Short-form video that gets app installs

An app does not sell itself from a store listing. Short-form video is what gets someone to tap install.

Here is a simple setup for app marketing: what to show, what to skip, and how to keep making more of it.

6 steps2 min readUpdated 28 Sept 2026

Step 1: Show the app doing the job
Open on the problem, not the app icon. Nobody installs a splash screen.
A phone screen and one clear action reads better than a full feature tour.
Three seconds is enough to show what changes for the person using it.
TipIf you cannot say what problem it solves in five words, the hook needs work before the app does.
Step 2: Write the hook like a UGC ad
Open as a person, not a company. I found this app, not introducing our new app.
Name the annoyance the app fixes before you name the app.
That one line does more work than any feature list.
Step 3: Turn features into a slideshow
A slideshow walks through the app's screens the way video rushes past them.
Save the app as a product in References, then build the slides in Slideshows.
It posts as a TikTok photo post or an Instagram carousel, both read slower than video.
Step 4: Add a person reacting to it
A short UGC-style clip of someone reacting works better than a narrated demo.
Describe the reaction you want: relief, surprise, finally, this changes everything.
Generating a clip costs 20 credits, so testing three reactions is cheap.
TipThe reaction has to match a real feeling a user has. A guessed one shows.
Step 5: Point at one thing to do
Every clip needs one action: download it, try it, link in bio.
Two calls to action is the same as none.
Say it once, plainly, at the end.
Step 6: Batch a week, then check what lands
Make a handful of hooks and slideshows in one sitting.
Put them on the Schedule for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Keep the ones that get watched to the end, and build the next batch from their shape.
TipApp installs are a slower signal than views. Give a batch two weeks before judging it.