How to optimize the orientation of iOS screenshots.

Your app store optimization efforts can deliver best results when guidelines meets innovation. Read more!

Screenshots are one of the most critical aspect of App Store Optimization. While there are tons of apps to choose from, users are sure to end up examining the app icon, its description and most importantly the screenshots of an app to judge the application’s overall appealing factor and infact the quality of the entire app. Further, their inclination is directly going to affect whether to download the app or not! Hence, it is more of an opportunity for developers to make the most out of their screenshots; because apart from the icon, screenshot is the only feature that communicates to the users about the app’s visual appeal.

Today, we will be closely focusing on optimizing the iOS screenshots. The optimization of iOS screenshot is dependent on few factors that are mentioned below.

·         The orientation of the screenshots

·         The screenshots efficiency in communicating its purpose

·         Smartly using all the 5 slots of screenshots offered by Apple

·         Localization of screenshots

·         Conducting competitive analysis

·         A/B testing

Working precisely on each of the elements mentioned above can help you in leveraging the effectiveness of your screenshots. For now, let us study how to optimize the orientation of iOS screenshots. For that, we will require to have a closer look at what kind of orientation best suits each of the device and when can you consider experimentation.

The orientation of screenshot is fairly dependent on where is it being placed or which device is being considered for the screenshot. There are 3 possibilities.

1.    iPhone

2.    iPad

3.    Desktop iTunes/Web

Screenshots for iPhone:

Considering the iPhone, the portrait or the vertical orientation comes as a default. As a result, the audience is used to viewing the screenshots vertically as it itself falls in place on the iPhone screen. Even then if you consider choosing the landscape orientation, it will be flipped to the portrait orientation which might be bothersome for the audiences to deal with.

Have a look at these vertically oriented screenshots of Candy Crush Saga on iPhone device.

Whereas, these landscape oriented screenshots on an iPhone device requires making quite an effort to view the details.

Screenshots for iPad:

Landscape pictures can be saved for iPad as they seem to fit perfectly on to its bigger screen. Portraits can also be considered for iPad as it will be viewed equally correctly. However, there is a difference in the overall appeal of the picture due to the size of the screenshots of the landscape and the portrait when viewed on the iPad. Have a look.

Here, you will notice that the Clash of Clan’s screenshot with the landscape orientation looks much more attractive compared to the Flappy Smash's vertical screenshot.

Screenshots for Desktop iTunes:

Desktop and web itunes, both are confined to showcase the default iPhone screenshots. Though, the landscape screenshots that usually end up flipping in portrait orientation on the iPhone screen, shows up as a landscape orientation on the desktop iTunes. As a result, there appears to be less uniformity as the second screenshot gets cut-off. Hence, choosing to showcase portrait screenshots means enabling audience to view two full screenshots.

Let us compare them with examples:

Here,you can see that the first screenshot of Minecraft pocket edition shows vertical orientation on the desktop iTunes. While, the second screenshot being landscape oriented gets cut-off, which really doesn’t give an appealing view altogether.

Whereas, here you can see that two full screenshots of Temple run gives a much more appealing view when compared to the former orientations.

These guidelines will help you conduct the best optimization of the orientations of your screenshots. However, experimentations accompanied with guidelines can deliver innovative results and it can always be considered by potential developers to come up with something that suits best to their application.

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How to design your app marketing activities

Introduction:

It is enough said that app marketing is as much important as the developing process for an app. Having realized that, developers are now constantly trying to deploy effective app marketing strategies in order to cater the apps to the audience in the best possible way. However, with so many backend procedures taking place at the developing end, the marketing aspect fails to receive the due importance, especially while the app is being conceptualized. As a result, a not so well planned app marketing plan fails to be up to the mark and the possibility of witnessing desired results lessens.

So, what are those basic element that proves to be missing or are yet overlooked by majority of the developers? The first thing that needs to be understood is that your app marketing efforts begin just when you start developing your app. Both, app development and app marketing should go hand in hand from the day the app idea has been conceptualized. Along with that, developers will have to go through number of tasks that will eventually prove beneficial in producing and executing well thought-out marketing activities.

We have listed a number of tasks below that can be considered by potential developers whose aim is to effectively design their app marketing activities. 

1. Be clear with the how, what, who, when, where, and why of your app:

It might sound complicated to deal with 5 W’s and 1 H, but it isn’t really. Infect, answering these questions will give answers to all your basic app marketing questions. This task definitely falls in the pre-launch app marketing strategies and it will help you to strengthen the efficiency of your promotional tactics. This aspect will basically decide your target audience. Hence, you will exactly know whom to target, where and at what time.

2. Analyse your competitors and study their marketing tactics:

First thing first. It should be a keen effort from your end to gain an in depth knowledge of how your competitor app has been following the marketing practices and which promotional tactic has precisely worked for them. What you need to do is, note down the aspects where they have been doing well and how can they better those aspects further. Analysing their strategies can help you in bettering your strategies.

3. Decide your marketing budget before hand and count on the helping hands around you:

When it comes to budget spending, having false assumptions can lead your marketing strategy no where. Let your expectations be real. Decide your budget and find out how can you fit in the must to be deployed tactics within that budget. Also, it is possible you might have some critical connections in the market who can help you in cross-promoting your app at some point of time. Reach out to them well in advance, talk to them about your app and see how can they play a vital role in promoting your app through their medium.

4. Find out how your monetization strategy affects your marketing plan:

Different monetization strategies may require different level of marketing support. So, the first task would be to set an appropriate price or the right monetization strategy for your application. While, the consecutive task comes in the form of planning your marketing tactics that would allow you to plan around your monetization plan that would leverage the

5. List down the possible marketing activities for your app and prioritize each:

After having brainstormed over the above mentioned questions, you must have come across various marketing options that can be included in your strategy. The list makes a lengthy one, yet your task would be to note down all of them, pick the ones that needs to be worked upon and schedule their implementation with well thought out planning. It may include,

• Writing app reviews and distributing Press Releases
• App Store Optimization
• Video creation
• Buzz marketing and Viral effect
• Social Media marketing
• Creating App landing page
• CPI Networks

6. Schedule the timings of the execution of each activity:

This is a crucial task in terms making efforts to reap maximum results. Apart from having decided the budget and finalizing on the activities, execution of those activities at the right time and in the right way can make a critical difference to your entire marketing strategy. For instance, the distribution of your pre launch app marketing press release has to be planned and worked upon days before you launch your app. Similarly, creating a buzz on the social media with regards to the release of the new version of your app has to be pre planned and timed precisely. Hence, make sure you schedule your activities with utmost care.

7. Measure the success of your app marketing tactics with app analytics tools:

Analysing metrics such as engagement rate, usage and lifetime revenue per customer are as much a part of designing your marketing strategy, as they provide you with detailed insights on your app’s performance. Having a hold of these metrics can help you create a road map for planning your future strategies. You can consider app analytics tools such as App Annie  and Localytics to receive data-driven insights.

8. Consider optimizing those deployed app marketing campaigns at regular intervals:

After accomplishing the above task, you would precisely know the areas where you can or need to improve. Your aim should be to keep coming back to the key indicators received from the analytics tools at regular intervals and consider them for making required changes. Optimization is the key to leverage the proficiency of your marketing efforts, so blend in the optimization process as a part of your to do list and the results will speak the rest.

In summary:

It surely isn’t a one time process. App marketing is an on going process that requires constant attention in terms of analysing, implementing and optimization of your efforts. Hence, developers should deal with patience and keep improvising to unfold an ideal marketing strategy.

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