How to Integrate Your Content Marketing into Your Mobile App

29 Dec 2014

So you have this great content marketing strategy for getting users from social media or google to your website. You recently got a mobile app, and now you have another channel to work with. How do you incorporate your content marketing plan into your mobile app?

It all starts with the types of content users are looking for in an app. Are they looking for quick tips, like daily reminders or are they doing serious research? This will influence the formats you are using.

Users have complete control of whether your app is on their phone, so let them customize how they want to experience your app.

Reasons for Using the App

Why are people coming to the app? Depending on how the app is setup, the user might need it on a daily basis or they might only use it occasionally. This will determine what types of content you want them to see or if you are using the content to increase app usage and user visits.

If it's a CRM or other business tool, users are likely accessing it daily to keep track of people and tasks, so sending daily updates is probably unnecessary.
If you want to encourage more visits, provide content that has value and requires user engagement. If users want to be engaged, they will sign up, otherwise don't force them into it.

Types of Content

After you know what the app is used for and how often users are expected to access it, you can start to tailor your strategy. If users need it to manage contacts and sales leads, like a CRM, then you might start giving them content less frequently as part of a general education process to help establish your authority. If usage is less frequent, you might consider daily or weekly tips to encourage users to check in regularly for information.

The purpose of the app needs to align with user goals or your content marketing efforts will fail.

Are white papers ok? If users are on mobile devices, they are probably not ready to dive into a long paper. However, if you make it available to email, they can see it while browsing and have it sent to read later.
Is microcontent ok? If your app is not a place for quotes and serves another purpose like I mentioned above, a quote will seem out of place. Your app is not your twitter feed, so don't send them an endless supply of information. Let them follow you on social media if they want that information.

Create a Relationship

Keep in mind that the app is providing users with a tool and is providing you with a gateway to create a long-term relationship. Anything that you publish and deliver to them should enhance that relationship. Don't bombard them with daily notifications or irrelevant content. You have to provide value because users can easily delete your app or turn off notifications.

No user wants constant notifications from an app so always try to send as little information as possible, unless you are doing a contest for a short time that requires constant alerts.
Don't ask for a review too early because users need time to use the app to decide if they like it or not. Sending regular notifications to ask for reviews makes you seem desperate.

Grow as You Go

Your content marketing strategy is not a one-time decision. This means that the choices you make are not permanent and you can adjust your content as you see fit. If you notice user preferences changing, like usage rates, then you can change the format of the content being sent out.

photo by National Library of Ireland