In a recent report from eMarketer, we learned that about 86% of time spent with smartphones was spent with apps. Furthermore, the average US adult spends 3 hours and 18 minutes with apps daily. That’s roughly 27% of their daily media time and a pretty sizeable portion of their total day.
We’ve been saying for a while now that mobile is the leading digital platform, but we’ve heard lots of people say, “I have a mobile website.” The chart above pretty much proves that isn’t enough. Apps are where the action is. But we’ve also seen research showing that users are downloading fewer apps each month, and regularly using only a dozen or so. The question is:
Is your brand ready for the mobile app revolution?
If you already have an app, congratulations. But you’re only halfway there. The other half is keeping your audience engaged. This can sometimes be challenging for small and large businesses alike, especially considering the fierce competition within the industry. Here are some of the things you need to be thinking about.
Mission and utility: What is your app’s primary value to your target audience? If you can’t easily answer that question you might have work to do. Your app’s value and utility should be immediately apparent to your user. The apps people use most are the ones that serve a crucial function in their life. That function could be lots of different things, including news and entertainment, but you need to be sure about what it is, and be confident that you’re communicating it clearly.
Promotion and context: You also need to use all your other marketing channels, on-air, online, everything, to let people know about your app, explain it’s value and how it will be useful to them. It’s important that this promotion is done continually and consistently. And equally important is to put that promotion into context for the user. Don’t just run promos or web ads saying “download our app,” tell the user why. Put your promos in context – talking about something interesting on-air? Ask your listeners to tweet you through the app. Send users to a specific piece of content, or encourage them to use the app in specific ways.
Consistency and freshness: It’s important to keep your app and its content up to date. The more frequently you post fresh content, the more regularly people will come back. Get them to rely on you, and come through for them every time. If your app grows stale, users will certainly desert you, and getting them back is next to impossible. So grab them from the first time they open it, and keep them coming back.
Focusing on the end user and putting them first will help your app become a part of their daily lifestyle. To capture smartphone users where they spend 86% of their time, you should think about how does my brand go one step beyond the competition and improve the customer experience?
As technology systems in our lives, like our car and our home, become part of our “connected” world, you’ll be happy you put the end user first.
If you need assistance with your brand’s mobile strategy, we can help! Give us a call at 248-353-9030 or email sales@jacapps.com for a free consultation.
