How To Make An App Go Viral

Do you have an app but don't know how to make it go viral? Well, you have landed upon the right blog. There is no easy way to know "how to make an app go viral" since there are so many things that one can do with drastic competition in the market.

If we talk in terms of numbers then there are more than 2.7 billion active users for smartphones and 1.35 billion users for tablets users around the globe. Out of these people, 90% of users are active on apps. Hence, you can only imagine the scope of your app's virality.

On top of that, there are around hundreds of thousands of apps available on the Apple App and Google Play Store. The stats shown below can show the total competition that one app has to face in the market out of which only a handful of apps go viral.

So, what makes an app addictive to the user? How can you build an app that has the potential to go viral? Ways you can measure the virality factor of an app? How can you increase the chance to thrive in the market?

We have covered everything to make it easy for you to understand it but let us explain to you about viral apps first.

What is a Viral App?

Do you know what Candy Crush Saga is? This is one of the examples of app virality. In brief, viral apps are the ones that have the tendency to capture the attention of users, get users hooked on the mobile app, and add value to their overall experience.

The hook makes people share the app on social media platforms and spread awareness about it. This is a compelling factor for the users that makes an app go viral. An app is said to be viral when it makes the audience strongly advise others to use it.

It will not only be downloaded by thousands of people but the audience downloads it continuously.

How to calculate and measure app virality?

Now you know "what is a viral app", it is essential to know about its measurement factor. How can anyone measure the virality of an app in the market?

The virality is measured with the help of a coefficient method. For instance, you downloaded an app for the first time and liked it a lot. Then you will automatically recommend it to more friends and if they liked it then they will recommend it to others. This is like the cycle for a viral app that will keep ongoing.

Every user has the tendency to bring more users to the app, only if the app has that required hook. In the above case, if one individual is bringing in 2 more users then the viral coefficient will be 2.0.

If any app has more than 1.0 of the viral coefficient, then it will be considered as a viral app. The higher the number, the more will be the user base and growth in the future.

Alternatively, if you want to know the viral coefficient, then look out for the total downloaded in a specific time frame. Compare this time frame and number with the rating of an app.

For instance, if an app is downloaded for around 10,000 times a week with the rating going from 4 to 5 then it is considered to be a viral app.

These are just the theoretical aspects of the app virality. If you want to check the virality coefficient of an app, then it is essential to know the following steps.

Note down the total number of current users (50)
Multiply the number with the referrals or invitation sent out by the users (50×10)
Now calculate the percentage of users signed up due to the referrals or invitations (10%)
If 10% of new users have signed up with 500 invites or referrals then you will have an estimate of 50 new users.
Now divide the new users with existing ones to get the viral coefficient. (50/50 = 1)

This is just the red line of the viral coefficient. It is essential to have more than 1 as the viral coefficient to showcase modest growth. If one has a viral coefficient more than 20 then it is said to grow in the user base aspect. The result will help you to decide on the points of how to optimize your viral app.

Things To Remember

You can easily calculate the viral coefficient of your app, but make sure to keep in mind the essential points.

Realistic estimation of referrals – While working on the viral growth, it is essential to keep in mind that users can send out invitations or referrals more than one. So, make sure to use the newly acquired users while working on the model to find the viral coefficient.
Measure acquisition – The viral coefficient will be decided on the basis of the total number of downloads of the app. This can be zero if no downloads are done by the users using referrals. If the conversion rate is zero then it will have no value that often leads to measuring the wrong data.

What are the key factors to make an app viral ?

There are a number of key factors that one must keep in mind when it comes to the virality of the app.

1 – Optimize the Viral Coefficient

Checking the viral coefficient is a daunting task if not done correctly. It is essential to know the answer to "How to Optimize Your Viral App" that can be done with the viral coefficient. The major part added to it is viral cycle time.

It is essential to improve the viral cycle time while working on ensuring the success of an app. Make sure to have minimal steps and taps while sharing an app with others. The contact integration can be done in place of email addresses to import the contact list. Also, the social network APIs must be used to allow users to share the app over social media platforms.
Value Proportion is a major addition to any app that can improve the quality of an app. This can be done while keeping the user's point of view in mind. Do you think that a user will share in on any social media platform or among his/her contacts? The Z-factor or hook must be present in the app that compels users to put it in front of the audience.
The last part to work on while optimizing the app virality concept is user motivation. It is essential to make sure that the user can smoothly work on the app with no hitches and how you can enhance their experience on the app.

2 – Viral Cycle Time

The above part must have cleared your confusion on the terms viral coefficient and how to measure the virality of an app. Now comes viral cycle time that is an important aspect of the viral coefficient of an app.

One must keep the number of steps followed by the users while sharing the app among their contacts in mind. It can be link-sharing or code sharing that makes it easy for an individual to download an app.

This viral cycle time is the reason why YouTube videos take less time to reach the maximum crowd since it just requires copy-paste or URL. Retweet on Twitter and Sharing options of Facebook are the other two examples that show minimum viral cycle time.

Ideally, it is essential to make sure that the users only take a few seconds to share the app with the contacts. The less the viral cycle time, the more sharing can be done.

3 – Lack of App Virality

The special ingredient is a vital part of any application. If it is missing out from the app then there will be no reasons for a user to share the app among the other users and its contact. The app with no uniqueness will keep struggling in the market with zero output.

The bland and boring apps hold no value for a user that will restrain them to share it due to the worthiness and trust factors.

Even adding the features after the launch can be a daunting task that can sit drastically bad with app flow, especially if they don't belong in that segment. Viral apps are not a spell that we can say and expect the same result. The apps must be improved with time and essential techniques to make your app go viral must be taken into consideration.

It is essential to follow the right techniques in order to achieve the virality tag for an app and be successful in the market.

Keep in mind that the first app version is just an outline of what you are offering in the market. Regular updates and improvements are the major steps to reach the app virality category.

What are the metrics to make an addictive app?

Being a part of the mobile app development company, we understand that there are certain aspects that one must be aware of to make an app go viral. Here are the major secrets to designing an addictive app that one must be aware of.

1 – App Design

The user-friendliness in an app is a major aspect that one must be aware of during the development and design phase. The friendliness is not just for the tech-savvy but for others as well that can be appealing to the audience.

2 – Visibility

One of the major techniques to make your app go viral is its visibility on the store. However, it is not as easy as one believes it to be. There are a number of factors on which the app visibility can depend upon including description and title that must include specific keywords. Viral App Marketing Strategies must be kept in mind that can influence the visibility of the app.

3 – Sharing

Sharing the content on social media profiles must be available in the app. However, there are apps such as WhatsApp that don't require any social media sharing. It can depend from app to app to make sure that the user can have uncomplicated and quick access to sharing.

4 – Target Audience

When we work on an app, it is to define the target audience on the basis of gender, age, nationality, interest, and so on to save effort, money and time of mobile app developers. This is one of the vital viral app marketing strategies through which one can focus on the development and design of an app.

5 – Success Measurement

Check the success or in other words virality coefficient regularly to ensure track the performance of an app. The app usage, sharing invites, and updates holds a lot of value. In addition to this, one can see the uninstalled numbers as well through which one can take corrective measures on time to make it more appealing.

How to attract more users to your app ?

If an application is already famous in the market and has a good place in the chart then it is essential to maintain it. This can be done with regular optimization to ensure that visibility is increased leading to an increase in the number of downloads. Optimization is a marketing strategy that comes further in the mobile application flow to maintain virality. After all, Facebook has not been running since 2004 without optimization.

Let's get down to major strategies to give you an insight on "How to Optimize Your Viral App".

1 – Title

It holds a maximum of power over the audience to make them visit the application and use it. The keywords must be placed smartly to bring the audience to the application. It is like the identity of an application such as What's App, Facebook, Candy Crush, and Canva. So, go for some name that makes it stand out and showcase the nature of the application.

2 – Ratings and Reviews

Have you ever done shopping online? If yes, then you might know the importance of rating and review while deciding a purchase. The ranking helps in placing an application on the top charts. To achieve this, every review must be taken seriously and issues must be taken care of before any user complains again. The improvements with constant updates and changes help in enhancing overall chart status.

3 – Keywords

It is a vital factor that helps in searching for the application. So, keep the trending keywords in mind, and scan competitors regularly. Just don't stop with a single title and regularly update it. The market is drastically changing and requires a good speed to catch up to achieve application success.

These factors will help in promoting the app on a limited level but you will require to follow up essential tips on "how to make your android app popular" to get a better idea.

4 – Online Presence

If no one is aware of your brand then how can you be viral? One of the major ways of spreading awareness of the brand is through online presence. After all, the majority of the audience is over the internet, so, why not you.

Get a website or landing page developed or use free software to have a site. It requires the charges of hosting spaces and domain name, then you are good to go. It is a platform that helps the audience to know more about the central idea of the application.

Personal and creative design has a huge influence on the audience with specific fonts and color palettes to make visuals attractive. Even specific blogs help to get an idea about the application and know more about its insights.

5 – Spotlight

Even in the world of social media, the mouth to mouth market has a different effect on the audience. Make your audience talk about the exciting features and rewards of an application. It is done to reinforce application reputation and brand awareness.

Along with this, it will drive traffic to the site and boost application downloads. This can be achieved with written materials and visuals as a part of the press kit. It is essential to keep the assets engaging and attractive to hook the audience to the application.

Another way is to press releases with a unique subject line and email it to the audience. It is ideal to talk about functionalities and features while describing an application.

6 – ASO – App Store Optimization

While working on "how to make a viral android app", it is ideal to work on app store optimization strategies. It is an ideal way to enhance application visibility with metadata elements such as screenshots, keywords, descriptions, and titles.

Consequently, it works well to enhance discoverability making it reach charts. Now is the time to take advantage of ASO to increase download rates with cost-effective techniques.

7 – Application Launch

It is essential to make an application launch free of cost. No one is going to pay you for an application during the initial stage. Even Wynk launched the lyrics update and offered free access for 60 days to the customers. This even makes a few users opt for the premium version of Wynk since it stirs their curiosity level.

Making IAPs free for a certain time frame can have a huge influence on the application. This boosts the ranking and helps in encouraging the audience to make the in-app purchase. A few free and a few paid features is a great way to proceed in the market.

8 – Deep Linking

Online shopping is a part of our daily lives. Hence, you might be aware of the recommendation process that is as per the search and order history of the user. Similarly, the device stores the data of users including they visited and the keywords they used.

This helps the store in setting up the recommendations for the users. It offers relevant information and an enhanced user experience with personalized applications.

9 – Push Notification

Recently, Amazon had a big billion sale and we all were amazed to see the products. If you had Amazon then you might have received the regular notifications to know about products and price.

Push notifications are interactive, engaging, and powerful models that make interaction easier between users and applications. However, it depends upon different elements including:

Timing – It is an important part of the push notification that is decided as per the behavior of a user. Send out a notification to check out the added items to remind users or update them about upcoming events. It must be done smartly to capture the attention, otherwise, it will be lost among other notifications.
Engaging – App notification has limited space. Hence, it is a bit challenging to make it interactive with uniqueness and creativity. Avoid using conventional messages and stir some emotions among the audience.
Actionable – End goal is crucial to increase user engagement that cannot be achieved with irrelevant and bland messages. The push notification must trigger them to take action.

These are major tips to make your app viral but it is essential to execute them properly.

10 – Trustworthiness

We are living in a world where nothing is safe and secure. It is easy to hack everything whether it is a social media platform or website. Hence, in the world of dilemma, it is vital to have something that the audience can trust. It is not a day process and will come naturally over time.

But the company must start incorporating thoughts to the trust factor as well to gain popularity. This can be achieved with the help of push notification to offer information and requirements of users. The fact is that the user must feel cared, this will make them promote your application and recommend it to friends.

Bigger Picture

Did you get the gist on "how to make an app go viral"? This is just the basics that can help you in going viral but there are many things that you must be aware of.

Just developing any type of app won't make it go viral. In order to assure the success of an app, it is essential to have that viral idea. It is the most basic thing that can help one to work on making an app viral.

App virality depends upon core features and functionality. It is not something to implement as an aftermath. One can improve the Z-factor idea but they need to have that Z-factor in the first place. So, make sure that before developing an app for virality, one must have that viral idea to implement.

Do you have a viral app idea?

FAQ

How to make a messaging app go viral?

1. Make your app smooth and effortless
2. Offer your users some reward or benefits
3. Give your users the control to share things along with informing them about the content which is being shared
4. Use tricks and tactics to make your user come back to you
5. Make your app beneficial and useful.

How do I get more users for my app?

Though the task is quite challenging but absolutely not unattainable. Here are 7 ways to attract a number of users to your app-
1. Focus on ASO
2. Promote your app on your website
3. If possible, develop an email marketing campaign
4. Make proper use of social media
5. Creat in-app and online ads
6. Develop a Public Relation Strategy
7. Create offline campaigns

How can I promote my apps for free?

There are various ways through which you can easily promote your app for free, a few among them are-
1. Look and reach out to influencers
2. Feature the app in your official blog
3. Make a demo video but do not extend the time limit
4. SEO matters here alot
5. Create an eye catching yet detailed and defining app icon
6. Show users some great screenshots
7. ASO is important
8. Include app downloads links on your website

Ashish Chauhan

Co-Founder and VP Mobile Architect at Appventurez. An expert programmer who is passionate and loves to explore emerging mobile technologies. As a leader, he is a perfect match as he is always there for the team to help and guide them to learn and implement smartly and effectively.