Anecdotal, but I regularly purchase apps and services that influencers post about. The influencers that come to mind for apps specifically (iOS even more specifically) are John Gruber / Daring Fireball, Loren Brichter, Louie Mantia, Marco Arment...
I think the secret to great success is knowing your own target audience really really well, so that you choose the right influencer for max ROI.
We haven't tried it, but I know it's really successful in the Middle East. For instance in Dubai it's really effective, especially to reach younger Emiratis. There's really no other way to reach that target demographic without going through the influencers they're paying attention to. I haven't seen the same necessity in the United States, so I think it depends who you're trying to target.
Yes. It works very well. But, its not for every product. Can also be expensive if done wrong.
For apps, its very important that you try a group of smaller influencers first. Cheaper and will provide good insights into what a bigger influencer might bring in. Start small.
Agreed. You want to have a very specific and highlighted approach. I'm running a micro-influencer targeting beta with a new software, if you want to dive into this a bit more. We've been testing with a few new apps and seeing success but like tcsf said you have to have really specific targets.
Seen good and bad experiences. As a generalisation I would avoid the more commercial pay-to-play options and cultivate relationships where sharing information/swag benefits said social influencer audience. If you're going to do a straight purchase of eyeballs you may as well do this on open-ad market where rates tend to be at less of a premium.
We're building an Influencer bidding platform at BrandFox.io just now. Happy to have a chat about it all if you want? Ping me an email at ruairidh[AT]brandfox[DOT]io.
I haven't used social media influencers to promote an app specifically, but I know and have worked with different influencers in the past. You're greatest ROI will most likely come from influencers that reach the specific demographic you are targeting, or one that is very similar.
If you want to go this route, make sure to work with people who can show you clear metrics of their influence - I think it goes without saying, but many people with a massive amount of followers have purchased a lot of them to look more influential than than they are. A huge following with very low engagement is worthless. Anyone worth working with should be keeping track of metrics already.
I would also recommend working with influencers who are personally excited about your product. I think it comes through (unless they are crazy-good at copywriting) when influencers promote stuff just because they are being paid vs when they genuinely love the product.
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[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 29.7 ms ] threadI think the secret to great success is knowing your own target audience really really well, so that you choose the right influencer for max ROI.
For apps, its very important that you try a group of smaller influencers first. Cheaper and will provide good insights into what a bigger influencer might bring in. Start small.
:)
If you want to go this route, make sure to work with people who can show you clear metrics of their influence - I think it goes without saying, but many people with a massive amount of followers have purchased a lot of them to look more influential than than they are. A huge following with very low engagement is worthless. Anyone worth working with should be keeping track of metrics already.
I would also recommend working with influencers who are personally excited about your product. I think it comes through (unless they are crazy-good at copywriting) when influencers promote stuff just because they are being paid vs when they genuinely love the product.