In many ways, the increasing digital nature of our world has been a blessing to marketers. Concepts like SEO-focused blogging and social media marketing have allowed companies to raise awareness and ultimately increase their profits for little cost. At the same time, the democratic and consumer-focused nature of this digital world has also threatened one thing: brand identity.
It Used to Be Simple Think about it. Before the internet became a popular place to share opinions and news, your brand identity was in your hands. Marketers could control the messages sent out about their company, ensuring that the perception of their brand remained positive and on-point.
A Plethora of Voices But that's no longer the case. Today, anyone can go on Twitter or Facebook and criticize your products and brand, or write a blog post about it that ends up much higher in Google's search results that you'd like. The problem is multiplied in the service industry, where reviews sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor and Angies List designed to improve customer experience - can seriously threaten your brand's credibility and identity. When you enter the app store on your mobile device, the problem gets magnified. Millions of apps compete for your attention, making it difficult for your branded app to stand out and contribute to your brand identity.
What Can You Do? Of course, these developments can also have a positive impact on your brand. Successful companies leverage positive reviews and Tweets into word-of-mouth advertising, which remains the single most effective type of advertising today. They develop and market their mobile apps specifically to contribute to a positive and distinct brand identity. Still, those negative reviews and comments can be both frustrating and harmful. And with millions of apps competing for attention, it's difficult to stand out. Fortunately, there are several solutions. Monitoring mentions is a great first step:
Find them. How do you know what's being said if you don't look for it? Using Social Media Monitoring Services along with regular Google searches on your company help you determine just what consumers are saying about your brand.
Respond diligently. Once you've found complaints, don't just dismiss them - no matter how unreasonable they seem to you. Remember, these are being read by consumers who are not aware of your company, and may be much more likely to believe the message. Instead, respond to the feedback openly and promise to improve. Improve. Don't just make empty promises, though. A lot of times, even offensive comments contain grains of truth that are worth following up on. Insults against your customer service department are out of line, but may have happened because of an actual issue in that department. Try to take feedback as an opportunity to improve your brand - your customers (and bottom line) will thank you for it. As for standing out on the app store, it's important to name your app specifically after your company. You can talk about its features in the description, which will help you be found even by those who don't yet know your brand, but the name is the single most important part to establish brand identity.
Next, be sure that your app adds to your website rather than distract from it. Unique features that users wouldn't get on your website allow you to link to it frequently, letting your audience know about the many benefits they can get from downloading your app. Lastly, reviews are crucial in the app market as well. The betterreviewed your app, the more likely it is to show up high in search results on Android or iOS. If you're confident in the abilities of your app, don't be afraid to ask your customers directly for results! As the democratization of marketing continues to increase in the digital world, maintaining a firm grip on your brand identity becomes ever-more important. Contact Colure Media today for more tips and tricks on how you can keep your brand identity at the level it needs to be!