More companies are relying on apps to succeed, whether the app is the primary source of revenue or whether it’s merely an extension of the business. In any case, social media is one of your greatest tools for finding new potential customers and keeping your existing users up-to-date; with the right visual content, you could potentially even go viral, reaching millions of new users with a single promotional asset.

But how can you create a video that accurately demonstrates your app while still maximizing that potential reach?

The New iOS App Store

Everything starts at the app store, which you should consider the hub of your app video marketing campaign. App stores not only provide the best (and most popular) discovery tool for new apps, they also set the standards for what users expect of videos.

The iOS App Store, for example, recently went through some changes that have redrawn what’s expected of app producers. In addition to offering more in-depth search features and more discovery elements, Apple has introduced preview videos—auto-playing videos specifically intended to show off the main features and functionality of your app.

Why Videos Are So Important for App Success

So why are videos so important for your app’s success? The statistics don’t lie. As many as 64 percent of web visitors are more likely to purchase a product if they’ve seen a promotional video for it, indicating the sheer impact potential that an app video can have. And because videos are becoming so popular, more users are relying on them to make purchasing decisions; 57 percent of consumers view a product video before finalizing their purchase.

Part of the reason for this reliance on video content is the confidence users feel when making a purchasing decision; if they’ve seen the product in action and feel they have an accurate idea of what to expect, they’ll be less concerned about the possibility of getting less than what they paid for. On top of that, human beings simply process visual data better than other forms of data, processing images more than 60,000 times faster than text.

“Videos are crucial nowadays; we live in such a fast paced society that people don’t have time to read. Aside from giving you information a video can also provide an experience that text or images just cannot – simply put there is no way to replace an enticing app store video – only the video would give you the full experience; and therefore, the only way to remain competitive is to quickly jump on the trend,” says Eddie Nuvakhov, CEO of LNC Productions.

Plus, videos are easy to share. Videos relay information far quicker than text and are user favorites, so they’re more likely to be shared than other forms of content. If you produce a video that truly resonates with users, social channels will make it easy for that video to circulate to new audiences.

Do’s and Don’ts

So what does it take to produce a video that could achieve that social success?

1. Choose your partner carefully. Unless you have direct experience creating app videos or other marketing videos, you’ll need to work with an outside expert to perfect your approach—but not all video marketing firms are alike. “Sometimes people do not understand the importance of a well crafted video – a video asides of being a communication device it’s also a strong representation of your brand. My advice is to stay away from screen recording and take the opportunity to do something more, rely on a partner with experience and you will definitely end up seeing a higher ROI that you could achieve on your own, ” says David Levy, Nuvakhov’s business partner.

2. Target the right audience. Everything depends on audience targeting. You wouldn’t sell your app the same way to a teenage girl and a middle-aged man, so think carefully about the content, the tone, and the distribution method of your promotional material.

3. Don’t add more than you need. Users don’t generally have the patience to watch the full content of a minutes-long video. They might also turn away if your video doesn’t immediately grab them. Accordingly, it’s in your best interest to keep your video as short and concise as possible, getting users’ attentions within the first few seconds.

4. Make the video useful with and without audio. Apple’s new App Store auto-plays without audio, so make sure your video is optimized for both an audio-heavy and audio-absent experience. That way, you’ll appeal to the greatest percentage of viewers.

5. Don’t neglect the App Store guidelines. Pay close attention to the App Store guidelines. You’ll need to make sure your content falls in line with Apple’s standards, and ensure it’s formatted properly before you upload it.

6. Build a video portfolio. Don’t rely on just one video to do all your work for you. Create a video portfolio you can use for a variety of different marketing and advertising applications.

7. Choose the right social channels for promotion. Finally, choose the right social channels to distribute your videos; chances are, your audience favors one platform over another, and catering to that platform will give you a much higher ROI than simply broadcasting your video wherever you can.

Videos make it easier to demonstrate exactly how your app works to an audience hungry for more visual content. If you put the effort into differentiating that video from those of your competitors, while staying true to the functionality of your app and making users excited about it, you could potentially reach thousands—if not millions of people.