For many marketers, shiny object syndrome is a way of life. They just can\u2019t help it, as they don\u2019t have the\u00a0focus\u00a0to adopt and use technologies long term as part of a process. Instead, they flirt from trend to trend hoping the next will be their savior.<\/p>\n
Of course while shiny object syndrome is not likely to achieve any real results,\u00a0\u00a0experimenting\u00a0within the framework of a strategy does make sense. But there is a difference between a skunkworks project that aligns with a strategy and executing a tactic merely because it\u2019s trendy. I think for brands, application development for specific platforms falls into the latter.<\/p>\n
Maybe we will get to a day when every brand, regardless of what products or services they offer, needs an app for each platform. Maybe the day will come consumers will be willing and excited to install an application from every company because companies actually create apps that are useful, interesting, and necessary. But that day isn\u2019t here yet.<\/p>\n
Following are some thoughts for brands who are not native technology companies and considering developing an\u00a0 app for a specific platform:<\/p>\n
Mobile is huge, but it\u2019s the icing on the cake of a solid digital strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n Convergence devices have been here for years, but they\u2019ve finally been adopted outside of geeks and tech savvy professionals by a more general consumer audience. This is great news but it doesn\u2019t immediately mean to drop everything and develop an app because you can. You need a solid digital strategy in place first and your app needs to play into it. An app is very tactical for brands where the app itself is not core to your business, it needs to fit within a larger framework.<\/p>\n It\u2019s flash websites all over again: no \u201cso what\u201d factor<\/strong><\/p>\n Brands developing apps to me feels a lot like the adoption of useless and obnoxious Flash websites years ago. In the same way you used to go to a brand\u2019s flash website\u00a0once<\/em>, play around and be done (if you ever went at all) it\u2019s the same thing with an app. In both cases there was no utility \u2014 all\u00a0style and no substance.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be fooled: developing a good app isn\u2019t cheap or easy<\/strong><\/p>\n A lot of brands seem to think having an application is somehow enough. That no matter what it is, \u201cif you built it, they will come.\u201d Of course this is ridiculous, there already exists a long tail of applications to solve many issues. So brands, do your research and see what already exists: you\u2019re in no position to compete if there is an entire company focused on developing and iterating an app in your category, and you\u2019re just building one for marketing purposes. You\u2019ll never win.<\/p>\n A mobile-optimized version of your site \/ distribution of content may\u00a0 be enough<\/strong><\/p>\n An app might not even be necessary for you: perhaps simply a solid mobile version of your site \/ blog, as well as content distribution and promotion through mobile-friendly platforms is sufficient. Even if you can get people to install your app, you may be diluting yourself to thinking users are going to open it every day (whereas they may open Twitter, Reddit or other apps daily). Especially for brands who don\u2019t produce software. Just because so many have app frenzy doesn\u2019t mean you need to fall into it \u2013 think through the use case carefully. Building an app just to build an app is silly.<\/p>\n (Most) Facebook \/ social apps: hilariously bad, potentially hurting your brand<\/strong><\/p>\n So many brands have created utterly useless Facebook applications. In many cases, they\u2019ve paid a development firm to create something, launched it, and thought it some magical solution to their social strategy. In reality most branded Facebook apps (as one example of social apps) are a joke and nearly total waste of resources. Many of the brands doing this don\u2019t even properly nurture a community in Facebook using their native business pages which are already powerful. It\u2019s easier for them to throw money at someone to build an app and think they\u2019re done (instead of actually getting social with their customers).<\/p>\n So many are crazed over apps, but most brands and marketers need a reality check and to think critically about what they\u2019re doing here. When there is so much companies already\u00a0get wrong\u00a0with\u00a0digital marketing, building an app is actually the\u00a0last<\/em>\u00a0thing many marketers should be thinking about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For many marketers, shiny object syndrome is a way of life. They just can\u2019t help it, as they don\u2019t have … <\/p>\n