Hey there folks! For those of you just beginning to read the post, here's a quick recap. This is the third and final installment in the three article series based on the concept of Facebook application development. Aimed at entrepreneurs and businesses, the articles talk about Facebook apps, its development process, why you should have one, how you can get one and finally in this article steps you should adopt to market your Facebook app and give it maximum exposure.
Let's finish off with this final journey of building a brand via a Facebook app.
Integrating Viral Hooks Within the App
This is a technical step that should be integrated within the app itself. Viral hooks are a means of getting your Facebook app popularized and shared by users. It's a means of marketing your app, only you don't do it, your users do. You can get Twitter, Facebook Share, Email sharing as viral hooks within the application itself also known as in-app viral factors.
Professional Facebook app developers understand what it means to make an app go viral. So leave it to them to integrate nifty viral functions and elements in your apps. Once it goes live, you'll be surprised how many people will keep referring your app to their friends (provided the app concept is interesting enough).
Create a Facebook Fan Page
A Facebook app shows better progress if there's a Facebook fan page dedicated to it where every update, every snapshot can be shown to users. If you integrate the application with the fan page and create a "Like Gate", users can like your page and access the application note that like gates work only when you have a strong application that invokes the user's curiosity. An app that is offering a redundant concept would not go down well with the Like Gating option infact it could backfire and users would leave the page if they are not interested in the app.
Prepare a Press Release
It's pretty important to frame a press release because let's face it you got a Facebook app and you've got to get people's attention and perk up their creativity regarding the app. The press release is a really potent promotional weapon that will be reproduced on numerous other media online and offline. So make an effort to draft a clear and concise Press Release for the masses. It shows your professionalism and acts as a primer for your app and company. You can even advertise your app on print media if you have the budget for it and think that your application is worth the mettle.
Blog Away
Get in touch with bloggers. More importantly, even maintain your own blog with interesting news and updates relevant to your Facebook app. Blogging about your app, its functionality and the beneficial aspects of it gives readers a chance to know more about your application and even share the information with their friends.
Not a bad idea if you are hoping to get the word out about your Facebook app across the internet. Established bloggers have committed followers that mean the difference between obscurity and limelight.
Send Your App for Reviews
Ask for app review websites to review your app. There are loads of websites out there where you can send in your application and ask for reviews of your application or you can write a review and send it on these websites. Note that you will have to write a unique review every time you send in a piece to a review site simply because of the original content rule.
So folks, this concludes the 3 part article about how to approach Facebook app development right from the first conceptual stages to development and ultimately marketing it. Hopefully you are now in the driving seat and ready to make that Facebook app you've always wanted. Good luck and Godspeed.
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Interesting point about viral hooks. A lot of Facebook apps these days come with some sort of social media integration: posting scores on your Facebook/Twitter profile, invite friends to join, etc. Some Facebook games do this automatically – which is why those annoying Farmville/Diamond Dash invites keep popping up! In fact, a large number of smartphone apps also give you the option to ‘post highscore on Facebook/Twitter and the like.