A large part of applications are downloaded by simply browsing a store or browser. In other words, approximately 50% of application downloads are made via random browsing on stores.

That means we have to guess what he's going to be looking for and be present where he's going. This is what we call “adapting to the user's universe of reference”. It is possible to invest a user's reference universe through paid marketing, or through free tools. But how do you know which tools to choose?

1) The press campaign

It's about getting people talking about your app in traditional media: paper and online newspapers, online newspapers, pure-player sites, tv, radio etc. The best way to get visibility within a media is to provide content that interests the audience of the media in question. We must therefore facilitate the work of journalists by offering them a content ready to be published.

Here is the checklist of actions to take to conduct a press campaign:

• Establish a list of influential journalists in the world of Apps and in the universe targeted by your product. If we take the example of an application for discovering restaurants, we must list both tech-savvy journalists and journalists specializing in gastronomy/outings/catering.
• Give these influencers the benefit of good deals, discounts, and allow them to test the application for free
• Provide a press kit including: a reusable press review, visuals of the application on different devices (smartphones, tablets, manufacturers), as well as the application logo. The aim is to chew on the journalist's work, who will sometimes be content with just one copy of the press kit.

The only downside to this type of campaign is that they are repetitive and time-consuming. But it's a great way to get in touch with a well-targeted audience, without spending a single euro.

2) The blogger campaign

For these types of campaigns, the most important element to control is time. It is necessary to:

• Block a specific date, which corresponds to the launch of the application or its new version
• Alert bloggers a month in advance and ask them about their interest in the project
• Introduce the application in beta testing to the most important influencers
• Set a specific period of time corresponding to obtaining free exclusive content
• Customize the angle of approach according to the journalistic treatment of the various relays in your influence network
• Produce easily shareable content: banners, videos, attractive visuals, etc.

The idea is to provide a ready-to-use kit to each influencer with a strategic position, so that they only have to copy and paste the information if they validate it. The more you understand the audience of each communication channel, the more likely you are to seduce and therefore to get people talking about the application

It is therefore interesting, regardless of your marketing budget, to establish relationships of trust with influencers in the field and to interact with them on social networks in order to have quality allies throughout the life cycle of the application.

3) Cross-promotion

Cross-promotion is generally carried out between two publishers who have a limited marketing budget for their application.

It is an exchange of good processes: traffic from an application A is directed to application B and vice versa, thanks to a page within application A and application B that references partners.

Whether you are exchanging impressions, clicks, or downloads, the principle remains the same: The system must be a win-win, and that one of the applications does not vampirize the audience of the other. Also, it is recommended not to cross-promote with the competition.

Cross-promotion can involve either an exchange of advertising inventory, or, where appropriate, through a mini-store system. In the first case, the promotion is seen as an ad, in the second case, as a recommendation.

This cross-promotion can take the form of a recommendation interstitial, or it can be completely integrated into the application via a new tab and push relays.

4) Social networks

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Reddit, Reddit, LinkedIn, LinkedIn, Snapchat etc. are all tools that can be used completely free of charge to promote your application. Your approach should allow you both to target the most interesting social networks for your project, but even more precisely, within these networks, to find the groups that are likely to be driving forces. For example, for Facebook, it is recommended to create a page dedicated to your application, then look for groups that bring together your potential customers according to their interests, integrate them, and promote your application directly within these groups. It is also possible to carry out this targeting via sponsored posts that are paid for.

5) Personalized campaigns

Then there are the completely original methods that apply to most products and which are therefore entirely applicable to the application market.

• For the launch of RunKeeper, its founder, Jason Jacobs ran the Boston Marathon disguised as an open iPhone on the Runkeeper application
• Spotify targeted the best influencers in the Twittosphere in the music field thanks to Klout and was very successful
• Adopt a guy has set up real windows presenting single people at the heart of In the heart of Paris, etc.

It's up to you to find your exceptional idea!

Conclusion: what to do with 10,000? dedicated to marketing?

• Keyword analysis for ASO: knowing the searches of potential customers makes it possible to increase downloads substantially. By using Google Adwords or an account MobileDevHQ, It's totally free.
• Create a page dedicated to the application: positive articles that link to an application are extremely useful. A page describing the application, its contents and its updates becomes not only a referencing tool but also a CRM instrument. The cost : a hundred euros by using a service provider, 0? internally.
• Launch an online press campaign. This type of initiative makes it possible to convince potential users and to improve SEO thanks to backlinks leading to the download page of your application. The cost: 0? (but a lot of time).
• Produce a promotional video. Videos are the best way to easily and quickly understand the concept of an application. They are therefore very useful and can be integrated into blinds. Recommended budget: 1500?.
• Integrate a cross-promotion network. These completely free networks allow developers to do promotional exchanges in order to boost downloads. Cost: 0?. This solution is especially applicable to games.

So there are over 8,000 left? to be devoted to mobile advertising, or to encouraged or non-encouraged downloads via a communication campaign on social networks or within traditional media.

It is therefore possible to promote your application without spending a single euro. One of the priority objectives for mobile project leaders with small budgets is to be ranked among the best referenced applications on the App Store and Google Play Store. And to do so, you can use the tools presented above and deepen your mobile marketing knowledge by becoming an expert inApp Store Optimization !