Employee mobile app

Internal Communication

Internal Communication: Branding Your Employee Mobile App

Picture of Dane H. By   Dane H.  

These days, having an employee mobile app for your internal communication and employee advocacy platform isn’t just a good idea—it’s practically mandatory. After all, the average person checks their mobile device 47 times a day. Having a mobile presence just makes sense. But what’s the best way to go about getting one? Some companies try to do this in-house, but our advice is to go with the pros and use a trusted software developer. In this article, we’ll discuss some reasons why.


When it comes to employee communication, mobile matters.

With so many sources of information competing for your employees’ attention, its crucial to be always present and to be always top of mind. And the obvious way to do that is with mobile technology. These are the benefits that come with having a mobile app:

Everyone has a smartphone.

From the CEO to the factory line workers, everyone is going to have a portable smartphone. Which means a mobile app is the best way to make sure everyone is on top of company news. And your link with them will follow them throughout the day, at their desk or away from it.

More than half of all web consultations are “mobile.”

If they’re going to be using their portable phone anyway for business, then it makes sense to be part of the total package. They’re already using their smartphone to do company work. So be part of it.

You can send notifications.

If you have something urgent to say, a mobile notification is the best way to ensure that everyone is going to receive the message. That little buzz or alert will let them know.

It becomes part of their routine.

Today’s workers check their phones throughout the day. And most are already checking their various social networks over their coffee breaks, during their commutes, etc. Adding a mobile app makes digesting company news part of that routine.

Take advantage of the built-in hardware.

With a mobile phone, you’re automatically going to have access to a camera, a microphone, a list of contacts, etc. All of these can play a crucial role in employee communication, especially in an age when videos and images are more important than ever.


But just a mobile app is not enough. It needs to be branded.

Launching a mobile app is an important first step in upgrading your employee communication platform. But to get the most out of it, it helps if the app is branded and custom-tailored to your company. Putting in that specialized touch has its advantages:

Use your own visual brand identity.

Rather than a generic interface, you can have an attractive, intuitive experience that matches the logos, colors, and language of the brand. This will make employees feel more at home, like they belong, thus helping with adoption and engagement.

Keep messaging coherent.

As hinted at above, it’s important that coherence is maintained. And if your mobile app looks like your company’s website, you’ll promote the feeling that all messaging is part of a larger, corporate whole.

Improve awareness and visibility.

Beyond the functional aspects of a branded mobile app, it will also simply increase brand awareness and visibility. With users interacting with their mobile devices multiple times a day, having that branding there will enhance the perception of the brand itself.

Customize your notifications.

It makes sense: if the push notifications and messages match the brand and its voice, then employees will be more open and responsive. Generic messaging isn’t going to be doing anyone any favors. Having a unique brand personality will increase the engagement.


And it’s best to let a professional vendor handle it.

When it comes time to develop a branded mobile app for your employee communication platform, our suggestion is to let an experienced software vendor take the lead; someone with a full and experienced team of developers who can address your company’s needs, provide frequent and effective updates, adequate sign-in security, and link ancillary apps so that everything functions as a coherent whole. There will be costs involved, but the benefits are well worth it. Reasons to go with a professional vendor include:

A matter of experience and large development teams.

If you try to do it on your own, you’ll be learning from scratch to a certain extent, and with limited resources to devote to it. But a good vendor/developer will have the experience as well as the human resources to create precisely these sorts of branded mobile apps.

At Sociabble, for example, we have a team dedicated to the development and updates of our mobile application, which can be customized to fit specific corporate colors. You combine the advantage of having a robust and secure application, deployed for hundreds of thousands of users, with an app that’s still customizable to your brand identity, an option preferred by companies like Vinci Energies.

They’ll help manage the whole process, including security and updates.

If you work with an experienced vendor, they’ll handle the access to social networks, the various software updates, the necessary security protocols, and the availability at the app store. In essence, they’ll take care of all the complicated details so you don’t have to, creating a seamless experience which in turn will help with employee adoption.

Reactivity and speed will be optimized.

Obviously, you want a branded app that’s top of the line and fast as lightning—not something that’s awkward and clunky. And when you let the pros do it, you’re more likely to get something that’s streamlined and a pleasure to use. Speed and ease of use both matter a great deal.


Conclusion: Yes, you need a branded mobile app. Yes, the pros can make it a breeze.

With the role that mobile devices play in the everyday lives of most employees, it’s detrimental NOT to have a presence. If companies don’t do it, they’re missing out. But having a mobile app is even more effective when its tailor-made for your company and branded to match. A unique, portable ecosystem that connects employees to the information and experience of the brand, allowing the company to stay top of mind, and encouraging employees to be informed and engaged. And when it comes to that step, finding the right professional software developer to handle the task will bring the ease and performance of that app to a whole new level.

To learn how Sociabble can help your company get its branded mobile app off the ground, click here for a free demo.


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