What is a virtual reality app?

Virtual reality is a computer-simulated environment that can replicate a real or imaginary place. VR is typically experienced through headsets that you strap onto your head, where it blocks out the real world and transports you into a different digital world.

VR works by tricking your brain into thinking that what it's seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting are real. This requires an immense amount of computing power. A headset tracks how you move your head with sensors, while video technology makes everything look realistic inside the goggles. Other types of sensors work together to render sound effects and feel like they're coming from the right place in space and make anything you touch feel realistic as well.

A solid marketing strategy can help ensure that your VR app gets found by the right audience, and there are a few things to keep in mind when crafting an effective promotional plan. First, take a step back and ask yourself some crucial questions:

• Who is your target audience? What do they need? Are you developing educational apps for teachers or games to entertain families?
• Which platforms will your app be available on? Are you focusing on mobile or desktop devices?
• How can you spread the word about your app via social media channels and through existing networks of friends and family members who might be interested in it?
• To increase exposure to potential buyers (and investors), do you want to present your app at industry events such as virtual reality conventions or trade shows to increase exposure to potential buyers (and investors)?

Create a memorable name for your virtual reality app.

Choosing the right name for your virtual reality app can help you capture potential users' attention and make them more likely to download it. Here are some tips:

• Choose something easy to remember, spell, and say.
• Try to avoid including hyphens, numbers, or abbreviations in your name—these will only complicate things. If someone doesn't remember your app's exact name and tries to search for it based on what they do remember, they won't find anything if you've included any of these elements in the title.
• If at all possible, use a name that describes what your app does so users can figure out if it's relevant to their interests without having to click through several pages first (ex: "Virtual Chess" or "Virtual Reality Adventures"). A descriptive title also makes it easier for people who hear about your product secondhand—like through word-of-mouth marketing—to find out more information about it online when they go looking later on!

Create an engaging and informative website for your VR app.

You might be tempted to get carried away with all the fancy features you can use to design a website. But ultimately, your website should be simple and easy for visitors to understand and navigate.

Although you probably put a lot of time and effort into making the concept of your VR app as enjoyable as possible, you must also make sure that your website is also highlighting the value proposition of your VR application. If you're not sure how to describe this clearly, an easy way to do so is by answering the question: "What problem does my app solve?"

To help make sure that people who visit the site will go on to download (or purchase) your app, you'll also want to ensure that it contains clear links or buttons for each download platform (e.g., Samsung Galaxy Store, Apple App Store). As part of this step, make sure that you have a call-to-action (CTA), which is basically something encouraging people to click through—for example, "Download our VR app today!"

Your website should have a responsive design so it loads well on any device—not only smartphones and tablets but also desktops—because users may be using different types of devices before deciding which one they want their virtual reality experience on.

High-quality images are vital for showcasing what makes your virtual reality app unique compared to other apps out there. For example, if your VR game has beautiful graphics or landscapes that engage players in a new way, then these images are what can grab visitors' attention right away and entice them to download or purchase your application. You can look into stock photo sites such as Pexels or Unsplash if you don't think custom photography would be cost-effective initially.

Make a demo video for your VR app.

Demo or promotional videos can be an invaluable part of your marketing campaign. The video gives potential customers a glimpse of your app before they've actually experienced it, and it can help generate excitement around the product. But don't let that stop you from making a demo video for your VR app: even if most of your customers will already have experienced the product, a demo video can still help showcase the value of your product.

Most people find sketching an effective way to communicate ideas without spending too much time on them. Use this technique to create a storyboard for your VR app demo video, which is basically just a series of sketches demonstrating how the entire process will work when it's completed.

When you're ready to make your demo video, remember three important things: keep it short, keep it simple, and keep it focused on benefits (not features). Since most VR demos are only a few minutes long anyway, this shouldn't be hard.

Take advantage of influencers to promote your VR app.

Reach out with something that shows that you're considering their long-term interests; this could be donating money or paying them for an event they'd want to be promoted in exchange for promoting your VR app on any of their social media accounts. That's what shows influence over them—offering them something valuable enough that they're more likely to put it out there, especially if there's no immediate benefit for them.

An example would be making them a guest at one of your upcoming events where they can attend and talk about what they like about your game and how it positively affects people's lives.

Create a buzz about your virtual reality app on social media.

The first step in getting the word out about your app is to build a community around it. This community will not only help you generate buzz around your new product but give you a platform to collect feedback from users and share other important updates.

To build this community for your app, start by creating social media pages on all the major platforms. These should include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat if you think they would be appropriate channels for your brand.

Start sharing content on them regularly. Be sure that the content relates to your product and appeals to the app's target audience. If you have an e-commerce VR experience with an outdoor theme like hiking or mountain biking, posts relating to this theme may be appropriate. Or, if you have a productivity tool built for business professionals in the finance industry, then the content associated with this field would be more suitable.

The goal is to keep people engaged with your brand and make it worth following by creating engaging content that relates back to what you are offering them as users of your product or service. You can also use hashtags to grow awareness of your product from within these communities and tag accounts belonging to other relevant individuals or organizations who may find value in what you are doing.

Invest in SEO to get your VR app to the top of search engine results.

Search engine optimization is a marketing strategy that employs the use of keywords and keyword phrases relevant to your industry and business for you to get ranked in the organic (non-paid) section of search engines. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy that takes time to see results but can help boost your traffic over time. It also allows you to build brand awareness, which will lead to more sales and conversions. SEO is also cost-effective compared to other forms of advertising, including PPC ads (pay-per-click), social media ads, and offline advertising.

Reach out to local media outlets and blogs to help spread the word about your VR app.

You can reach out to local media outlets and blogs to help spread the word about your VR app. Be sure to research what local media outlets are interested in—don’t send your story pitch to lifestyle magazines if you’re putting out a new VR game. Also, be sure to find bloggers who match the demographics of your target audience. Keep it personal and relevant, as this will help make them more likely to respond positively.