1. Mobilize Your Brand, It Pays Off!
by Andrea Sames, September 2014
A brand is a pulse of a company and customers interact
with it every day across print, media, online and social
platforms. The ever growing mobile industry is changing
the way customers interact with, and purchase, their
favorite brand’s products. In this article I will provide
three important suggestions to build your online brand.
Let’s start with a look at a June 2014 Inc. article about Lolly Wolly Doodle (LWD), a children’s
clothing company. In 2010, CEO Brandi Temple tested new children’s wear designs on the LWD
Facebook page and gauged fans response. If the sample tested well they would manufacture
the clothing designs to meet those orders and ship to their customers. In the brand’s early days,
the CEO interacted with her customers via Facebook and responded to customer wishes for
colors and style variations. She grew the company slowly and her audience helped by also
posting images of their children in the cute outfits from LWD. It all grew word of mouth by
moms posting on Facebook. The company currently has over $10 million in sales and 946,462
likes on their Facebook page. Lolly Wolly Doodle has no brick and mortar store or online
presence other than the Facebook page and the website.
This is a good story for the first suggestion:
1. Make sure you have a social presence. Expand your brand conversation online via Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest and other social platforms to connect your brand with your audience and
listen and learn from their feedback. This takes time. Post some test messages targeted at one
or more of your audience groups, learn from the response and adjust your posts. Also, use
industry data to your advantage. For instance, we know that over 93% of the millennial
generation has purchased a product after hearing about it from a family member or friend. And
over 41% then talk about it online. So listen carefully to what is being said online – you want to
have a conversation and be a resource for your customers. And make it easy for customers to
do business with you by offering free shipping. Currently, 47% of online transactions use free-
shipping to keep customers coming back. 1
2. Participate in the mobile conversation. Studies show having a strong social relationship with
your customers online is important but it’s also important that you keep in mind that your
target audience may be viewing their social and internet pages via a mobile device rather than
their desktop. According to a speech given by Mary Meeker of KPCB at the recent Internet

2. Trends 2014 Code Conference, 19% of internet page views in North America (global web usage
is at 25%) are initiated by a mobile device. It is also predicted that 50% of all online sales will
come from social and mobile by 2015.2
3. Build a website that is mobile friendly. Now that you have engaged with your customers
online and understood that each day, more users will be looking at your site via a tablet or
Smartphone your company should have a mobile or responsive website. If a website is difficult
to navigate, those viewers will go elsewhere. That adds up to lost opportunities and lost
revenue. A good user experience – via any device – is key to expanding your brand, retaining
users on your website and ultimately, converting those users into customers.
Twenty percent of mobile users are viewing with a screen resolution as small as 320 x 480
pixels. A responsive or mobile web site is needed for these smaller screen sizes and allows the
user to have a better experience when navigating with their finger instead of their mouse.
In closing:
Be social – Present your brand as contemporary and current. Study your social pages and
respond to your customers online. If they are reaching out with questions or comments, build
on that relationship.
Be mobile – Make adjustments to increase user interaction and keep them coming back to your
site as a resource.
Be responsive -Analyze how users interact with your website. Review analytics to determine
what types of devices are used to access your site and the pages they visit. If your audience is
on-the-go and needs information quickly then it makes sense to make the move to a responsive
or mobile site.
By staying on top of trends and listening to your customer your bottom line will respond.
1. Adweek, August 11, 2014 issue 2. Inc., June 2014 issue