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.

The End of New Music Promotion?

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, December 12th, Beyoncé dropped her fifth album, “Beyoncé,” completely unannounced. On iTunes, 14 songs and 17 videos suddenly appeared with no prior promotion. Earlier that same week, when asked about what’s to come in 2014, the Chairman of Columbia Records, Rob Stringer said, “Obviously, at some point, Beyoncé will put a record out.” Little did anyone know that “at some point” meant later that week.

As of Wednesday, December 18th, “Beyoncé” has reached #1 on the Billboard Charts, set a new iTunes record and sold 828,773 copies worldwide. In a press release published after the album went on sale, Beyoncé said, “I didn’t want to release my music the way I’ve done it. I’m bored with that.”

Six months ago on Friday, June 14th,“Yeezus,” Kanye West’s sixth solo album leaked to the public without any singles being released prior. This is highly unusual for a rap artist in today’s day and age. Most rap artists, such as Drake, 2 Chainz and even Jay Z, always release radio singles before releasing the album. In regards to releasing a single, Kanye said, “We ain’t got no single to radio. We ain’t got no big NBA campaign or nothing like that….When I listen to the radio, that ain’t where I want to be no more.” Now, Kanye’s album “Yeezus” is still being discussed, as well making its rounds on many of the “Best Albums of 2013” lists.

With world-renowned musicians such as Beyoncé and Kanye releasing their albums with little promotion or no singles, this begins to beg the question: Once one attains a certain level of celebrity, is marketing and promotion no longer needed? Typically, recording artists carefully craft promotion plans that begin advertising the release of a new album months in advance. These plans are meant to hone in on the image that the artist is looking to promote with their new album, release singles, give interviews and even perform parts of the album.

Many artists would be unable to get their new music off the ground without the help of marketing and public relations and it seems that only the elite few are able to successfully release their music without doing this. As this trend seems to be continuing, it’s up to public relations professionals to keep an eye on this, especially as some of us may be working for celebrities one day.

What do you think about Beyoncé dropping her new album unannounced – is this an effective approach that could be applied to other celebrities, or does it only work for artists such as herself and Kanye?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Rachel Draghi

Promote Your Blog--For FREE!

Blogs have become an extremely important part of public relations, media, and online interaction. There are many blogs that have tremendous following and can have a great impact.  As blogs have become more relevant, it seems that everyone wants to start one.  Since this is the case, it's important to set yourself apart from the crowd.

You might have terrific topics and a lot of support from your friends and family but still not be reaching your goals.  Without a solid internet following, your blog might not be as impactful as you'd like.  Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get the word out about your site.  Return On Now offers these suggestions:

Start a Meetup.com group in your subject area and share your blog at events and online.
This is a great way to connect with people in your area that share similar interests to you.

Make insightful comments on other blogs and include a relevant link back to your own blog.
If you interact with others, chances are they will interact with you.  After all, it's all about who you know!

Write a press release and post it on free PR sites.
Not every site posts every release, but it can't hurt to try! Make sure your releases are relevant and newsworthy so they will spark interest.

Provide free trainings to local nonprofits, universities, and meetup groups to establish expertise.Groups that can't necessarily afford to hire someone but would love to build a blogging presence will appreciate help from someone with blogging expertise and will pass your name along.

To read all 25 of Return On Now's ideas for free blog promotion, click here.  Do you have any to add?

Be Your Own Biggest Fan

Here’s to those with their own blogs, websites, business plans, self-made clothing/jewelry, produced music, etc.; congrats on being talented, but…NO ONE KNOWS YOU! Well, that is if you are not self-promoting of course. I cannot begin to express how crucial it is to be your own biggest fan in order to get your name, and what you can do, out there. 

Speaking from personal experience, I found truth in this the hard way. I write weekly fashion articles for CollegeFashionista.com and I received next to zero reads in the beginning of my internship. This was because I did nothing to help myself, and instead I relied heavily on my editors to do whatever they wished with my published works. Not a smart strategy. Once I started posting my articles and pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram; my reads skyrocketed. I then created business cards with CollegeFashionista, I spoke highly of my articles and the website at networking events, and I made sure to be known by everyone as a style guru for Temple University - up again went my number of reads. Fact of the matter is; no one knows your work as well as you do. Therefore, no one can promote you as well as you can. Here are a few tips for promoting yourself:

1. Social Media- It’s been said before, but it bears repeating; social media is necessary these days in order to promote yourself. Don’t be shy, or lazy, and at least join the big three: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Joining social media sites with help you connect with other up- and- comers and potential employers
2. Be Unique- Although drawing inspiration from others is helpful, don’t do what’s been done. Here’s a relatable example: when shopping I try to find something I know no one else would be wearing because who’s going to recognize me if I look like everyone else? Well, same thing goes for your produced works. Hello people, it’s called originality, ring any bells?
3. Be Mindful of your Reputation- Like they always say, “guilty by association.” Like it or not, who you associate with and what you promote reflect you – choose wisely! If you do not agree with a company’s core values or you wouldn’t show your grandmother what you wrote, steer clear!

If you don’t get anything else out of this blog, get this: confidence in what you can do is completely mandatory. Be authentically you, be proud, yet humble, and give them something to remember you by at the end of the day. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Nicole Leo.