“There’s an app for that”, the slogan from one of Apple’s initial iPhone advertising campaigns is even truer now than it was when it aired. It seems that almost anything you can possibly want to do on a smartphone can be done through an app. Apps make technology simplier to use giving you instant access to information or tools without having to type it into the Google search bar and companies around the world are leveraging this technology to help grow their businesses.
If you have watched a TV commercial in the last several months you may have seen a small blue and black circle icon instructing you to “Shazam” the commercial for more information. Shazam is an app with the technology to take a sound bite and use it to connect you to more information on the web. If you follow the link it takes you to more information about the commercial you just saw or to some other web content the company wants to link you to. These tags are just one way that companies are attempting to take consumer involvement beyond the 30-sec clip.
In today’s society of social media and instant connection consumers are no longer willing to sit and watch a flashy television commercial and buy a product or service based on that alone. Consumers want more; they want to be reached on a personal level, made to feel like the company engages with the individual not just a mass audience, and they want information at their fingertips.
For large multimillion dollar corporations there are many options to achieve this interaction but for smaller companies a TV commercial with a Shazam icon that costs thousands is likely not possible. That is where social media can be so important. Smaller companies can use social media to reach out to their consumer and provide them not only with company specific information but also with industry relevant information that will keep consumers engaged and coming back for more.
The key is to ask yourself, is your company interacting with customers in a meaningful way? If not what needs to be done to ensure that your customers feel like they are being reached on a personal level.
-Gabrielle DePoister, Marketing Intern
