. It is appealing because it has low barrier to entry, does not require a large budget and can help draw the right customers to your product. It offers the opportunity to “pull” customers in as opposed to traditional “push” marketing.
We wanted to check out a few apps which are doing a great job of content marketing. Here’s what we found:
Apps Nailing Content Marketing
Content marketing can cover a vast spectrum of activities, from downloadable content, to blog posts, to multi-media, to social posts. Content is excellent as a pre-launch strategy and as an ongoing tool to promote your app, particularly if you’ve researched your audience thoroughly and come up with content to appeal to them.
One of the key conditions of apps who seem to be doing the best with content marketing is that they already have a viable app to market. Pre-launch content is great, but you at least need an MVP which is fit for beta users to step in.
Content takes time, effort and possible monetary investment so it makes sense to have something that is ready to bring some return on the investment. If you don’t have it yet, the chances are you should be focusing your attention on development.
Here are some apps whose content marketing stands out:
#1. FitBit
The foundation of FitBit’s content marketing efforts lies in their blog. You’ll notice that they don’t spend a whole lot of time there getting into the benefits of their app, instead they focus on publishing interesting, useful content which will appeal to their target customers.
A wide range of healthy eating, fitness ideas and weight loss tips are available on their blog, providing not only engaging content, but SEO juice for the app.
If you take a FitBit strategy for your app, think about the sorts of related topics which your target customers would be interested in and searching for. As they demonstrate, you don’t have to be overly promotional if you’re creating quality, related content which people want to consume. What are some of the key problems “your” people have and how can they take care of them?
#2. Evernote
As a productivity app which promotes itself with content marketers, Evernote does an impressive job of their own content marketing. To begin with, they obviously have a very clear idea of who their audience is and what they want to see.
Users tend to be professionals and creatives in their thirties and forties who are interested in being more productive and learning how others achieve efficiencies in their day.
Evernote produces interesting content across various channels, but their YouTube channel is particularly noteworthy. There they present tutorial videos as well as showcasing users who are passionate about Evernote, including the guys from the tv show, Mythbusters.
It is clear that they have identified different segments in their target audience and made an effort to create content which will appeal to each. For example, more recent videos include how college students can use Evernote to successfully study.
This is a strategy you can mimic in your own content marketing. Identify any customer segments you have and the specific challenges they may have. If you can create this in conjunction with a segmented email list, for example, you can be very targeted about who sees your content.
#3. Runtastic
Runtastic has a family of tracking, fitness and health apps. This is obviously a popular niche, but their content efforts are particularly engaging.
One aspect Runtastic takes care of very well is their social media accounts. From snappy tweets to image quotes and advice articles on Facebook, the evidence of their success lies in the responses they are getting. With nearly 1.5 million Facebook followers and 65 thousand Twitter followers, their posts are being liked, retweeted, commented on, and shared regularly.
A takeaway we find for other apps is to really find your “voice” on social media. Runtastic avoids bland shares of blog posts, they grab the audience with memorable snippets and pithy statements.
#4. Uber
Uber not only drives customers where they want to go, they’re winning at driving traffic to their app too. It is said that 33% of their app traffic comes from search and they’re at or near the top across a number of key search terms.
Their content strategy is multi-pronged. First of all, they actually run a couple of different blogs, including Uber Newsroom for drivers or clients and Uber Developers to support developers incorporating Uber into apps.
A big part of Uber’s success is of course not just their clients, but their drivers too. Uber produces Momentum, a quarterly print magazine as an informational and engagement tool for drivers. This provides them with all sorts of information of interest, including driver profiles and tips for staying safe and healthy as drivers.
Another strategy you will see Uber use to great effect is hashtag campaigns, often in relation to a significant day. For example, on National Cat Day they used #UberKITTENS. TrackMaven details how they used this to deliver cats in over cities, in conjunction with their shelters. They’ve also used #UberIceCream (ice cream deliveries), #UberSAFE (preventing drink-driving) and #UberHEALTH (free flu shots). They produce content around each of these for their blog and social media.
What can you take away for content marketing of apps? Find quirky ways to grab the attention of users. For example, you wouldn’t usually associate Uber with ice cream, but as a transportation service, deliveries of ice cream fit right in. Also, if multiple channels work for you, use them! Uber is getting coverage across several different platforms.
Your Content Strategy…
Content marketing, when done well, can help you to engage with target customers and create good SEO “juice” to get you found in search.
The approaches are as varied as the different apps out there, but one important part of nailing content marketing is to understand your target market, including any segments and begin with them in mind before creating any strategy.
You don’t need to spend a whole lot of time being self-promotional; related content that solves a problem, addresses a challenge or generally engages your audience is the key. Find your groove and importantly, be consistent!
Koombea builds apps you can be proud to create a platform for. Talk to us today about your development needs.
