A year ago, a social enterprise asked me to help promote their app, which helps NGOs manage the finances of their projects. This is a highly specialised sector, so how do you promote the app in such circumstances? Read how we did it!
Michal Szymanderski-Pastryk played a key role in the development of our marketing strategy. His ideas and knowledge of digital marketing enabled us to achieve impressive results in a very short time. His ability to adapt to a dynamically changing market and his creative approach to problems are invaluable.
— Natalia Kata, vice-chairman of the board
The product had great potential because it met the needs of the target group. However, we faced several challenges, which we identified early on:
- Lack of awareness among the target group of the existence of a tool that could meet their needs – it had to be raised;
- A non-intuitive landing page;
- A target audience that’s small and difficult to profile.
Advertising creations that will answer the question of how to promote the application
The main issue that needed to be addressed was the landing page. The previous one had a very old-fashioned design for an innovative tool, and a chaotic way of presenting key information.
We rebuilt the entire site from scratch. We created a new visual identity and wrote copy that addressed the needs of the target audience. We added interactive elements to allow users to explore the application’s features and a convenient submission system.
We also designed a series of advertising materials. For the first phase of the advertising campaign that we prepared:
- 4 promotional spots;
- 15 graphics;
- 8 copy texts for posts;
- 4 articles for the companys blog.
By preparing so many creatives and targeting three different groups, we were able to see exactly which ads worked best.
Challenges
Sometimes advertising campaigns go very smoothly, but sometimes difficulties arise. This was the case here.
After a month of an active campaign, there were no significant results. We saw an increase in the number of enquiries sent, but no increase in sales. From the outset, we were open with the organisation about what we were seeing and suggested next steps.
In online advertising, testing and monitoring the effectiveness of advertising is key. We are therefore very pleased and grateful for the trust the company has placed in us.
By carefully analysing the messaging and the design of the landing page, we concluded that the lack of sales growth could have been caused by a number of things:
- Over-simplification of the entry system – it may seem counter-intuitive, but it was the over-simplification of the form that encouraged undecided people, who often had no need for the entry, to submit their entries.
- Development of creative – from the outset we had a large number of creatives with different messages. By analysing which ones most often led to a potential customer sending an enquiry, we worked out the best communication model. However, it was only after two months that we were sure of the language we needed to speak to viewers – this shows the importance of testing.
How to promote an app – conclussion
Promoting an app is a problem faced by an increasing number of organisations. They are widely used and a well-designed app is often perfectly suited to the needs of the target audience.
However, as is often the case with innovative tools, two key issues need to be addressed:
- Lack of awareness of the solution among potential customers;
- Profiling the target audience.
