With headlines such as “Fashion apps are a major sales opportunity for fashion brands” dominating the fashion industry, it’s hard to ignore how well a mobile application can help you grow. These apps personalize consumer’s shopping experience and allow users to shop from their phones too.
Not to mention, about 64% of the folks look up ideas of what to buy on their phone before they head out to shop. An app facilitates this process. However, getting an app developed isn’t all that challenging. The marketing part can get tricky. Plus, you can’t afford to lag behind here because you wouldn’t automagically get users without marketing your app.
In this regard, let’s walk you through eight practical ways to market your fashion app:
1. Thoroughly research your audience before launching your app
No matter how much you spend on your marketing, you will always struggle to connect with your audience if you don’t understand their pain points. Therefore, it is best to identify your target audience before you launch any marketing campaign.
Market research enables you to address users’ pain points, the central ingredients that makes marketing effective and an app successful.
2. Prepare a marketing plan
Marketing shouldn’t be an afterthought and treating it as such is one of the common pitfalls of marketing an app. An effective way of avoiding such a mistake is chalking out a marketing plan and subsequently executing it as well.
Make sure your strategy comprises of a pre-launch, launch, and post-launch marketing plan. It’s best not to miss the opportunity of marketing your app before its launch as it helps you with creating hype before your app hits the market, encouraging positive response at its launch. Additionally, set up a budget for ads and influencer marketing in advance.
3. Prepare your buyer’s persona
Prepare your customer profile or a sketch of who will use your fashion application. This step is almost as important as conducting audience research as it provides a backbone to all of your marketing efforts.
For instance, the copy that you write for your app is shaped by your buyer’s persona. If your marketing message does not align with your app user’s persona, you won’t be able to attract the right people to your application.
4. Promote your app on social media
Social media is a useful tool for marketing your fashion app in all its phases. Make sure you have a social media marketing plan in place, though. Marketing on social does not mean that you have to share the link only. It takes a lot more starting with engaging your audience.
The interesting thing is that you can ask for reviews on social media too. Reviews are great for marketing your app. nearly 60% of people think that reviews and ratings are significant when it comes to deciding to download an app. A case in point here is Airg Reviews, which managed to get AigG Buzz, an entertainment app, some great reviews.
5. Create a demo video for your app
81% of businesses employ video as a marketing tool, so you need to employ videos for your marketing too. On top of that, HubSpot confirms that 72% of customers say they’d learn about a product via a video.
Keeping these favorable statistics in mind create a simple, 30-second demo video, explaining how your app works and its attractive features. Or, use Simon Sinek’s principle of Golden Circle, which requires you to address the following about your app – why, how, and what.
6. Talk to your users
This is another crucial way to market your app. In the early stages, your goal should be oriented towards user retention rather than user acquisition. Even if you manage to gather a small group of users for your app, value their feedback and take steps to ensure that they remain loyal.
Irrespective of which marketing stage you are in, aim to converse directly with your users. Ask questions and welcome feedback, including critiques. Not only will this step help you get feedback to keep your app functioning smoothly, but it will also dip your feet in word of mouth marketing.
7. Pay attention to PR outreach
Prepare a list of publications, fashion bloggers, influencers, and more for kickstarting your PR initiatives. Put simply, prepare a list of people who may be interested in writing about your fashion app. You can execute this plan both before and after your app launches.
To maximize the odds of your PR outreach success, try to connect with your targets and engage on social media before reaching them out via emails. Working with these people will help you tap into their audience, spreading the word about your app. plus, you can get backlinks for your website, which help your site gain visibility on Google.
8. Take care of your SEO
SEO refers to search engine optimization, and you need to take it into account alongside ASO or app store optimization. Your app’s URL sets that need for SEO. It should show up in search results as people type in related queries.
For instance, when folks look up fashion apps, your app should start surfacing among the first five app entries. To this end, you need to target the most relevant and highly searched keywords to rank for. Moreover, examine which keywords your app currently ranks on and build quality links based on it to improve your ranking.
Final thoughts
In a nutshell, marketing your fashion app starts with a plan. Prepare an action plan and follow it thoroughly throughout the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phases. If you can throw an app launch party like the Splore team celebrated their app launch, you can get some good media attention.
Before you start, though, don’t forget to research your target audience and prepare a buyer’s persona. Lastly, use social media to market your app, get in touch with your users as well as PR professionals. Don’t forget about optimizing your app for search too.
Guest article written by: 
Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook