What are the best ways for early marketing apps to increase users and connect with brands?

Hey,

I am CEO @ Incredo (www.incredo.co) and we do app marketing for start-ups

Assuming you have already on Google Play or Appstore you may consider submitting your app to other marketplaces as well. There are various other app stores on the online market where you can upload your app. According to One Platform Foundation, if an app is submitted on other relatively less popular stores, it will increase the expected downloads 200% more compared to Google Play.

These are some very good app stores that you should consider:

--GetJar
--SlideMe
--Opera Mobile Store
--AppsLib
--Amazon Appstore
--AppBrain

Participating in app awards is the most recommended channel and I would highly suggest you take advantage of it. It can give you tons of press, exposure, reviews and plenty of downloads. Although the chances of winning very much depend on your pitch and app idea, however, if you manage to get things right the first time, you can expect to enjoy a little stardom.

These are some of the most famous app awards sites:

--Appy Awards
--Best App Ever Awards
--AppCircus competition
--Apple Design Awards
--Appsters Awards
--Ericsson Application Awards
--The Webby Awards
--Best Mobile App Awards
--OZApp

Hope these help.

If you need any help with ASO or Paid user acquisition please let me know

Answer source: buildfire.com

It's a very broad question because this depends on the industry, where your audience is, their demographics, etc. But I think a general answer would be word of mouth. If it is your product, start hitting events and visiting potential customers, offer them a 5 minutes presentation on why they need to use your product. Make that all day every day and you will get your firsts users and your first feedback to improve

You can promote your app via Google AdWords. It will allow you to reach users who use similar apps for instance.
It is also important to use a remarketing campaign that will encourage users to re-engage with the app.
Social media is another great place to start.

Based on my experience working on apps in the start up realm is to get your first user in the door. How you appeal to them depends on which market you are in... Which, I would be happy to set up a call about.

To give you a broad idea you can go several routes - discount, word of mouth, paid.

Depending on your app, gamification will also have to be research and validated through design. As a UX/UI designer, we have tons of background of how to best get the user hooked on their brand. To put it simply there needs to be some motivation and then a reward system.

Hope this helps!