Hey guys, wanted to share this quick tip with you all. It's not news that apps live and die by their icons. Your icon is the first thing anybody sees and can be a major determining factor of whether somebody taps on you or does not. It is essential that you get it right the first time. Additionally building a community of fans is one of the most long-term valuable things you can do for your brand as an indie. A recent article on Gamasutra had a killer tip on how you can do both at the same time! All you need is $100 and a decent facebook page. If you haven't already read it, you should check it out! http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/171895/using_facebook_ads_to_find_your_.php Not only do you find your target audience and start to build a community with this approach you also perfect your app icon and marketing message to be most appealing to them! 2 birds, one facebook ad! Got any other app icon optimization tips? Share with the community!
I tried (Facebook) Ads earlier for one of my apps and it didn't really help. As long as there is no way to get detailed visitor statistics from the AppStore I'm probably not going to try that again.
DrummerB, first off I agree with you, Facebook ads don't "work" if your goal is to drive App downloads. However, driving downloads isn't the goal of the exercise here! Your goal with doing this isn't to drive app downloads, it is to see which version of your app icon generates the most clicks. If those clicks end up liking your facebook page too, then all the better. For example: You have 2 versions of the same icon, and you don't know which one you should use. To find out, you run a split test advertisement on Facebook. Step 1: Pick the core demographic you are designing your game to appeal to (women, 15-20 y/o, their interests, etc) Step 2: Run a CPC advertisement on Facebook focused on that demographic featuring Icon 1 Step 3: Analyze the results. How many impressions did the icon get vs. how many clicks did it get. Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 but now with Icon 2 Step 5: Now compare the results. Which icon had the most clicks-to-impression ration? Whichever one does is the icon you should go with for your App. You can then repeat the test again but this time test your App's tag line to see which one your core audience identifies most with. You could do it all over again but focus on a different demographic to get more information as well. Each test shouldn't cost more than $100 to do, and in the end you will be sure you have the best possible icon you can make showing off your app. Plus, if you link the advertisement to your facebook page, not only are you getting great market research, you just might get some likes and new fans as well! Hope that helps clear up any confusion.
