Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How To Market Your IPhone App With A Wacked-out Teaser Video!

You've come up with the perfect idea for an iPhone app.  Yeah, right - you and 33 million other enthusiasts.
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Ah, but you are different.  You've raised some funds on Kickstarter.com and you've shaken down a few of your favorite relatives.  With that  money, you've hired yourself an iPhone App Developer and you app is so close to fruition that you can almost taste it.
That means you will soon have to market your app.  Uh-oh.
No worries, I am here to give you some one-of-a kind app video marketing tips that you can take to the bank.  If you can make a video that is creative enough, put it on YouTube , then get it shared through places social media channels like, Buzzfeed, Digg and Reddit ... you should get plenty of downloads for your app.
Tips to make a creative teaser video
Act crazy.  The last thing you want to do is to sit in front of the camera and talk.  If you can pull it off, get into a medieval costume and sing like a minstrel.  Or get into caveman attire and ugh your way through demonstrating your app.
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What you do should of course depend on the app itself, but some common elements that are good to work in as best you can would be outlandish costumes, music and possibly slightly crazy singing of funny lyrics, acting and jumping around, props, other folks in costume.  Using a green screen, you can edit the video to be doing all this in mid-air or under the sea or deep inside a cavern.
Interview random people.  Got a demo?  Take it to the streets.  Bring along a filmer friend to capture your moments of triumph in the streets.  Who can you interview?
  • Try a hobo.  Seriously, anything unexpected. 
  • Hit up strangers in the bus or train. 
  • Ask shoppers in the dairy aisle. 
  • Pull up beside a marathon runner - what a great video clip as the runner is trying figure out why this guy with an iPhone is trying to show him an app while he's running. 
  • Approach someone at the cinema - while a movie is playing.  And when someone says, "Shhh!", take that as a queue to demonstrate the app to them. Sure, they'll never let you in again, but you'll have some great footage.
  • Ask a foreign tourist who can't speak English. 
You could have a lot of fun creating a video that keeps people watching.  Just make sure that along the way, you have enough clips of what your app does, how much fun it is, and how useful it is.
Play the straight man. What you could also do is explain the virtues of your app - from the iPhone app development process right through to how people get to zap their enemies or call up the ghosts of their great grandparents or whatever your app does.  You could do this in total deadpan while clowns surround you and try to distract you.  Or while movers come and remove all your furniture and replace it with a totally different furniture.
If you record against a green screen, there is no end to what could be going on in the background.  Perhaps a murder.  Perhaps a war.  Perhaps somebody gagging from a horrid smell.
The specifics should depend on exactly what your app does.
Fundamentals of a creative video
Whatever approach you take, there are a few fundamentals to remember.  You want good quality clips, so please use an iPhone 5.  An iPhone 2 or 3 or 4 just won't give you the same quality image.
Make sure you enunciate when you speak.  All the filming is useless, if all we hear you say is, "...aun wee huff ih aln iln hiss..."
In most cases for something wild and crazy, you and a friend can shoot the footage.  There might be some situations where you might be better off with a professional videographer.
For editing, however, get a pro.  You want someone who can put together your somewhat unconventional footage in a way that pulls viewers through and leads them to go download the app. A professional video editor can also handle music and other sound effects, maybe even add voiceover narration if needed.
So get crazy.  Be creative. Create a teaser video for your app that nobody will forget and everybody will share.  If you've managed to explain your app amidst the craziness - and explain the amazing benefits of the app! - you should be on the road to the download fast lane.
Melody Spikes has been an iPhone fan since her first iPhone 2.  "I take it everywhere, I live and breathe my iPhone," she has been overheard to say.

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