Marketing & Branding Your Web App - Alex Hunter at FOWA
Posted on Feb 25, 2010
Alex Hunter (@cubedweller) spoke at FOWA Miami 2010 about marketing
and branding your site. He says that most developers think marketing is
the "cancer on the nutsack of creativity." He says you cannot afford to
ignore your brand and you, as a developer, should care and think about
marketing more than you do. The Internet is now creating applications
and platforms that allow users to directly connect with brands.
Alex
asks, "who do you love?" in terms of brand - what brand are you devoted
to? He says you need to think about how to get your users to connect to
your product in that manner. The marketplace is crowded and you have to
work hard to separate yourself. Users have a really loud voice nowadays
- they can offer immediate and constant feedback and direction directly
back to the brand. We as a generation have been fitted with "bullshit
detectors" and we are always skeptical of any ad or product endorsement.
With
the advent of social media, the line between brand and "us" has been
blurred and people have become very connected with brands. You have to
care enough to risk your personal reputation for your product. He asks,
"Are you willing to risk your reputation for your project?" Its not just
about founders and CEO's. Every person on your team can go out there
and evangelize if you really believe in your product.
Alex
doesn't think you should worry about message consistency and shut people
down. You have to extend the reach of your product through engagement -
by creating personality and passion around the product. Also, be
willing to own up to your mistakes publicly (on your blog or elsewhere).
Give names and faces of your team on the site and in communications and
let them share directly. This breeds loyalty. He says that Digg, for
example, does this very well - but you don't have to be as big as Digg
to create loyalty.
Branding is not about the name and logo. You
need to define your values because they can guide both who you are and
who you will be down the road. These don't mean things like "fun,
ethical, challenging." He says you really need to think about what these
mean to your users. Take the best of what your team, vision and product
represent and create an identity - and give it the time it deserves.
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