Holiday App Promotion Secrets

By Nat Taylor, Manager of Digital Marketing and Caroline Kirby-Madden, Mobile Performance Expert, Jumptap

 

Maximize App Downloads during the Holiday Season

It’s a well-known “secret” that Apple freezes the App Store review process at the end of December, which means that app developers need a strategy to snag downloads beyond the tried-and-true “top 25” and need a killer strategy to get into the “top 25” before the freeze. In 2011, there were over 1.2B app downloads in the week following Christmas – the highest volume of apps ever downloaded in a single week (thanks in large part to the activation of some 20 million new devices.) While Apple hasn’t made a statement about the freezing rankings, evidence is apparent. 

Capitalize on the Potential Apple App Store Freeze

The potential App Store freeze puts apps that are in the top 200 going to freeze at a significant advantage over those that aren’t. Even apps in the top 200 will see an advantage. We speculate that your ranking on December 21^st, 2012 will essentially lock you into that earning spot for the most important days of entire year. Consider a burst campaign to catapult your downloads and rankings just before the freeze.  Many advertisers have had success with bursts.  Most recently a Jumptap client was able to achieve 15,000 downloads in just 3 days.

Increase App Downloads with Boosted Traffic

The freeze creates a perfect opportunity for paid promotion. On the Jumptap network, mobile traffic was an average of 15% higher in the week following Christmas compared to the rest of December. A well-executed app download campaign could capitalize on that traffic and achieve hundreds of thousands of downloads.

 

Think Rankings, Get Results

Consider a burst right before the freeze to boost your rankings and get locked into the best possible spot. The increase in visibility you’ll get is immense due to the high volume of people searching for and downloading apps. After your burst, continue to advertise during the freeze because Christmas Eve, Christmas and the days following Christmas achieve the highest volume of app downloads of the entire year. In 2011, app developer Outfit7 was able to earn $200,000 on Christmas day alone. In the weeks following Christmas, continue your campaign to stay top of mind. As people start playing around with their new devices, mobile consumption will increase and an app promotion campaign with Jumptap will make sure your app is being seen.