P6: Identify the channels and platforms to be used for the distribution of the new product
My app will be distributed on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, as these are the two major phone operating systems and most people either have an Apple or Android smartphone. The Windows Store is another platform, but I think since not many people have a Windows phone, this could be an area to expand the app into if it is successful on other platforms.
In terms of marketing and advertising, social media will be the main method I use to advertise the app. Since Instagram is image-based, this would be a great way to showcase the look and feel of the app, and you can also give targeted ads based on cookies, I can show the app to my target audience in their Instagram feed. Using YouTube, I could upload tutorials on how to use the app, as there are a lot of digital immigrants in my target audience who aren't tech savvy. They can understand how to use the app to its full potential, and I can promote these videos on other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. It is also a good way to build a relationship with the audience as I am providing a service for them, and I can also get an idea of how successful my app is by looking at how many views and likes the tutorials get.
Twitter is a great way to quickly give out information/updates since a tweet is limited to 280 characters, and there is an option for followers to get a notification every time an account tweets. I can effectively use this platform by informing users about updates to the app or big fixes, and as mentioned before I can post a link to new tutorials on YouTube, linking the social media profiles together. On Twitter there is also the ability to pay to show your tweets on the timelines of people who don't follow you as a Promoted Tweet, so I can further get my app out there using this method. Lastly, since older generations will use my app, I would also need to create a Facebook page for the app, where users can give their feedback, watch tutorials on how to use the app and see what new features will be in an update.
There are lots of different platforms I can make my app available on, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, fitbits, and Google Hub/Alexa. I think making a smartwatch version of my app would help users a lot because they could get reminders like when to take pills directly to their watch. Carers could also have the option to see on the app how many steps their relative has done in a day or monitor their heart rate through the watch/fitbit. Utilising Alexa technology could help carers interact more with the app without their phone in their hand. I could have the feature for users to use commands like "show me how many steps ____ has done today", "when does _____ next need to take medication?" and "remind me to book ______'s hair cut", as well as the device reminding users of events on the calendar.
P7: Create a project proposal specification document for the new product
M3: Justify how new audiences can be targeted by the new product
The distribution methods I have chosen - the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store - are appropriate for the purpose of the app and will enable new audiences to be targeted. This is because these two app stores are a part of the two largest operating systems for smartphones and tablets, with hundreds of millions of people using iOS and Android. These distribution channels I have chosen already have millions of users, and with only two million apps on each operating system respectively, with the right keywords I think Care Share could easily be found by potential users when they are browsing the app store. Both operating systems also feature popular apps on the home page of the store, and with charts for the best selling apps in each genre, there are plenty of promotion opportunities within the app store once my app starts gaining traction.
However, to gain initial users I will need to use various forms of marketing to gain the attention of my target audience, as I have outlined in P6 above. I will mainly use social media to advertise Care Share, specifically Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as this will target a range of different audiences and allow me to show content suitable for each website. Instagram can help me target 25-34 year olds, since these are the age group who uses Instagram the most (www.statista.com/statistics/398166/us-instagram-user-age-distribution/) and they may be starting to think about their parents getting older and how they will care for them, which Care Share can help with. Using Instagram will help my app reach a new audience because it could be a reminder to users to start planning for the future, and it is also a great platform to show the audience the look and feel of the app, since Instagram is an image-based platform.
YouTube can be used to target young people (www.statista.com/statistics/296227/us-youtube-reach-age-gender/), and many under 18s make up the majority of a channel's core audience. This could be a great way to get my product to young carers who look after their parents, as I could pay to play an advert for Care Share before videos aimed at under 18s, and YouTube provides lots of user analytics to make it possible to advertise my app to such a specific audience. This is a very different audience to the people I will target on Instagram, as young carers are children themselves who must care for a close family member, while being in education and doing exams. I think Care Share would greatly benefit young people in this situation because it can help them keep track of their responsibilities and organise their life, and I will advertise this organisational aspect in the advert.
Twitter and Facebook have a much more general audience, with Facebook having an older slant and Twitter a younger one, and I will use both these platforms in a similar way as they allow users to upload videos and photos and also make text-based posts. I can use both of these platforms in a different way from YouTube and Instagram because I am able to give quick updates about the app if someone finds a bug, since I can quickly give text updates to anyone following the account. Twitter and Facebook will help me target a different audience because they allow users to share posts to their profile, so this is the best way I can utilise the two-step flow theory. This theory states that people who are respected and trusted - called opinion leaders - will share information to friends or followers and the people who see this will trust their opinion and pass that on. This is how a lot of rumours can start online, but it is a way that the name Care Share can get out there and become more well known.