Mobile apps face stiff competition from competing brand apps. It is important to distinguish your app from all the others in your space. Your ability to set your app apart largely depends on your branding.

A strong brand with effective marketing can help build recognition, inspire confidence, and provide customers with a positive experience. Here’s a branding checklist that will help your app stand out from the crowd.

What exactly is a brand?

The term “brand” can be hard to define because of its abstract nature. The renowned advertising pioneer David Ogilvy defined a brand as “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes.” A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a good or service.

A brand reflects what consumers believe about a product or service, and how it makes them feel when they come into contact with it. Branding provides products and services with an identity and gives customers something to connect with and relate to.

A brand generally helps to create a cohesive customer experience. It includes a name, logo, design, tagline, brand voice, and other elements. Branding supports marketing initiatives and should be considered at every level of the marketing process.

For instance, we know what to anticipate when we consider the branding of an organization like Cafe Javas. The company’s color scheme and font are well known to us, and they are used on every product they sell and everywhere they sell it. When you download the app for the first time, you usually know what to expect visually.

Companies use branding to create a consistent, appealing, and demanding experience that customers will find alluring.

From the moment a customer discovers your app in the App Store or on Google Play, your branding sets the stage for the user’s experience. You must take into account several factors when creating a brand for your app.

Here’s a quick checklist to ensure you hit all the important notes.

1. App icon and logo

Your icon and logo are interactive brand visuals that represent your app across several platforms. Icons and logos are visual symbols that can be the same or different but must always be consistent. You’ll want to make sure they are simple and identifiable.

2. Written text content

Every piece of content on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store pages should adhere to a consistent style and branding. The words you use and the tone you write in are just as crucial to your brand as your logo and app symbol. It’s crucial to consistently maintain your branding throughout the copy you use in both the app and other communications (i.e. email, social posts, etc.) The tagline you select for your app should succinctly describe your app’s core benefits, to your target audience because you’ll use it across a variety of marketing platforms, including your website, landing pages, emails, and social media.

3. Graphics

Given that the majority of apps are used on devices, such as smartphones, clear graphics are essential to your app’s identity. Character counts may restrict your written material, making pictures crucial to your branding. To provide a uniform experience within and outside the app, everything from your app’s icon to unique graphics, branded interactive features, and images should be on-brand. Your app should be represented consistently across all marketing channels.

4. User onboarding

Your branding extends to the techniques and interactions you employ to bring new users to your app. This includes the use of graphics and copy. These contribute to brand loyalty and provide a satisfying user experience at an important entry point.

5. Social media

Social media helps build brand recognition and awareness, and it’s an effective marketing medium for your direct sales and advertising efforts. It should be regarded as a crucial step in the branding process because it has a significant impact on how your brand is perceived.

Conclusion

From the very first interaction a customer has with your company, your app’s branding is one of your primary ways of building a great experience with your target user. You’ll discover that consistent branding is a powerful tool for fostering brand loyalty when applied to your app and all of your marketing platforms.