Now you are probably thinking it, so we’ll just put it out there to clear the air:
‘I’ve got all of my channels… why do I need an app?’
Good question. And of course you are right; maybe it isn’t the right approach for your organisation, but then again with the massive growth in mobile as a channel it is worth considering.
Just over half of adults in the UK now own a smartphone and 80% of time on mobile is spent inside apps. It is also important to consider that future workforces and external audiences are going to be even more mobile having grown up with the technologies they now accept as part of everyday life.
But, let’s take a step back and consider what we mean by an ‘app’.
An ‘app’ can mean one of two mobile approaches – either a web app or a native app.
What are the differences?
The direction you would wish to go in really depends upon what you want from an app, and of course, an important benefit of a native app over a web app is that it is more secure.
Another mouth to feed?
Yes, having an app means adding another consideration into your communications plans; however it doesn’t have to mean any extra work unless you want it to.
Sequel think of an app not as a channel, but as a medium for delivery. You are already writing the news, articles and stories needed as content, so an app gives you another direction to push your message with very little additional work.
We’ve recently developed a product that will take news from your intranet, ESN or microsite and deliver it, securely, to your audience via a native app for IOS, Android, Windows and even Blackberry – giving you the ability to share your message further easily. This is an exciting step forwards for Sequel and comes as a response to the move in internal communications towards mobile as a key, even primary, medium to share messages.
So, to go back to the question, why do you need an app for your comms?
It all comes down to choice. As Charles Fenoughty, Sequel’s Digital Director says, “An app allows you to embrace mobile technology and offer choice and improved functionality to an audience that, because of their social lives, are used to consuming their content in their preferred way.”
You are giving your audiences, internal or external, the opportunity to read your content not only how they wish to, but when they wish to: be it on the bus, in a queue for Starbucks* or at home in bed. At the same time you are enabling yourself to spread your message a lot further to remote workers and those without easy access to your other communications, such as your intranet or microsite.
There are many opportunities to be had from using an app and making the most of mobile, and a lot of organisations are moving to a ‘mobile first’ approach – where how their websites, intranets or other online platforms look and work on a mobile is the first priority before desktop. Though ultimately any decision will depend upon your organisation, including your budget, audience and current channels to name just a few factors, disregarding apps completely is a risky move given the growth of mobile and the anticipated future moves in that direction.
*Other coffee brands are available.