Tips to Promote New iPhone Applications

To start off the spring semester, I received an internship to promote and market a new iPhone application called Memento.  Memento is an application used to share private videos to individual contacts while incorporating captions and filters.  Creatively, there is a new update that allows users to also save those videos to a playlist where the user can play them back to back like a movie. 

Download Memento here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id734609790?ls

This internship has been very rewarding and students are starting to try Memento and really enjoy the app.  But just because this application is well liked, does not mean it was easy to promote. Thus, I faced a few challenges when considering how to market this new social media app to the public at Temple. 

Convincing people to download an app can be easy, but having them become frequent users is the challenge, especially with an application that has no initial product.  Sure, it would be nice to hand out some free stuff as long as you download, but that’s not the case for my internship.  When you market/promote an app that has no initial product, here are some suggestions I’ve utilized while promoting Memento on Temple’s campus.

1. Word of mouth: Most of the apps you have on your iPhone you downloaded after a friend told you about them.  Share the app with your friends and have them jump on board!  Their interest in the application will have a domino effect and spread the word.

2. Flyers/Chalking: Handing out flyers can help with initial downloads, but not guarantee frequent users.  Follow up with chalking up your campus sidewalks with catchy phrases to download the app!  More people will be inclined to see what the buzz is about.

3. Create a social Media account: Twitter and Facebook pages are great ways to get the word out there in mass quantities.

4. Greek life/Organizations:  Greek life and other campus organizations usually have leadership positions that can help get the word out about your product. Many have social media accounts they control.  Find out who controls what and utilize their social media presence.

5. Utilize Team Work:  Campus rep internships are very common. Work together with another campus rep to hold an event and promote each other!  Both of you will benefit. 

6. School news paper/other publications:  Having a newsletter or article published about the application you are promoting can be very beneficial.  Many schools have student run newspapers and organizations have blogs or websites!

How would you be innovative while promoting a new product? Share below!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Brittany Barish.

Utilizing Your Current Applications

Time management is the one skill that people of all ages continually grapple with. You would assume at a certain point, you will just have your life together. However, regardless of all of your efforts, some things still seem to slip through the cracks. 

On this blog, staff members have introduced us to new phone applications to help better organize our lives. However, it's surprising to me how many people do not utilize apps that are already on our phones. These apps that may fade into the background for some, are essential to me for getting every task done. 

Alarm clock: While most may simply use this app to wake up in the morning, it's also a great tool to remind you of tasks other then cutting your sleep short. The alarm clock is perfect for reoccurring events. It's also helpful for time management and can help you ensure that you aren't pulling an all-nighter for only one assignment but rather utilizing that time to get multiple assignments checked off your to-do list.

Calendar: Personally, I'm not sure where I would be without this application. Similar to the alarm clock, it serves as a reminder but provides much more detail. I primarily use this for professional tasks. If I promise to follow up with someone, I immediately set a calendar reminder for that date with details on the person I'm working with and our previous conversation. That way, I won't be flustered when the time comes to send a follow up email.

Notes: This is one of the most self-explanatory, and yet least-used, applications. It's perfect if you're caught without a pen and paper and need to jot down something important. What's more, you can sync notes with your email account. Should you accidentally delete a  note, it will still be stored under a folder in your email. It's extremely convenient and you didn't have to waste precious storage space downloading another app to your phone.  

If all of these applications are common ground for you and you use them already, that's great! However, some people are searching for the perfect app to keep them organized when what they're looking for may already be on their home screen.