The following is a guest contributed post from Dave Bell, CEO of Gummicube.
When you’re searching for the right app in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, what are your eyes immediately drawn to? While everyone is different, most can’t help but divert their attention to what instantly catches their eye. In the app stores, this typically requires having unique and attractive creatives.
Why Creatives are Important
Creatives such as an app’s screenshots and icon are a few of the most important on-screen pieces of real estate to convince and entice users. At a quick glance, an app’s creatives is the main space that sets them apart from the sea of apps and their competitors in search results.
It’s important to keep in mind that a user only spends 3-5 seconds considering an app in the app stores. On the topic of seasonality, a sure-fire way of distinguishing an app from their competition is by implementing seasonality into their creatives by following App Store Optimization (ASO) best practices. Users definitely do notice and appreciate when apps put the extra effort in making graphics relatable to the upcoming season or holiday.
Keep Up with the Times
Targeting seasonal keywords just isn’t enough to attract users when they are quickly skimming through the app stores. Similar to commercial businesses like Target and Starbucks that alter their marketing strategies for different seasons, apps should also make key changes to their app listing. Incorporating seasonality into creatives could be the secret weapon your app needs to increase conversion rates.
Take advantage of what app consumers will be looking for during the different seasons and holidays, and if applicable, cater your app to those interests and aesthetics. Consider seasons like winter and summer – developers can make changes to incorporate various elements that highlight the current season and attract users.
Winter
When the weather starts to take a chilly turn and snowflakes fall as an introduction to the winter months, the world in your gaming or shopping app can mirror that. For example, for a gaming app, consider changing your app’s creatives to incorporate snow or a colder terrain. For a shopping app, think of what a consumer looks for and can relate to: warm clothing in the forefront, colors evocative of the holiday, holiday ornaments in the background, etc.
The holidays are also a favorable time for targeting more users. For instance, some popular retail apps changed their icon promote Black Friday sales while others incorporated holiday themed elements to target the holiday season.
Take for example, how Hustle Castle features the main character in their icon with a Santa hat. By incorporating this simple, yet relevant, element to their icon, they will attract users who already feel festive.
At the start of the new year, consumers are looking to better themselves. Productivity apps or fitness apps can cater their creatives with catchy new Call to Actions to those looking to meet goals for the new year.
In February, love is in the air. Valentine’s Day is a great time to take advantage of those looking to find love or create memories with their significant other. Dating apps and photo apps can target new users during this time by displaying creatives that emphasize love and dating.
The photo app below features romantic pictures of couples to cater to those who want to create lasting memories with their loved ones during Valentine’s Day. Not only does the developer include relevant themes and colors in all of the creatives, but they portray elements of love and happiness to appeal to the user’s emotions.
Summer
Even though holidays are few and far between during the summer, people still get excited about everything it represents – warm weather, barbecues, vacations and so much more. While retail apps can utilize their creatives to promote swimsuit season or Memorial Day sales, travel apps can target the high volume of users who are going on summer vacation.
Even gaming apps can incorporate symbols of summer in their creatives and gameplay. The game featured below employs warm colors and flip flops in their screenshots to emulate the hot weather associated with summer.
Relevance is Key
Staying relevant to users is key to improving conversion rates year around. Consumers’ expectations are constantly changing and evolving, meaning an app’s creative assets should reflect user trends and behavior and the current season.
Users will spend just a matter of seconds looking at an app. As the seasons change, developers need to utilize ASO best practices to ensure that both their icon and screenshots are relevant, eye-catching, and unique to differentiate themselves from competitors.
