January 2016 - BuildFire

Content Marketing 101

“Content is king” is a mantra that marketers have invoked for the past few years—and for good reason. Content marketing is a new breed of marketing designed to work around the inherent flaws in conventional advertising; it’s the driving force behind digital marketing channels such as SEO and social media. It’s not a stretch to say content marketing is the key to a successful digital marketing strategy.

If you’re new to content marketing, or not sure where to start, take heart. You need to have fresh ideas. This primer will walk you through content marketing in 2021 and give you concrete steps to implement a new content strategy or improve the one you already have—no matter your budget or the size of your marketing team. Ready to begin?

What Is Content Marketing?

The Content Marketing Institute gives this rather formal definition:

“Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

More simply, content marketing provides prospects and customers with interesting and useful information that answers questions, addresses needs, or engages emotions to help your business meet its marketing goals. Content marketing is a non-pushy, authentic way to establish relationships and share your brand’s story.

The concept has been with us for decades, actually. In the old days, a brand like Nestle might print a recipe or two on the back of a package of chocolate chips or put an ad in a magazine featuring fool-proof fudge. Today, they’ll publish an interview with a chocolatier on their blog, use a Pinterest board to share recipes and tips, put cooking demonstrations and how-to videos on their YouTube channel, and run a holiday cookie photo contest on Instagram. The concept is the same, it’s the tactics that evolve.

Here are some eye-popping content marketing stats:

92% of businesses engage in content marketing.
70% of marketers plan to increase their content creation this year.
The average company spends 28% of its overall marketing budget on content marketing; the most effective marketers spend 37% on content.
55% of businesses plan to increase their content marketing budget this year.

No matter what business you’re in, you need content marketing in order to compete.

Defining Your Objectives

What do you want your content to accomplish for your business? Defining your objectives helps you align your content strategy to help you achieve them. Here are just a few examples:

Establish thought leadership to build credibility, respect, and influence in your industry
Generate new leads and prospects for sales and marketing
Create awareness of, and interest in, your products or services
Build and/or improve public opinion about your business and products
Develop a large following of friends and fans who engage with your brand on social media

From here, you’ll decide on how content marketing will fit into your overall marketing scheme. A sample strategy for building paid memberships might be:

Newsletter → Blog Post→ Social Media⇒ Paid Membership Site

A strategy to drive B2B product sales might look more like this:

Journal Article→ White Paper→ Case Studies→ Product Demo⇒ Sales/Estimate/Quote

An effective strategy usually combines several content tactics:

blog posts
video demos
podcasts
articles
newsletters
white papers
case studies
infographics
ebooks
webinars
interviews

As you craft your strategy, keep in mind the difficulty factor in creating each type of content, how it fits with your overall objectives, and if your target audience is receptive to information in that format.

Set SMART Content Marketing Goals

Every piece of content you publish should be aligned to a particular marketing goal, and those goals should be SMART:

S – Specific (It’s attached to a particular need or objective.)

M – Measurable (You have objective, not subjective, metrics.)

A – Attainable (You can realistically expect to achieve it or at least come pretty close.)

R – Relevant (It furthers an overall business objective.)

T – Time-bound (You have a predetermined deadline or end-date.)

Avoid vanity metrics such as “likes” and retweets; in themselves, they aren’t aligned with your marketing goals. Think in concrete terms like traffic, leads, conversions, sales—objectives shared across multiple teams throughout the organization.

Develop a Plan for Content Creation and Execution

Once you know the type of content you want to publish, you need to develop a plan to create it. It’s not enough to jot down a rough outline and some notes; the most effective content marketers report having a documented content plan that is shared across the organization and for which they are accountable. Take the time to complete a step-by-step roadmap that enables you to monitor your efforts and track each piece of content throughout its lifecycle.

Your plan should answer the following questions:

➤How often will you publish content? For some businesses, this may mean daily blog posts, twice daily social media updates, a weekly podcast, and a monthly video tutorial. Others might need a steady stream of lead magnets (e-books, white papers, etc.) and a couple of fairly evergreen product demos.

When you’ve hammered out your content needs, plug them into a content calendar you can share with your marketing team. That way, everyone is on the same page, deadlines don’t get missed, and you avoid duplication of effort.

➤Who is responsible for content ideas? If you’re pushing out a steady stream of content, you’ll need an equally steady stream of content ideas. In most cases, the marketing department does all the brainstorming, but this excludes some excellent sources of content ideas.

Your customer service manager, for example, could give you some useful ideas for a Q&A to address the most common questions the department handles, or a how-to video to solve a persistent challenge. Maybe your tech guru could write a monthly rant or product review. The point is not to limit ideation to a small team of marketers, but to cultivate ideas throughout the organization. Just be sure that someone has final editorial control so that your content ideas align with your marketing goals.

One thing to consider: In many cases, it’s helpful to write a creative brief for each piece of content, especially if you’re using multiple creatives or freelancers along the way. The brief should include an outline of the project and its intended purpose, the target audience, the name and role of each person involved (writer, photographer, editor, etc.), and deadlines for each part of the process.

➤Who is responsible for actually creating the content? Once you have your content ideas and content calendar, you need to assign responsibility for actually creating the content. Each person involved in a particular piece should know where he fits into the overall project and who is ultimately responsible for delivering the finished product.

➤What has ultimate editorial authority? For many, if not most, of your pieces of content, final approval rests with the marketing department itself—blog posts, social media updates, newsletters, and landing pages are usually the province of the marketing staff.

However, once you move into high-value assets such as white papers, case studies, and product demos, input and approval from other departments is essential. For these complex assets, write up a chain of command and get sign-off from relevant department heads. Have a process in place to resolve the inevitable differences of opinion and establish a single person as the final authority for the finished piece.

Identifying Your Audience

One of the reasons content marketing is effective is because it speaks to readers as individuals—if you’re writing content to address a group of people, you’re doing it wrong. To write really effective content, you need to identify exactly who it is you’re writing to, at a very granular, nitty-gritty level. At this point, it’s helpful to develop an avatar, or persona, who represents your target audience; this is the person you’ll write your content for. Start with demographics:

age
gender
educational level
income
occupation
family status and/or size
geographic location

Then add in intangibles:

values
personality traits
lifestyle choices
hobbies and interests

Once you’ve identified an ideal representative of your target audience, your avatar, give it a name and address all your content to him or her. Your avatar is not the same as your buyer persona; your avatar will help you write more focused, engaging content that advances your marketing goals.

Next, you’ll need to find out where your target audience lives online. Here’s a handy infographic with key demographics for the popular social media sites; you can also use paid services like Forrester to help you track the social behaviors of your own customers so you know exactly where they go for content online. This will shape your content creation choices.

Matching Content to Your Marketing Funnel

Image via Flickr

Most marketers have some version of the digital marketing funnel that covers the four basics: Awareness/discovery, consideration/acquisition, conversion/transaction, relationship/retention. The beauty of content marketing is that it works at every level, from top to bottom.

Awareness/Discovery

Goals: Educating people, generating interest, indirect customer acquisition.

At this stage, content marketing is about understanding what customers are interested in and want to know, and delivering that information in a manner that delights them or piques their curiosity. It’s less about you (and your brand) and more about them. Educational content, viral content, shareable content—big wins at this stage of content marketing.

Content tactics:

blog posts
quizzes, games, tools, calculators
infographics
videos
newsletters
how-tos and in-depth guides
podcasts and webinars
ebooks

Real-world example:

A pet supply shop specializing in premium organic pet foods and supplements publishes a quiz about common ingredients in commercial pet food on its blog and promotes it on its Facebook page, posts photos and a recipe for homemade dog treats on Pinterest, and records an interview with a local vet about optimal nutrition for older dogs for its monthly podcast.

Consideration/Acquisition

Goals: Building trust, offering solutions, direct customer acquisition.

At this point, you are highlighting problems your prospects and customers might have and offer your products and services as trustworthy solutions. At this stage, you want to offer information that helps differentiate you from your competitors and answers questions about how you can solve their problems. You’re not really selling at this point, but you are positioning your brand.

Content tactics:

case studies
product descriptions and data sheets
how-to guides featuring your product or service
product demos and videos
white papers
ROI calculators

Real-world example:

A residential heating and air conditioning company creates an in-depth guide showing homeowners how to save money on energy costs. One section details the importance of having air ducts professionally sealed, a service the company offers. They offer the guide on their company website and promote it in their newsletter, blog, and on social media.

Conversion/Transaction

Goals: Communicating your unique value proposition, getting prospects/customers to take a desired action.

Leads at this point in the funnel are ready to pull the trigger, they just need a little nudge—something that justifies and rationalizes the decision in their mind. Now is the time to pull out the stops in your sales pitch with clear copy that emphasizes your USP.

Content tactics:

testimonials
product reviews
product comparisons
estimates/quotes
ROI calculators
detailed product descriptions

Real-world example:

A software company creates a matrix comparing the features of competing products in its particular market niche. It also produces a series of video testimonials from companies of varying sizes currently using their product. Finally, it designs a pricing calculator that gives clear, straightforward information about initial and ongoing monthly costs.

Relationship/Retention

Goals: Building customer loyalty, creating brand ambassadors, increasing customer lifetime value.

All marketers know it’s cheaper to keep existing customers than to find new ones, and this stage of the funnel is all about relationship-building and retention. It’s about creating loyal customers who tell others about your brand.

Content tactics:

onboarding emails
troubleshooting tips
customer help and support materials
loyalty programs
special offers
insider tips and how-tos

Real-world example:

An online cosmetics retailer invites customers to join their loyalty program in their purchase confirmation emails. It sends customers an email when their orders ship and sends delivery confirmation notifications via SMS text or mobile app. They use marketing automation to email customers a special birthday discount or free gift, and to alert customers when a favorite product goes on sale.

Creating the Right Content

There are three main elements in formulating a good content marketing strategy:

Ideation—coming up with right ideas for compelling content.
Format—matching your ideas to the appropriate channels.
Creative—identifying actual content creators.

These three pieces are the same whether you’re a small business owner handling marketing on your own or a large company with a 10-person marketing team—it’s just a matter of scale.

Ideation

The first step is coming up with topics that your target customer is interested in and wants to read about. In some cases, identifying good topics is as simple as brainstorming with a co-worker or a friend or reading questions and comments from your customers to see what’s on their mind; some niches are much easier than others. For other businesses, however, a little market research is in order.

What topics are your competitors writing about?
What content is getting buzz on social media? There are free tools like Sumo to help you identify popular content.
What’s trending in your industry right now?

Keep this checklist in mind as you consider topics for content creation:

Format

The best content ideas can be repurposed and cross-promoted across multiple marketing channels, but it’s still important to match your content ideas to the unique characteristics of each platform. Want to write about gluten-free baking alternatives to wheat flour? A long-form article is great for a newsletter or blog post, a recipe for gluten-free hazelnut torte is a natural for Pinterest, and an infographic is an eye-catching option to tempt your Facebook and Twitter followers.

Don’t forget that some consumers prefer visual content; Google+ hangouts, Slideshare presentations, screencasting are all interesting alternatives to written pieces.

Creative

Identifying who will be responsible for actually creating your content can be one of the most challenging decisions you’ll make as a content marketer. In many cases, you have the talent in-house to create interesting content—think of an interview with your resident tech geek or an in-depth look at pending legislation by your internal subject matter expert, for example.

Most marketers will have to outsource at least some of their creative work at some point or other, however. Outsourcing offers you an opportunity to tap deeper expertise and, in the case of many guest authors, a broad social following that amplifies the impact of your posts. In the next section, we’ll look at budgeting and asset allocation for content development and when outsourcing makes sense.

5 Smart Ways to Find Content Marketing Ideas

As much as you want to put out stellar content on a regular basis, it can be tiring. Sometimes, you just run out of ideas to write about and create anything with.

Especially when you’re a small team or alone, the idea will can dry up pretty quick. But most of the time, it’s just a matter of having something trigger your brain into creativity again. Taking and sharing ideas aren’t all bad. They aren’t bad at all.

1. Use questions to spur new ideas

I think the biggest reason we run out of ideas is because we always go about the same process of creating and finding them. A great way to shake things up a bit is to ask questions to yourself. If you’re part of a team, collectively answer these questions.

This collection of questions help you to see things in a different perspective, think of your industry in ways you’ve never before, find information gaps in your content strategy and overall kick your content ideation to high gear.

� What do prospect always ask about?

� What’s a question you always prepare for but never gets asked?

� What are some unfounded beliefs in your industry?

� What are the last points of doubt of someone who’s already willing to buy?

� What isn’t being asked around here?

� What’s something we’ve always believed that isn’t really true?

� What are the common complaints in your industry?

� What’s something that can be improved in your niche, culture-wise?

2. Social media: Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are wildly popular across all industries.

Doesn’t matter if you’re from “serious” niches like executive coaching or physical therapy, there is a Facebook group that caters to your area of business.

In these groups, engagement is quite high—people are commenting, asking questions, sharing experiences and overall just being a good online community.

Now how do use Facebook groups to get new content ideas? On Facebook, type your industry or field in the search bar and click Groups.

For example, you’re running a woodworking shop or supply store. Let’s search for woodworking.

Join the top groups. Look at the number of people in them. I think if it’s less than 500 people, there’s not much to get from the group. That’s not a hard rule though. If it’s a Public group, you can snoop around before deciding to join. If the engagement is low, better skip the group for now. Remember, we are talking about idea generation and not community building for this post.

If there are Public groups, you can immediately get in and start scanning conversations, shared posts and links. From there, you can get an idea of mundane and common concerns on the ground level.

Let’s see what woodworkers like to talk about.

After a quick scan, it’s apparent that woodworkers love showing off their work.

Why not create a post for your audience teach them how to showcase their work online? Or photography suggestions for woodworking pieces?

Of course, joining the conversation is the strategic approach. Post questions, share your ideas—it will pay off when you gain the trust of this highly targeted group.

3. Online tool: Google News

Who knew? Google News isn’t just a bland Google feature. If you’ve had the chance to use it, you’ll know what I mean.

Google News is a nifty Google product that shows you the latest news. Now, when we think of news, it’s either politics, economics, or any of the more traditional topics that scream news.

Google News is a bit forward thinking. First, it covers ALL searchable topics and will show you the latest news piece and even blog posts. Second, not all posts make it to Google news. They only show high-quality and reputable websites.

You probably know where I’m going with this: Use Google News to find out what the best of the best are talking about. From there, you’ll surely get a topic you can build on using your own perspective.

Of course, if your niche is politics or sports, you might get good ideas from the frontpage of Google News. If you’re from a very targeted niche though, you need to utilize Google News’ robust search algorithm.

Say you are a home care facility and you’ve run out of ideas to write about in your blog. Go to news.google.com and just type a random word that’s related to your niche. In this case, let’s use homecare.

The search will return news from your niche—latest technology, new practices, good blog posts. It’s never a bad idea to keep yourself sped up to the top tier. Synthesize the ideas and come up with something from your perspective!

4. Social Listening Tool: BuzzSumo

I love BuzzSumo.

Ok, so now that we have the bias out of the way, let me show you how awesome BuzzSumo is for coming up with content ideas.

Here’s what Noah Kagan of AppSumo said about BuzzSumo:

Buzzsumo is also a great place to see which topics related to your business get the most attention. Do more of what works.

BuzzSumo is a social listening-content marketing swiss knife. You can find out the best people to reach out to in terms of expertise and audience size, you get data as to what’s trending at the moment, and for the purposes of this post, BuzzSumo shows you which pieces of content works in your industry and around the topics you create content for.

They don’t stop at topics, they include information on the content type (articles, inforgraphics, video, etc.) that works best in your niche. They have various filters like location, language and dates so you can adjust according to what you’re looking for.

For example, we’re searching for popular posts around the coffee niche. I typed in coffee in the BuzzSumo search bar and the results page looked like this:

Right smack in the results, you’ll get the most shared content in the last year (default filter). Just by looking at what’s popular, you can get an idea what you can create for your own business. Looks like for coffee, the newer and more sustainable practices are widely-shared. Of course, the top post is viral-worthy and quirky.

Take what you can from these top posts and transform it into your own content that fits your context.

5. Read industry blogs: Leaders, competitors, new players

With the boom of content marketing, it’s tough to differentiate yourself from your peers. Now, that has to have you wondering.

If I have to differentiate myself from my peers, why would I turn to competition to get content ideas?

Well, frankly, a lot of the content out there flat-out sucks. If there’s one business who would make improving content its advocacy, that business would make a killing.

So, here’s what you can do.

Subscribe to newsletters

Carefully choose who you subscribe to. Emails today are full of noise so make sure to vet blogs before signing up. You don’t want to waste precious minutes going over emails that just don’t add anything to your life. Blogs that send one email digest a week are generally better in my experience. They take time to curate the content they share to your personal space (inbox) and these people are carrying out elaborate email marketing funnels so you’re sure that they’re providing your value because they want you to buy-in.

Create Twitter lists

Remember, not everyone with more than 10,000 subscribers is an influencer. With so many tools out there meant to grow your Twitter following, a lot of the profile followers are just vanity, meaning they don’t bring value at all. So, what you can do is take the handful of people you already follow and whose content you trust and go over their profiles to see who they follow. Follow those people. Group them into lists based on niche/industry/specialization. When you’re running out of ideas, check the feed of the list. You’re sure to get a topic or two that can feed your imagination.

Set aside an hour a day for industry-related reading

Even when you’re not in ideation mode, knowing what’s up in your industry is a MUST. Keeping your idea funnel full is the best way to escape running out of ideas ever. Make it a practice to internal brainstorm as part of this reading time. In today’s world, it’s easy for our minds to go numb because of the info bombardment. Don’t let that be you.

How To Create Epic Mobile Marketing Content That Works

Are you aware of the trending and growing mobile device usage by your target audience? What are your next plan of action?

In the absence or a cursor, you’re faced with the challenge of getting people to read your content on their mobile devices.

You can’t possibly ignore mobile users, considering that 77% of mobile searches are performed at work or home – and majority of these searches are likely from your ideal customers.

Mobile apps are handy for consumers, too. With the click of a button, people can access any website and learn on the go.

GateGuru reported that their mobile apps have reached a staggering 82 million users. More so, the mobile usage in the US since 2009 has experienced a steady growth.

All these statistics are pointing to one truth: “create content that will engage your audience when and where they are.”

Trust me, what you need to increase targeted traffic to your site, acquire leads and be at the top of your game is an ‘epic’ mobile marketing strategy.

So let’s get started…

A case with epic content

The word epic is overused. It’s become a cliché, because most content marketers throw it about without a deep understanding of its essence.

Obviously, the first rule of content marketing is:

“Create epic content.”

But just how do you do it?

Several articles, videos, podcasts, and ebooks on mobile marketing aren’t epic. Sure, they may offer some value (which every piece of content ought to do), but epic is a level above the basic as we know it.

According to the Dictionary, epic means:

monumental, heroic, grand, long, etc.

Follow me here: content that isn’t grand in today’s competitive era will be drowned. Most digital entrepreneurs are creating content on a daily basis. According to MarketingProfs, 2 million blog posts are written and published every day.

More important, you need to spend just as much time promoting your content as you do creating it, if you ever want to reach a good number of people whose attention span is insignificant (8 seconds).

Without a doubt, knowing how to create and optimize your content for mobile is critical to any campaign – be it PPC, SEO, social media, email, etc.

Interestingly, creating useful and in-depth content from a mobile-first approach will give you an unfair advantage over the competitors.

Mobile content consumption is high. A study by Outbrain found that in Singapore, people consume 52% of their content on a mobile device: that’s more than half of US and Australia consumes via mobile.

So the entirety of epic mobile marketing content is that it should be long-form, truly useful, evergreen, practical, heroic, and better than what others have created.

You don’t have to be in a haste about this – because your prospects are tired of good-enough content. They want to read content that will challenge the status quo, dazzle their minds, invoke emotions, and give them a reason to do business with you rather than the next door business.

Can you do that? What if I walk you through the process, step-by-step, would you gladly embrace and put it work?

I know you will. So without much ado, let’s be strategic.

1. Develop a mobile-first content strategy

If you care about users, then you have to be where they are. You have no option. And the more you delay, the riskier it gets.

First, mobile-first content strategy refers to planning, development, and management of content so that it can influence consumers’ buying decisions as they consume the content on mobile devices, and bring complete satisfaction that helps you (the content creator) meet your organizational goals.

Your content has to be relevant to a specific group of people. Trying to appeal to everyone is a shortcut to failure. Focus on your market, and your mobile-first content strategy will build your business.

A strategy beams light on your path. You don’t stumble or find yourself doing a guess work.

Certainty will become your second nature. Because you have learned from your users what their utmost desire is, and how they want it satisfied through your content.

Though human’s attention span is less than that of a goldfish, but the good news is that they spend more time on the internet.

This means that if you could capture their attention, you can retain them – especially with a heroic and long-form content – like the one you’re reading now.

Mary Meeker released the 2015 Internet Trends Report recently and found that “The Average American Adult spends 5.6 Hours A Day On The Internet” of which 3 hours are spent on mobile.” And each time we use the Smartphone, we spend ½ hour, time spent on Tablets is even higher.

This shift in content consumption via mobile devices has a dramatic impact on user behavior, and results that you see if your strategy is borne out of your desire to help people.

In summary, your mobile-first content strategy should:

i). Leverage existing content channels: Currently, social media networks, newsletters, RSS feeds, etc., are the proven channels that you can leverage to distribute your content.

If you want to access tens of thousands, if not millions of people, you’ll need to step out of your house (your own site), and build networks with like-minded people.

Apart from free channels, if you truly believe in the value of your content, you should launch a PPC campaign and target mobile audience.

Free content distribution will only take you far, but when you integrate paid advertising – your results will be great.

ii). Leverage tools to simplify content distribution: Tools make life easier. Imagine how hectic, and the amount of time it would take to find important sites/information online without Google. Just think about it.

Google is a tool, certainly not for content distribution per se, but it can become a means to an end for your content goals.

Do you still tweet your posts manually? You must have been living under the rock.

Live the digital lifestyle, you can schedule your posts using Buffer, Hootsuite or Sprout Social?

Other tools such as Paper.li, Roojoom, etc., allows you to find, publish and share useful content on the web, and social media.

iii). Streamline your marketing goals: A mobile-first documented content marketing strategy plays an important role in both B2B and B2C companies, because it helps to streamline their goals – their content reach.

The biggest mobile marketing challenge is measuring ROI. Although both small businesses and top brands reach mobile users – but they’re not strategic in measurement.

You need to measure the impact of your content. Using Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) such as page views, mobile views, leads generated, number of links generated, social shares, etc, you can evaluate your marketing programs.

Having a strategy is good, but it’s not enough. You need to document your processes, achievements, and put your goals in front of you all the time. Don’t be like the 48% of B2B marketers who don’t document their content marketing strategy.

So when you creating epic content to target mobile audience, it’s necessary to set milestones, and develop a ‘Plan B’ in case one content type doesn’t deliver the expected result.

Use your findings, user insights, and engagement metrics to streamline your goals. That’s how to scale and thrive in a competitive digital world.

iv). Be dynamic: You need this in your mobile-first content marketing strategy. Who would have thought that mobile consumers will exceed desktop users. As the saying goes, “change is constant.”

Truly, the content that worked last month may not be what your prospects and customers are seeking for right now.

Stay abreast of trends, and adjust accordingly. Be dynamic, because concepts, ideas, tools, and people can change.

When you see a change, do you complain and give up, or you embrace it? Smart marketer adjust, learn new skills and thrive. Why not follow suit?

v). Be consistent: In order to avoid confusion among consumers, you have to be consistent. You don’t see dramatic results when you’re inconsistent at content creation, distribution, networking, etc.

Popular brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Amazon, Ebay, and the like have built a solid credibility, not because they’ve the perfect products, but because they are consistent.

Consistency will bring you to a place of rest; a position where people trust you enough to work with you.

If you’re a freelancer, software developer, information marketer, or whatever business model you have chosen, stay at it.

You started out strong. Consumers are beginning to like you. The question is, will you still be relevant in the next 5 years? Are you after the quick bucks?

Content marketing isn’t a shortcut to living the dot com lifestyle. It’s hard work, and you have to be about your business. Stay consistent. That’s the formula.

vi). Rely heavily on content: 95% of B2B companies use content marketing to drive leads, engagement, and sales.

Your prospects search the web because they want solid information. If the web is powered by content, so will your business.

Per dollar invested, content marketing produces 3 times more leads than PPC. Once you’ve a high-converting funnel, it becomes easier to capture attention, build interest, and nurture a relationship with leads. This ultimately leads to increased sales.

Before InsideOut, a corporate training company embraced content marketing in 2012, they had a challenge at converting site visitors into leads.

I’m sure you know that feeling when your site generates traffic, but none of them is responding to your offer.

What could be the cause?

InsideOut figured this out. They started creating useful, and user-centered content in-house, in order to stay true to the brand values.

They promoted the content via email, social, PR and through their website. Good news: they saw a 20% higher clickthrough rate, and improved lead generation by 388%.

Relying heavily on content will boost your organic traffic. You know that search users are the most targeted leads you should drive to your business.

Brands that invest into content creation, while targeting the right keywords drive long-term organic search results.

For example, Rental History, a B2B company implemented a content strategy after launching a new consumer service, while putting mobile consumers in mind.

They set out to increase organic visitors, spend less on PPC and establish trust with new audience.

The truth is that the right epic content can meet all these goals. And that was exactly what Rental History did – and saw a 400% increase in organic traffic, reduced PPC spends, and the company generates more than half of their sales from organic traffic.

Focus on localized content

Not all content is created equal. Content that converts are created using the right ingredients based on the user behavior.

One of the reasons why you need to create a localized content is because of mobile search intent.

According to Google/Nielsen study we reviewed earlier, 40% of all mobile searches have local intent, and this number continues to grow. And 73% of mobile searches trigger additional action & conversions.

A localized content simply refers to content you create with the aim of appealing to local prospects and customers.

When people use their mobile devices to search online, they’re more likely to respond to a localized content. It begins with your keyword selection.

Here’s how to find some geographic keywords that will enable you create content that are most suitable for people around a specific geographical location:

i). First step: Go to Google AdWords keyword planner. Input your main keyword (e.g. web design) into the suggestion box. Then click on the “Get ideas” button.

ii). Second step: Select/copy one of the keywords (e.g. web design) and plug into the suggestion box. We’re looking for keywords that contains a district, city, country or geo-specific qualifier.

So let’s add “Los Angeles” to the keyword (web design) and see the results:

Now that you’ve got the localized keyword phrases, it’s time to create compelling titles for your content. Here are blog post title examples that you can model:

Los Angeles Website Design: 17 Web Design Strategies That Work

The Top 10 Web Development Company: Los Angeles Agencies

As you can see, the two titles above are localized. The accompanying article, blog post, podcast, video or ebook should be relevant to local consumers as well.

Since you’re talking about Los Angeles or any other city, focus on delivering immense value so that local consumers will refer others to your site the moment they find your useful content.

In like manner, you can use Google Trends to determine the popularity of your target keyword in a given geographical area.

For example, input “mobile marketing” into Google Trend search box. Make sure to select United States as your region of interest. Hit the ‘enter’ button from your keyboard.

In the Google Trend results above, the data shows that if your target market is Utah, including “online marketing” in your title will help you reach more users in that state than in Arizona.

On the other hand, targeting “mobile marketing” will help you reach more people in Alabama, than prospects in Colorado.

One important point, though, is that you also need to find localized social media groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and on discussion boards.

Any platform where you can target a particular group of people who share similar interest is important when creating localized content.

A perfect example of a localized content is found at USNews.com. The target audience is quite broad (Europeans or people interested in European tour destinations).

Follow your audience reading habits:

The explosion in mobile audiences has created a need in the hearts of marketers, who strongly desire to know their audience’s reading habits.

Whether you have plans to distribute content via social media, blog communities, or email – creating content based on how passionate your audience are will go a long way.

According to Email Monday, “45% of email opens occurred on mobile, 36% on desktop and 19% in a webmail client. – Adestra “Top 10 email clients” (March 2015).”

In fact, Android users spent the most time reading emails.

It’s easy to get carried away, and start to create low-quality content just to fill your content editorial calendar – but that should never be the case for you.

Because you want to make impact with every piece of content that you create.

Of course, there is a ready market for your content on mobile devices, but to hit a homerun, your content has to be epic (e.g., long-form, heroic, invaluable).

Convey your message with personality

Achieving success with your content all boils down to the context, not content. This may sound simple, but your writing tone makes all the difference. It creates the mood that’s required in decision making.

Mobile devices were invented to help people connect, communicate and share relevant information.

It doesn’t matter the content type, as long as you’re targeting iPhone, iPad, Tablet and smartphone users, you’ve to convey such message with personality.

Needless to say, if your content is all about you it may not work. Mobile marketing has evolved in the past 3 years.

In the past, you could get away with promotional content, but these mobile consumers are smarter now. Never underestimate what they can do.

Ideally, create your own custom content, and curate relevant and epic content that will help users. Promotional content should be done only when necessary.

Mobile audience want solid information. And they can tell from a distant your intentions.

Sure, the right content can get you qualified leads, improve your brand, and generate dramatic sales. To achieve that, use a personal tone in your content.

Don’t speak as you write, instead “write as you speak.”

Use the word “you” when creating a blog post, article, video, podcast, ebook, etc. Steer clear of the word “I,” and only use it where necessary.

Maybe when you’re sharing a case study. Aside that, it’s irrelevant to talk about yourself. Talk to them.

A personal tone is important, because it will trigger an emotional note in prospects’ minds, and nudges them to share your content willingly.

Conclusion

There you have it. The proven steps on how to create epic mobile marketing content that works. It’s worked for several businesses, both small and big. Your business will not be an exception.

People are consuming content via mobile everyday. You can’t afford to ignore this trend, because it’s not going away. A survey by Yesware Interactive reported that almost half of all email opens happen on a mobile device.

That alone is good news. But if I were in your shoes, I’ll not neglect desktop users, because no matter how trending mobile content consumption is, and will become in the future, people will continue to search the web from their PCs.

Target both desktop and mobile users who are motivated consumers. Don’t struggle to crack the mobile marketing code. Businesses who do probably don’t know their audience enough.

So the formula is to understand your target audience. Adopt a mobile responsive design, and create content specifically for mobile users.

As usual, we’re looking forward to your contribution. What’s your take on creating content from a mobile-first approach? Do you face any mobile marketing challenge currently?

Mobile App Marketing Tips For Small Businesses: 11 Experts Share Their Advice

You finally did it. You spend countless hours perfecting your app and you have just launched it into the marketplace. So, naturally you should be expecting millions of downloads and money flooding in…right?

After all your app has all the right widgets and looks amazing. Plus, you invested a good amount of money and time into it. So why is your app barely getting any downloads? Well, it could be that your app is not being marketed the way it should be.

We reached out to 11 professionals and asked them for their mobile marketing tips for small business apps. We believe their strategies will guide you towards the levels of success you are looking for.

Paul Manwaring

Design & Marketing Consultant

https://outsprung.com/

I have found a couple thing extremely helpful while working with a few startups and their apps:

Twitter/Facebook Ads:

Being able to hyper target users of these 2 social media platforms you can really find the perfect leads. For instance we had an app allowing users to find the best food at lunchtime in London.So we were able to target users in specific areas of London, during the hours of 11am-2pm (the busy lunch hours and when people might be looking for some food or just using their phones during their break).

Influencer Marketing:

Great way to get your app in the eyes of your audience. I’m an influencer myself in a sub-genre of music. I have been asked by manufacturers of DJ equipment, speakers, audio production software simply because I have a large following of exactly the type of people they want to target. It’s very powerful to get a good review from someone who lives and breathes the niche you are trying to break into.

Richard Kelleher

World’s first Marketing Sociologist
Marketing your app starts before the approval process by iTunes and Google for your app. It should
start at the onset of your app development.

Start with Focus Groups

You need to reach out to the old-fashioned marketing tools to market your
app. Start with a focus group of your customers. What features do they need
on their app? Where do they hear about the apps they install on their
mobile device?

Location is key

What publications do your customers read (including online ones) that you
need old-fashioned public relations for? A good press release placed on
TechCrunch or Mashable is like 30 years ago of getting your press released
placed in the New York Times and Washington Post.

Utilize your platform to the fullest

I have a saying – Think tap, not touch – throughout the process. People
touch their computer, tap their mobile device.

Do not cram everything in

You need to utilize the cloud to serve your application. Associated Press
app takes about two or three minutes to download. Too much information. Web
design focused, not mobile. Thirty seconds is death to a mobile app
loading. Don’t try to be everything to everyone via an app. That’s the
problem with websites and why they were abandoned by consumers for mobile
apps.

Final Words of Wisdom

Think of your mobile app as the sales brochure from last century. Too few
people use the tap to call feature available in most app design.
Katie Meurin

Director of Marketing

https://www.zco.com/

@KatieMeurin

Build up your credibility

For a new developer, their marketing goals should be centered around building new reviews.

If you spend a lot of money on marketing before you build reviews you will send visitors to a new listing without the credibility of seeing other reviews. I usually recommend a grassroots approach – start with your friends, family, colleagues. Maybe throw an app launch event and ask everyone to review there.

Get a business card

If you don’t already have business cards for your company, you need to. Building up your online presence is important but don’t forget who is actually behind every computer, people.

Build up credibility anywhere you go

Carry around a business card that asks people to review, give it to everyone you meet. Adding a simple line asking people to review your app will let people know that you value their opinion. The reviews will not only help you establish credibility with visitors but also with the app stores, so they will show your app more in search results and you will get more organic downloads.

Brady Christensen

Co-Founder

www.BookPrimo.com

Most people are looking for a magic-bullet to market their mobile-app. They’re crossing their fingers and hoping that the answer to their marketing problems is something like “Use Adwords!” “Do SEO”, etc. Well here is the closest thing to a magic-bullet I can give you:

Know your audience:
Who is the ideal person to download and use your mobile app? Once you know that, find out where they hangout online.
Here is an example:

You own a fitness app that helps increase strength on the big lifts like bench press, squat, and dead lift. You do some research and you learn that your audience is young men, ages 18 to 25 that want to build muscle and strength. You would start by advertising on pages that cater to that demographic. You also found out that your customers are heavily involved with Stronglifts 5×5 workout routine, a workout routine highly recommended for beginners. You now know to position yourself with Stronglifts 5×5 to start bringing in even more of your ideal customers. You would then contact the creator of stronglifts 5×5 and negotiate an agreement for an advertisement, facebook mention, or newsletter blast.

The bare minimum

For anyone who is just getting started, I would highly recommend, at the very least, running very targeted ads on Facebook to people who meet your criteria.

Bob Bentz

President

www.atsmobile.com

While app store optimization is certainly important, marketers must not
rely solely on promotion within the stores to maximize downloads. There
are over two million apps in the stores and finding a particular app is
similar to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, despite the best
ASO efforts.

Know the game and play it right
It is not easy to get consumers interested in downloading another app on
their mobile phone when smartphone users are already using an average of
26.7 apps per month, according to a Nielsen study. Too often, a company
spends all of its money on developing an app and does not reserve any money
for marketing the app. That is a rookie mistake. Don’t make it.
Develop a marketing plan
A company needs to have developed a structured marketing plan in advance of
the release of the app. It needs a plan to tell existing customers and
prospects good reasons why they need the app and where the app can be
downloaded. It needs to evaluate all of its current marketing channels to
determine which would be best for promoting an app.

Find the right platforms

Facebook, for instance, would probably be better for facilitating app downloads than
outdoor advertising since a social media user is likely on her mobile phone
already as opposed to a driver who is hopefully not on his phone. Google
AdMob might be the best place since it enables an app marketer to advertise
within other apps that consumers have already downloaded.

Facebook Ads
There is no doubt about the power of creating buzz on social media for an
app launch. It is an important part of the initial publicity required.
And, nobody does app marketing better than Facebook which earns a
significant part of its ad revenue from brands pushing app downloads.

Advertise outside the web
Of course, internet advertising is not always the best source for app
downloads. If the app has a huge budget, it may very well be television
that results in the most downloads. *Game of War* did a great job of
promoting its app with eye catching Kate Upton and Mariah Carey as the
stars of the commercials.
Be in the spotlight
Acquisition costs will not always be high priced efforts like the
television advertising for *Game of War*. Publicity is a major driver of
new app downloads so use press releases and other public relations efforts
to get the word out. Include a social media blitz as well. The ROI
provided by public relations efforts will likely result in the best ROI of
any of the promotional efforts.

Spread the word, fast.

When marketing an app, it is absolutely critical to get off to a quick
start to break through the supply of apps in the app store. If an app is
buried below thousands of others in the rankings, it is going to be
difficult to get found. Therefore, app marketers must get the word out
quickly about the app by using a high level of growth hacking or a large
advertising budget in an attempt to gain a featured listing and benefit
from organic downloads. Downloads beget more downloads thanks to the viral
effect of the purchase and the improved ASO.

Advertise on mobile apps
Research from Localytics found an added bonus to advertising apps. App
users that were acquired as a result of being discovered via a mobile ad
network were more likely to come back for multiple uses on the app than
those that found it from an organic search on the app store. This is
likely due to the fact that the ad creative has done a good job in
pre-selling users on the benefits of the app and that the advertising was
highly targeted.
Encourage Sharing
The viral effect of apps is an important phenomenon to take advantage of.
An app should encourage existing users to share the app with friends or on
social media. (Think Candy Crush.) This is a great way to take advantage
of the viral publicity that a mobile app can provide.
Add your app URL to your content marketing
Another great way to drive traffic to an app is to find the URL of the app
download in the iTunes or Google Play listing for the app. Keep in mind,
this is not the URL for the business, but the URL that is used by the app
stores. Then, when the business does content marketing on its own blog or
on external sites, it can link to the app store URL listings. The goal is
to get multiple rankings on the search engines for the app. Those rankings
might be the page on the business website that promotes the app download
and the app stores’ direct URL’s for the download.
Go International
For iPhone and Android apps, there are multiple countries where the app can
be listed. If an app makes its money on advertising, there is no reason
not to list the app in all countries, especially populous countries like
China and India. The Apple App and Google Play stores are available in
over a hundred countries so it makes sense to be listed in as many of them
as necessary. Of course, if the app has an ecommerce element to it, this
may not be practical.

Be present in multiple stores
There are many secondary Android app stores and therefore many places where
an Android app can be marketed. Amazon, Kindle, Nook store from Barnes &
Noble, AppBrain, and GetJar are a few alternate places where an Android app
can be marketed in addition to its logical home base in the Google Play
store.

Measure your CPI and advertise wisely
There is a defined cost to acquire app downloads and it is measured by a
Cost Per Install (CPI) index. The CPI per vertical market varies, but
according to Fiksu, it averages $2.98 per user in 2015 and it is rising
every year as businesses expand their use of mobile advertising, thus
driving CPI costs up.
Alice Williams

Online Content Contributor, Business Bee

Bring on the hype

Generating excitement via social media is a must*. SMB’s should plan
out a social media campaign that starts approximately 3 months before the
app is released. In doing this, the SMB can tease out information regarding
the app to build awareness and market it in a cost efficient manner.
Create a Launch Event

Another way to generate excitement and build community relations
is to throw an event to announce the launch of the app. The SMB can invite notable
members of the community, bloggers and social media influencers to generate
buzz and to try and attract members of the local press (which is fantastic
PR for the SMB and their app)
Include your app in your emails

A way to help market the app without much extra work is to be
sure to include information about the app in any email communications the SMB sends out
to customers and to of course have a dedicated email announcing the app when it is live.

Steve Hatmaker, Jr.
Digital Marketing Strategist

@stevehatmakerjr

Start Today

One of the best ways to guarantee marketing success for your mobile app is
to begin today. Most small business get involved in marketing the app when
it is too late, or even worse, they completely over looking any kind of
marketing.

Know your competitive edge

After you complete your marketing research for your ideal audience, you
need to discover your apps unique selling proposition. What makes your app
unique? Why is it better than your competitors?

Optimize your app

Also, it is very important to optimize you app for the App Store. This
includes optimal use of keywords in your app name and description.
Take your time
Try to avoid the rush to get your app out immediately, you have a better
chance of getting press coverage if you have an advanced target release
date.

Design the perfect press kit
Be sure to offer sneak peeks and teasers such as screenshots of your app,
video promo, and blog post. People love visuals. Start giving them insight
and build buzz long before the apps launch.

The power of email

Be sure to send out emails, tweets, and Facebook post to your current
customer list. Never underestimate the power of an email.

Build a microsite

Build an enticing microsite just for your app. Keep it updated with fresh
content about your app.

Spread the word

Contact sites like App Advice (https://appadvice.com/appnn), Macworld (
https://www.macworld.com), and 148 Apps (https://www.148apps.com). These are
popular sites that have large audiences and can help spread the word about
your app. As soon as it releases, write these sites and ask for a review.

Ask for reviews

Ask customers for reviews after your app is released.

Marin Perez

Content Marketing Manager

www.kahuna.com

Solve your customer’s problem, not your own.

First off, make sure your app is actually solving a problem. Many
businesses feel like they have to create an app because everybody’s doing
it but an app strategy isn’t a one-time project, it’s a long-term program.
Because of that, make sure it fits with your business goals.

Use all your tools

Make sure you leverage every single touchpoint you have with the customer
to promote the app. Many brands will promote their app on the website, on
social, on email and on other digital platforms but don’t ignore your other
connections with customers. If you’re a brick-and-mortar, use your in-store
signage or your receipts to promote your apps.

Leverage your communication channels

Finally, don’t forget to leverage the communication channels you own to get
the most out of your app. Brands will likely use paid media to acquire new
app users and it’s important to get those users over to channels you can
control like email, push notification, in-app messages and more. From
there, ensure you’re delivering personalized and relevant communications to
your users across every channel.

Boni Satani

Inbound Marketer

https://twitter.com/bonirulzz

Six ways to promote your Mobile App

Add a link of your app on your existing website
Offer a Free Recharge/ Coupons to encourage users to download your app
Guest post on the relevant website and in a way promote your app via
author bio
Encourage your existing users to promote the app by offering them some
incentive
Optimize your App title and Description around relevant keywords
Ensure that your app is indeed adding value to users

Joe Franklin

https://www.franklinmarketingcommunications.com/

Focus on the Rankings

When marketing a mobile app the, it’s important to focus first and foremost on ranking. The app market is chaotic, and if your app isn’t ranked high enough, it won’t be discovered. It can be tempting to lean on ad networks that will promote your app through other apps and banners, and while this may work, it can also be costly.

Develop a Social Media Strategy

I recommend that my cash-strapped clients focus first on social media. Regardless of size, every mobile app company should have a social media strategy in place – it increases brand reach and can help drawn in the right audience for your app. It can also be a powerful communication tool between the app developer and end user, which can help keep reviews within the app store positive, thereby helping to increase rankings and visibility.

Keep an open line of Communication

If users can only complain about an app through its review process, developers are setting themselves up for failure. Keeping an open line of communication through social media fosters actionable feedback that helps with updates and cuts down on ranking-killing bad reviews.”

Brian Sparker

Be Refined by the Fire

The best tip I share with my clients is to monitor and manage your online
reviews. Having a firm understanding of your customer’s feedback and pain
points can make a huge difference for mobile apps as it allows a business
to leverage customer feedback, track issues the customer may be having and
identifying trends through data analysis and common phrases used in the
reviews.

More to come…

We hope our experts have given you valuable insight into mobile marketing for your app.

With these tips you are well on your way to getting your app to the right people at the best time. As always we we are committed to your success and believe in your mission.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please let us know in the comments below

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The Small Business Mobile App Marketing Guide

If you’ve made the decision to start building a mobile app, the time is right to start developing your mobile marketing plan. With all of the activity surrounding development and testing the app, marketing winds up an afterthought for many small business owners. And that’s a big mistake.

There are over 1.5 million apps each in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and developers submit about 1,000 new apps every single day. Competition is stiff, no matter your market niche; in fact, about one quarter of all apps are only opened once after download. No one wants to see all their hard work end up in the land of forgotten apps.

So how do you make sure your app pays off? A solid mobile marketing plan is essential, and ideally, follows your mobile app development every step of the way, from brainstorming features and functions to post launch engagement.

If you’re a small business owner taking the plunge into mobile app development, this guide will help your marketing efforts align with your goals and get your app off to a great start.

Identify Your Target Audience and App Objectives

Before you begin, flesh out who your customers really are; your buyer personas will shape your design elements and functionality. A business designing a mobile app for a target audience that is predominantly women between the ages of 18 and 29 will have an entirely different look, feel, and set of features than an app designed for men over age 50.

The next step is identifying what you want your app to achieve. This isn’t as obvious as it seems at first glance; some of the best branded apps have features that complement the company’s main function. North Face, the outdoor apparel brand, includes a hiking and bike trail finder, real-time progress tracking, and social integration that lets users share their accomplishments with their friends, boosting engagement and brand awareness.

Thermos is another brand with value-added features: The Oasis Places points users to the nearest public fountains to fill their water bottles and provides user-generated ratings for cleanliness, convenience, and coldness of the water.

Of course, if you’re an eCommerce business or a restaurant, you’ll want functionality that lets users accomplish important tasks related to your business—placing an order and viewing products or menus, for example. But this is a good time to get creative and think of value-added extras you might include to differentiate your app from similar offerings in your market and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Do Your Keyword Research

Finding the right keywords is an extremely important part of app store optimization (ASO) and SEO for mobile app discoverability. Your app stands a better chance of being found and downloaded by your target audience if you know the language they are using to search for your product—about 63 percent of all apps are discovered with organic search.

You’ll want to put in time upfront to get the right keywords for your app; ASO best practices recommend careful keyword placement in your app’s title and description in the mobile app marketplaces, as well as on your app’s landing page or website. Google indexes app content that exists on the web in its search results; the right keywords and content can help your app float to the top in organic SERP as well as in app store searches.

Build Your App’s Online Presence

Start by designing an icon and overall branding theme for your app and collateral materials such as articles, banner ads, announcements, etc. As you get further along in the app development process, you’ll also want to acquire some great screenshots to complement your marketing materials.

At a minimum, you’ll need a landing page. For small businesses on a budget, online tools like Unbounce offer freemium and low-cost plans and customizable templates to help you create a well-designed landing page to announce your app, collect addresses, and provide links for download once your app is released. This is also where your app content will reside for SEO purposes.

It’s a good idea to begin working social media, as well. Some experts advocate a broad approach, blanketing all the social media platforms. Many, however, recommend choosing one or two platforms where your target audience hangs out and concentrating on a more focused social campaign. This lets you maintain a higher level of engagement and actually reach the people most likely to download your app.

You may also want to consider a paid social ad to test your landing page and ensure you are targeting the right people for your launch efforts. If you’re converting about 3 to 4 percent, you’re on the right platform and targeting the right customers.

If you have a company blog and an email subscriber list, take advantage of those channels to promote your mobile app launch, as well. Do you have a good relationship with a journalist at your local paper or in a journal in your business niche? Reach out about a week before release to see if he or she will test-drive your app and write an article or blog post.

Launch Day

It seems like a no-brainer, but sending an e-blast to your subscriber list is an important launch day first step. Depending on your target audience, Facebook app install ads are a good way to get downloads and build some momentum. If your target audience is into Instagram, consider reaching out to some influencers in your niche and asking if they’ll do a sponsored post promoting your app.

Make sure your app is listed in the app marketplaces and update all your online pages with live links to the app stores. Include signage in your brick-and-mortar stores announcing your app, as well; ask customers to text in to get an SMS message with link to your app to keep it simple.

Promoting Your App

Image via Flickr

There are two main paths to app promotion post launch: Paid and organic. Depending on your budget, your market niche, and your marketing objectives, you’ll probably engage in a combination of activities from each side.

Paid	Organic
App-Install Campaigns (CPI ads)	App Store Optimization & SEO
Paid Social Media Ads	Social Media Shares
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising	Company/brand website/blog
Email campaigns	Earned media

Here’s an overview of each weapon in your app promotion arsenal:

App-Install Campaigns

There’s no doubt that paid install ads on the major social sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) offer an excellent opportunity to get your app in front of a huge target audience. They also have the advantage of simplifying the ROI tracking process—it’s easy to see when an ad leads an app install.

For small businesses, the question is whether the app users these ads generate have a higher lifetime customer value than the cost of the ad; are they ROI positive? There is some evidence that users who convert from a paid install campaign have higher engagement and retention rates than users who find an app organically, so marketers should weigh these factors when deciding whether the CPI model is cost-effective for them on the platforms they prefer.

Paid Social Media

Depending on your target audience and your overall mobile marketing plans, paid social is a comparatively inexpensive way to get exposure for your app. Don’t overlook the smaller niche platforms if they fit with your target demographic; promoted pins on Pinterest and images on Instagram, sponsored updates on LinkedIn, and placed ads on Reddit or StumbleUpon are great options for some SMEs.

Pay Per Click

Search engine marketing is an option worth considering, especially since app stores do not offer paid search this point. If you’re handy with AdWords and Google Analytics, you can get decent results. One note, however: The new iOS 9 update released in September 2015 allows users to block ads, including Google AdWords, in their mobile web browser. In-app ads, however, will not be affected, so you should take this into consideration in your overall app marketing strategy.

Email and SMS Text Campaigns

Depending on your target audience demographics, text campaigns offer a higher ROI over other electronic blast methods. Be sure your landing page is optimized for mobile if you choose this approach. Email blasts to your subscriber lists are a good way to drive downloads, but be wary of purchasing lists, since these traditionally have poor performance metrics and are less cost effective.

Organic Mobile App Promotion

For many SMEs, organic promotion, through SEO, ASO, social media hooks, and other inbound marketing tactics is the most cost effective option for building momentum and driving downloads.

Give special attention to your brand website; remember that people will land on different pages depending on search terms and outside links. Prominently feature your app and download links throughout your website, especially on those pages that contain content appealing to your app’s target audience.

In addition to your own company blog, reach out to other sites your target audience visits and ask if you can submit a guest post. While most won’t allow you to overtly advertise your app, many will allow you to link to it in your article or post, as long as the content provides value to their readers.

Don’t overlook the huge power of social media for building awareness and engagement; the trick is to give your followers a hook, or reason to share your app. Nike’s app, for example, lets users share information about their runs—their route, the distance, and time. Think about the features in your app you could use to encourage social sharing. Some social media tips:

Monitor your social accounts and respond promptly to comments and feedback.
Create a promotional video of your app; video is one of the most popular types of content on social media.
Give followers an incentive like extra loyalty points, for example, to promote or “like” your app.
Don’t forget to ask your followers to rate your app to help your ASO efforts.

A Word About App Store Optimization (ASO)

Image via Flickr

ASO is your best shot at organic discoverability; over 60 percent of all apps are found through organic search in the app store. Here are a few tips to make the most of your ASO efforts:

Put effort into identifying the right keywords and make sure they are properly placed into your app store descriptions; feature one in the title and the first 25 characters of the description.
Create the most eye-catching icon you can that fits your brand image and use it consistently on all your app promotion efforts.
Add compelling screenshots of your app’s best features—for many users, these are often the deciding factor for downloading or not downloading an app.
Factors such as number of downloads and ratings and reviews are out of your direct control, but they do figure in ASO. Be sure you offer an in-app channel for feedback so you can address any issues with your app to minimize the potential for negative ratings and reviews.

Keeping Your Users Engaged

It’s not enough to meet your download goals; you need to keep users engaged with your app and prevent uninstalls. A recent survey showed the top reasons people uninstall apps:

The app wasn’t useful/didn’t provide value.
They got too many ads or alerts.
There were too many technical glitches.
The app was difficult to use.

Push notifications are a great way to re-engage users, but they should be used judiciously. A generic “You haven’t opened your app lately” is not going to be as effective as a notification that is contextualized to where the customer is and what he is doing, as well as what the app can do to help him. Consider a location-based message giving the user a special discount at a nearby store, for example.

Ultimately, marketing your app is an ongoing process that starts with—and builds upon—an effective online presence, including appropriate social channels and a branded blog. Remember to choose the right mobile app analytics tools to measure your progress and build on the efforts that return the best results. And don’t forget to keep the momentum and engagement going with well-timed push notifications and re-engagement campaigns.

Ready to Take the Next Step? A Mobile App Primer for Small Business

If you’re marketing for an SME, you’re probably familiar with the phrase “mobile first,” especially as it applies to your customer’s buying journey. After all, this is an era driven by mobile devices—according to a recent survey, 90 percent of shoppers actually used their smartphones in the store.

Customers love the convenience of shopping with their mobile devices, even in local brick-and-mortar stores. In fact:

54 percent used their smartphones to compare prices.
48 percent researched product features.
42 percent checked online product reviews.

More importantly, however—

76 percent said they’d be more likely to shop at a store with a loyalty rewards program, and
57 percent said they’d be more likely to shop at a store if they got a push notification about a deal or promotion.

What this tells smart marketers is that, far from being a detriment, “showrooming” is actually a mobile behavior can leverage to their advantage. To stay competitive, brands need to see the mobile device as an extension of the shopping experience and develop a marketing strategy that captures its potential.

What does that mean, exactly, for the marketing director of an SME? For starters, it means remapping the customer buying journey with an emphasis on the behaviors of your target demographic, which in most cases leads decisively to a mobile first mentality—from your website to your marketing spend, and ultimately, a mobile app.

Mapping the Mobile Customer Journey

The path to purchase has undergone a seismic shift in the past decade or so. Take a look:

Then

Now

Go to the mall or supermarket

Identify a need

(personal, gift-giving, occasion)

Discover a need

(personal, gift-giving, occasion)

Check online reviews

and recommendations

Compare products in-store

or between stores in mall

Select a product or service

to purchase

Select a product or service

to buy

Compare merchants, prices online;

select supplier

Purchase in store

Make purchase,

either online or in person

Mobile is with the consumer every step of the way; it’s more about behavior than technology, and here is where a mobile-first marketing strategy really pays off:

It’s contextual—you are getting the right message to the right consumer at the right time in the decision-making process.
It’s constant—consumers have their devices with them all the time, a virtual bridge between the digital and physical world.
It’s personal—new technology lets marketers customize the experience at each point in the buying journey.

Does Your Small Business Really Need a Mobile App?

Image via pcworld.com

In a nutshell, most likely. Let’s look at another parallel between then and now: The year is 2000, just over a decade ago, and a web designer walks into a local bakery for a donut and coffee. He looks for the owner…

Web Designer: Hey, love your shop. Do you have a website? I can build one for you.

Owner: Nah, I don’t need all that fancy stuff.

Web Designer: Why not? How will people find your shop?

Owner: I have a sign, I advertise in the paper, I’m fine.

Web Designer: But how about online? How will new customers find you on the Internet?

Owner: The Internet? That’s for the big guys. I have my regular customers, I don’t need the Internet.

Sound familiar? The owner of 2000 couldn’t see into the future; he didn’t know what he didn’t know—especially about the way the Internet would change the world of commerce. And so it is with mobile apps.

The truth is, most small businesses will benefit from building a mobile app, especially with today’s cost-effective app-building platforms. Here’s why apps work, especially for small business:

Downloaded on a smartphone, your mobile app gives your brand constant visibility and increases brand recognition.
You have a direct communications channel with your customers; no spam folders to bypass.
Your app can be a value-added service, giving your customers a convenient, personalized buying experience.
Providing new ways for your customers to interact with your brand builds engagement.
Digitized rewards programs in your mobile app build customer loyalty.
Mobile apps help you stand out from your competition.

A mobile app may not be a necessity—yet—but given mobile’s increasing dominance, and its increasing role in the path to purchase, the time is right to explore your options.

Making the Mobile App Decision

Some SMEs believe that their mobile website accomplishes all of their mobile marketing goals; perhaps it does. But before you stop reading, let’s look at some ways a mobile app is far superior to a mobile website:

Mobile apps offer better personalization, and personalization is a key driver of conversions.
In-app and push notifications are a great alternative to email, with its low (and dropping) open and click-through rates.
Apps integrate smartphone capabilities (phone, contact list, calendar, camera, GPS, for example) for a more personal, interactive, and interesting experience.
Many mobile app features and functions work offline, and they work more quickly than mobile websites.
A mobile app icon serves as a constant branding reminder on a user’s mobile phone—it’s a one-step link to your business.

In the end, developing an app often comes down to these questions:

What do your customers want? Mobile-dependent millennials, for example, keep about 35 apps on their devices and spend about 90 percent of their mobile time using them.
Can you afford it? This depends on the features you want and the path you take to develop your app. Thanks to today’s DIY app-building tools, even a small business can build and support a mobile app on a modest budget.
Will it help you achieve your marketing goals? For many SMEs, a mobile website and a mobile app work hand-in-glove to advance mobile marketing goals in a way neither option can achieve on its own.

Must-Have Features for Your Mobile App

Every business has unique goals and objectives, but there are some mobile app features that have universal appeal. When you’re brainstorming your app, don’t forget these features in your list of must-haves:

Local context. This is extremely important for SMEs with brick-and-mortar shops, since customers are much more likely to visit a store when they get an alert or notification. Local context is also key to personalizing the app experience.
Smart push notifications. Push notifications based on the user’s behavior or circumstance, and transactional notifications, provide unique value to your customers and let you more selectively target your communications.
Social integration. Extend the reach of your social media and mobile marketing by integrating these capabilities in your mobile app.
Offline capabilities. One advantage of apps over mobile websites is their ability to work without Wi-Fi. Give customers access to important content even in offline mode.

Planning Your Mobile App

Once you’ve made the decision to build a mobile app, it’s time to assemble your app team and begin spelling out your plans. It’s a good idea to include executive management, sales and marketing, and IT in your app team; you can balance your needs and wants against your in-house capacity and budget. Here’s a simple 8-step plan to get you started:

Write down what you want your app to accomplish. A food truck owner, for example, may want to let customers know where he’ll be and provide directions, view the day’s menu, place an order, and accumulate loyalty points.
Check out successful apps for other businesses in your market niche and list the features and elements you like.
Establish your budget and timeline; decide what you can accomplish in-house and what you’ll contract out.
Sketch out your app and map out its navigation. There are several free online wireframing and mockup tools available to help you create an interactive prototype you can test and refine until you’re happy with the way your app looks and functions.
Create your app marketing plan (covered in detail in the next section).
Decide how what you’ll need on the backend and whether you’ll build it in-house or use a cloud-based backend service (BaaS) platform.
Complete the actual coding to build the app. If you’ve hired an app developer, you’ll want to set milestones for deliverables. If you’re using an app-building platform, this is where you’ll actually start putting your designs together into a functional app.
Test your completed app and make sure every feature works in real-world scenarios. Work out any technical glitches and navigational dead-ends. Submit your app to the appropriate app stores.
Release your app and start tracking your success.

Marketing Your Mobile App

Your amazing app won’t make a return on investment—let alone achieve your marketing goals—if no one knows it exists or how to find it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking marketing is an afterthought or a once-and-done activity. Your marketing department should be involved in app promotion from day one.

Your first marketing tasks include choosing a name for your app, designing a logo, and doing keyword research. You’ll need keywords for app store optimization (ASO) and SEO, both of which work together for app discoverability and getting people to download your app. Remember, not all apps will be an extension of your business name: Chamin, for example, has an app named “Sit or Squat” lets people rate public restrooms, share their reviews, and find the cleanest facilities nearby.

It’s important to add a landing page to your website announcing your app; include a subscription form so you can run an email campaign prior to launch. As your app is built, add screenshots and a video promo to generate excitement. Include links and app store logos once you’ve released your app, and include a section for ratings and reviews.

Leverage all of your marketing channels to get people interested in your new app. Add progress reports to your company blog, promote your app’s features and release date on your social media channels, and send out an email blast. You may even want to reach out to social media influencers to enlist their help in promoting your app.

Once you release your app, pull out the stops promoting it. Announce it with signage in your stores, banners on your website, and across all your digital channels. Offer people an incentive to download your app—a one-time discount, free trial, or bundle of loyalty points are all attractive options.

It’s also important to reward and engage people once they’ve downloaded your app; don’t be the app users open once and never touch again. Use push notifications to share relevant content and work your social media channels to keep people engaged.

Most importantly, don’t assume that your customers will download your app just because you created one. Your app has to provide a unique value or service to your customers, entertain or excite them, and give them a personalized experience. If you accomplish that, your marketing efforts will be much more successful.

Launch Day KPIs

Of course you’ll want to track the number of downloads, but that figure gives you just a glimpse into performance. The sad truth is that almost a fourth of all downloaded apps are only opened once, so your first priority should be engagement and retention. In order to get there, you need to know the Ws of usage and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Who is downloading your app? What do you know about demographics of your users? When you know who your audience is, you can better target them with relevant offers and content.

What device are they using? Drill down to a granular level, beyond just tablet or smartphone, so you can tailor your updates and features to the device’s specs.

Where and when are they using it? We know that smartphone users “showroom” when they shop, which suggests they want quick access to info and solutions to problems. Is your app delivering the answers they need?

For SMEs today, taking the plunge into the world of mobile app development is a much easier decision than in years past; new app-building tools, better insight into mobile behavior and mobile marketing, and a clear path to ROI means nearly every small business can benefit from having a mobile app. What’s holding you back from taking the next step?

6 Mobile App Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid At All Costs (And What To Do Instead)

When you’re building an app, marketing mistakes can cost you big time.

How?

Well, your pre-launch marketing will determine the overall opinion and popularity of your app when it launches, which can dictate how many people decide to download it. And even after your app is launched, you need to continue marketing in it a way that entices people to download it. Otherwise, you could see a sales slump and a bad overall return on your investment.

Don’t let that happen. Instead, take a look at the following 6 mobile marketing mistakes you should avoid at all costs, and you’ll learn what you should do instead to successfully market your app.

1. Not setting the right expectations for your app

You’ve probably heard the saying “under-promise and over-deliver.” That definitely applies when you’re marketing an app.

Think about it – if you market your app as the greatest in the world but can’t back up your claims, you’ll disappoint the people who download it. That means they might end up leaving negative reviews like this:

…Ouch.

That being said, don’t sell yourself short. Talk about the benefits of your app and highlight its unique selling points, but don’t exaggerate. That way, your customers know exactly what they’re getting when they download your app.

You may also want to include screenshots of your app, like Whatsapp does:

Doing so allows people who are interested your app to see exactly what it looks like and how it is used before they commit to downloading it.

2. Failing to optimize your app for the app store

You’ve probably heard of SEO (search engine optimization), but have you heard of ASO (app store optimization)?

If not, it’s time to start learning. Take a look at this data and you’ll see why:

That’s right – most people discover apps simply from browsing the app store. So, if you haven’t optimized your app in a way that allows it to be found easily, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on lots of sales.

Now, before you start optimizing your app, make sure you have a deep understanding of your target audience and how they’re likely to search when looking for apps similar to yours. After all, if you optimize for the wrong key words, you won’t see the results you’re looking for.

Once you’ve chosen the best key words, here are a few ASO steps you’ll want to take:

Place the key word with the most search traffic in the app title. Make sure you perform extensive research to determine the best key word before you do this. You don’t want to have to change the title later because that will make your app more difficult for people to find.
Market your brand and app. The total number of times your app has been downloaded will affect its ranking in the app store, so prioritize marketing and make sure you’re building a strong social media presence.
Try to get good reviews for your app. Add an app review plugin to your app to automatically ask people for reviews. (I’ll talk more in-depth about this later in this post.)

Tip: Use the tools listed here for help deciding on app key words, improving your app search ranking, and more.

3. Failing to drive mobile app reviews

Regardless of what kind of app you’re creating, you’ll probably find that you’ve got lots of competitors. One way to make your target audience choose you over the competition is to get lots of good reviews.

Why?

Because social proof plays a huge role in app purchasing decisions, and high ratings will give your app a better ranking in the app store.

Bottom line: the more positive reviews you can get for your app, the better.

Now, you’re probably wondering how you can encourage users to review your app. One of the easiest ways is to use an app review plugin like Appirater. When you do, users will be prompted to review your app, like this:

A word of warning: avoid giving users incentives for positive reviews – Apple has started to remove apps that do this.

4. Not creating a microsite for your app

A microsite is a web page or group of web pages that exists independently from your main company web site. Typically, microsites are used to promote one specific product or service.

You don’t have to create a microsite to promote your mobile app, but doing so could definitely help your overall mobile marketing strategy. Plus, if you decide to pitch your app to blogs and other media outlets, your microsite can help them quickly understand what your app does and why people would want to use it.

Take a look at this microsite developed to advertise the Shyp app:

Visit the site here, and you’ll notice several things:

The design is simple and draws attention to the main benefits of the app.
The page includes links to the Shyp social media accounts so people who are interested in it can connect with the brand.
The green “sign up” button is immediately visible above the fold when the site loads, making it easy for people who are interested in the app to sign up quickly.

Pretty effective, if you ask me.

When creating your microsite, you should follow Shyp’s example and use a simple, intuitive design that makes it easy for potential customers to connect with your brand and sign up to use your app.

Here are a few things you may also want to include in your microsite:

A video that advertises your app
Plenty of information about what the app does and how it works
App screenshots
App store download links

Remember, your microsite design should be easy to use and your copy should be broken up with plenty of white space and images – no one wants to spend time trying to figure out a difficult site or reading giant walls of text.

You’re probably already using social media to connect with your target audience, but have you considered creating a separate social media marketing strategy for your app?

If not, you should. Here are a few tips for promoting your app on social media:

Give people an incentive to connect with you and download your app. For example, if your app is a game, you could offer extra lives/levels. Think about which in-app purchases you could temporarily give away for free to get people to download your app or follow one of your social media pages.
Write in a human voice in all of your social media posts. When you’re writing, consider your target audience and use a tone that you think will attract them. Whatever you do, avoid writing in a robotic tone – no one wants to read something written that way.
Schedule your social media posts to save time. Posting to social media can be time-consuming, so it’s best to automate using Hootsuite or a similar tool.

You can also use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram ads to spread the word about your app. Figure out which social network is most popular with your ideal customers, and spend most of your time creating ads for that social network.

6. Not getting your app featured on a high-quality blog

The harsh truth is that not many people will care about your app when it has just been released. That’s largely because your app probably won’t have been talked about by credible bloggers and news outlets.

The obvious solution? Reach out to editors to see if they’d be willing to feature your app in a post/article.

But you can’t just email an editor on a whim and expect them to be thrilled about featuring your app. You’ve got to take specific steps while pitching your app if you want to increase your likelihood of hearing back from them, including:

Get to the point quickly. Editors are busy people, so try to keep your email as brief as possible without excluding necessary information.
Give them a reason to want to work with you. For example, if you have built a following of people who are eagerly anticipating your app release date (if it hasn’t been released yet), let the editor know.
Give them a sneak peek of your app. If you’re still beta testing your app, send the editor the beta version so they can take a firsthand look at how it works.
Avoid being overly sales-y. No one likes to be sold to. While you should talk about what makes your app awesome, also try to focus on making a real connection with the editor. After all, editors are people too!

And, if possible, try to get a referral. Think about your network – if someone you know could introduce you to the editor you’re emailing, you’re much more likely to see positive results from your email.

In Conclusion

When you’re creating an app, make sure your app idea is marketable to begin with – otherwise, the tips I’ve outlined here may not help you.

On top of that, your app should offer the user something that retains value for a long time to keep them from deleting it within a few months. Apptentive data shows that over 90% of people who download an app delete it within 6 months, so really think about the value of your app before you spend lots of time and money developing and marketing it.

Have you made any of these app marketing mistakes in the past? Share in the comments section!

A Complete Guide to Mobile App Development

Mobile application development has been trending upward for years. This subcategory of software development specifically refers to applications that run on mobile devices.

Mobile apps are built for different operating systems, like iOS and Android. By leveraging the built-in features of smartphones, apps offer an enhanced user experience compared to mobile web browsing.

More than 78% of people worldwide own a smartphone. What are people doing on these devices? They’re using apps.

These apps fall into a wide range of categories, including gaming apps, music apps, calendars, communication apps, and more. I’m sure you’re familiar with some of the world’s most popular apps like WhatsApp, Spotify, HeadSpace, Facebook, and Instagram.

Creating an app is a great business decision. But first, you need to understand the mobile app development process—which is why we created this guide.

What Is Mobile App Development?

Mobile app development is the process used to create software for smartphones, tablets, and mobile devices. The overall process includes writing code to create the software and designing the app.

App development is similar to other software development, including web apps. But the biggest difference between app development and traditional software development is the ability for mobile apps to use native features on a device.

For example, apps can leverage mobile features like GPS, Bluetooth, a camera, microphone, and other functions that are pre-built into a smartphone.

Apple and Android apps dominate the global market share for mobile apps. So while it’s possible to create apps for other platforms, most apps target these two markets.

It’s also worth noting that there are several different app development frameworks to choose from. So you’ll have lots of options to consider, which we’ll cover in greater detail throughout this guide.

Mobile App Development Process

The app development process is simple when you break it down into different steps. If you want to build apps, follow the formula below:

Refine The Idea And Strategize

Before you start any software development, you must first brainstorm your ideas. Some of you might already have a basic idea or concept. Others might be starting from scratch.

Here are some helpful starter questions that you should be asking yourself:

What do you want your mobile app to accomplish?
What are your app goals?
What problem (or problems) will your app solve for customers?
What features will your app include?
How much money are you willing to invest?
How will you develop the app? (In-house team, agency, app builder, etc.)

It’s easy to get carried away during the brainstorming process. But it’s really important to stick to the app’s core features. Forget about unnecessary add-ons or “nice-to-haves” that deviate from the app’s primary function.

Market Research

Once your idea is finalized, you need to look at similar apps that already exist. It’s rare to have a completely new concept with zero competition.

Who are your competitors?
What target audience are you aiming for?
What’s your differentiation strategy to stand out from the competition?
What’s the best platform to launch your app on?
How will you market and promote your app?

Market research is an important step you can’t afford to skip or rush through. You don’t want to spend time and money developing an idea only to realize that there’s no market need for it. So you can save yourself a ton of money by getting this sorted out before you start building anything.

Build Your UX Design

The mobile app design process is another crucial part of the process. Start thinking about how your app will look and feel. Start drawing some sketches and create wireframes to see how the app will work.

Focusing on the user experience must be a top priority. You need to make sure the user interface is seamless and easy to navigate.

Create a storyboard or roadmap to demonstrate connections between each screen.
Think about the differences in how people will use your app compared to a mobile website (app development and web development are not the same).
User experience must be your top priority.

You’ll want to create some prototypes of the app based on your wireframes before you start to build a fully-functional app. From here, you can create an MVP (minimum viable product). This is a bare-bones app that achieves its primary goal without all of the bells and whistles.

App Development

Now it’s time to actually create the app. This includes all of the back-end technology, APIs, and front-end building. Here’s what you need to do:

Choose your development method.
Assemble your development team.
Appoint a project manager.
Establish a timeline with milestones and goals.
Be agile, and prepare for changes along the way.

Depending on your development method, you might need to build two separate versions of the app—one for iOS and one for Android. Alternatively, you can use cross-platform development tools to create a single version of the app that works on both operating systems.

This process will look a bit different for everyone. Some apps can be built in a month with a single developer. Others can take six months or a year with multiple developers.

The type of app you’re building and the complexity of its features have a significant impact on the timeline and budget for app development. A simple app with basic features should be quick and affordable to build. But a complex app that needs user authentication servers, GPS capabilities, real-time communication between users, and other similar features will obviously take a bit longer to develop.

Testing

Before your app goes live, you need to make sure that it actually works. App testing is when you’ll find bugs, glitches, and anything else that needs to be cleaned up before it gets put in the hands of your customers.

Testing your app with QAs throughout the development process is the best approach.
Make sure you test the app on both platforms.
Test the app on different devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.).
Run tests with real users to gather feedback and make improvements.

No app is perfect. The purpose of your testing is to put out a functional app that works without crashing so users can enjoy the experience.

You can also make updates to your app and release new versions later on. But trying to make sure the app is perfect during the testing phase could mean your app never gets to market. So don’t be too hard on yourself, and just try to put out a solid product.

What Are The Best Mobile App Development Platforms?

With so many options available on the market for app development, you’ll need to narrow down your options based on your skills, goal, app type, and budget. The following tools not only allow you to create an app. But they also make it possible to test, optimize, debug, and maintain your app post-launch.

Here are the best app development platforms on the market today:

BuildFire

BuildFire is the most powerful no-code app builder for iOS and Android. Users with no technical knowledge or coding experience can use BuildFire to create a fully customized app from scratch. It’s an excellent option for startups and existing businesses alike. Adding functionality is as simple as installing plugins from the BuildFire feature marketplace.

BuildFire also offers full-service app development. You can come to BuildFire with your idea, and the development experts will create your app and even maintain the app for you post-launch. Unlike other app development companies, BuildFire is a partner in your success. This partnership includes app strategy sessions, design, wireframes, prototypes, and everything else you need to develop a stunning app for your business.

Another unique standout of BuildFire is its limitless functionality. Even if you’re using BuildFire’s DIY builder to create an app on your own, you can still add custom features to the app. If you don’t see a feature that accommodates your needs in the plugin marketplace, BuildFire can create that feature for you.

Alternatively, you could hire your own developer and use the BuildFire SDK to create custom functionality using Javascript, HTML, and CSS. You have the ability to add any framework you want using BuildFire’s existing infrastructure.

Overall, BuildFire is the best solution for mobile app development on the market. Regardless of your app type, business size, skills, or budget, BuildFire has a solution for you.

Flutter

Flutter is an open source framework that lets you create cross-platform apps with one codebase. Created by Google and released in 2017, Flutter is a relatively new concept compared to other options on the market.

You can use Flutter for mobile development and web applications for iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, Windows, and more. It’s a great option for anyone who wants to build desktop apps and web apps using a single codebase written in C, C++, and Dart.

Microsoft Xamarin

Xamarin is another open source UI framework for Android, iOS, and Windows applications. It uses C# and .NET to create cross-platform apps with a single shared code.

This platform is popular because it allows users to create apps with a similar look and feel across different platforms and devices. In many cases, the applications will feel like a native deployment. Xamarin also has a wide range of developer toolkits for Windows and Mac. It integrates with native APIs, backend services, and more.

Adobe PhoneGap

Adobe PhoneGap is a bit different from the other options. You can create an app with PhoneGap using JavaScript, HTML5, or CSS3. PhoneGap also has a plugin feature for adding functionality.

It’s also worth noting that PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova. So you’ll often see these terms used in tandem. Apache Cordova is essentially the engine that powers PhoneGap.

Different Types of Mobile Apps

App development today is very different from the past. Historically, low-level coding for native development was the only option. So if you wanted an iOS app for the Apple App Store and an Android App for the Google Play Store, you needed to code two different versions from scratch.

But the barrier to entry for app development today is much lower. App development tools, languages, and platforms are more integrated, and Javascript is used for cross-platform codes.

This makes it much easier for e-commerce companies, existing businesses, and entrepreneurs to develop native apps from scratch.

Here’s a brief overview of the different types of apps and what makes them unique for development:

Native Mobile Applications

Native apps are installed directly on a mobile device. These are typically installed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. In most cases, native apps can work without any internet connection, and they leverage existing features of the device they’re installed on.

Developing a native app means writing code specifically for the operating system of the device.

Cross-Platform Native Mobile Applications

With a cross-platform app, the same code is used for all platforms. So you can write your code once, and the app can still be installed natively on both iOS and Android devices.

From a user perspective, there is almost no difference between native and cross-platform native apps. From a development standpoint, cross-platform native is more affordable and shortens the development timeline.

Hybrid Mobile Applications

Hybrid and cross-platform are often used interchangeably, although they aren’t exactly the same. Similar to cross-platform, hybrid apps can be written once and work on both platforms.

But hybrid development is a bit more user-friendly compared to cross-platform development. Cross-platform app creation is still highly technical and requires app development skills. Hybrid development is less technical and can be achieved with basic web development knowledge or no-code app builders.

Progressive Web Application (PWA)

PWAs are apps delivered through the web, as opposed to being natively installed on a user’s device.

Modern technology has made PWAs look and feel extremely similar to a native app experience. You can even send push notifications to users, which get delivered via the web browser. But PWAs will be a bit more limited in what they can achieve using the native features on a device.

Cross-Platform Or Progressive Web Application?

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of cross-platform apps compared to PWAs. This will help you determine which option is better for you, your app, your budget, and goals.

Cross-Platform Advantages:

Cross-platform native apps are easier to maintain because you can sync updates across all platforms.
It’s a quicker turnaround time compared to traditional Android development and iOS development.
Less time on development typically translates to affordability, which means you can spend more areas on other parts of the app.
You can effectively reach a wider target audience, targeting smartphones and tablets on multiple platforms.

Cross-Platform Disadvantages:

There are performance issues with some operating systems, which means you’ll need to debug more frequently.
In some cases, there can be security issues with certain OS.
There are longer wait times if you want to deploy new features in the app.

Progressive Web Application Advantages:

PWAs are cheaper to develop and maintain compared to native apps.
They’re quick and easy to install on different devices.
PWAs have the power to work everywhere due to cross-platform support.
PWAs offer an enhanced user experience because they’re so efficient.

Progressive Web Application Disadvantages:

You can’t access PWAs from an app store.
They offer fewer functions that can affect the user experience.
Functionality requiring Bluetooth or NFC can be limited when it comes to working within the app.

Hybrid vs Native Apps

Now let’s take a look at hybrid apps compared to native apps and see the pros and cons of these development frameworks.

Hybrid App Advantages:

Hybrid apps look and feel like a native app.
They’re more cost effective to build and maintain.
You can create a hybrid app using HTML, Javascript, and CSS.
Hybrid apps provide a faster development process.

Hybrid App Disadvantages:

Poor performance on older devices.
Hybrid doesn’t work for certain types of apps.
Features might be limited with hybrid development.

Native App Advantages:

Exceptional performance.
All functionalities on different smartphones are possible.
They’re made with IDEs (integrated development environments) like React Native.
Native apps still run smoothly on older devices.

Native App Disadvantages:

Native apps are the most expensive to develop.
They’re time-consuming to build, and you need to build separately for iOS and Android.
The development tools aren’t user-friendly.
They’re more prone to bugs and usually require frequent updates.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to unpack with mobile app development. But whether you’re creating cross-platform apps or native apps, you always need to prioritize the user experience.

Your app’s functionality needs to meet its primary use case, and the interactive features must be easy to navigate.

There are tons of different paths to take for app development. The best option for you depends on your budget, goals, timeline, technical skills, and app complexity,

Overall, BuildFire is the best option to consider because the platform is so versatile. BuildFire has a no-code DIY solution that’s great for entrepreneurs. We also offer full-service app development that includes post-launch maintenance and support.

Want to learn more? Request a free consultation to chat with one of our app development experts.

What Is Content Marketing?

Defining Your Objectives

Set SMART Content Marketing Goals

Develop a Plan for Content Creation and Execution

Identifying Your Audience

Matching Content to Your Marketing Funnel

Awareness/Discovery

Consideration/Acquisition

Conversion/Transaction

Relationship/Retention

Creating the Right Content

Ideation

Format

Creative

5 Smart Ways to Find Content Marketing Ideas

1. Use questions to spur new ideas

2. Social media: Facebook Groups

3. Online tool: Google News

4. Social Listening Tool: BuzzSumo

5. Read industry blogs: Leaders, competitors, new players

Subscribe to newsletters

Create Twitter lists

Set aside an hour a day for industry-related reading

A case with epic content

1. Develop a mobile-first content strategy

Focus on localized content

Follow your audience reading habits:

Convey your message with personality

Conclusion

Identify Your Target Audience and App Objectives

Do Your Keyword Research

Build Your App’s Online Presence

Launch Day

Promoting Your App

App-Install Campaigns

Paid Social Media

Pay Per Click

Email and SMS Text Campaigns

Organic Mobile App Promotion

A Word About App Store Optimization (ASO)

Keeping Your Users Engaged

Mapping the Mobile Customer Journey

Does Your Small Business Really Need a Mobile App?

Making the Mobile App Decision

Must-Have Features for Your Mobile App

Planning Your Mobile App

Marketing Your Mobile App

Launch Day KPIs

1. Not setting the right expectations for your app

2. Failing to optimize your app for the app store

3. Failing to drive mobile app reviews

4. Not creating a microsite for your app

5. Failing to use social networks to promote your app

6. Not getting your app featured on a high-quality blog

What Is Mobile App Development?

Mobile App Development Process

Refine The Idea And Strategize

Market Research

Build Your UX Design

App Development

Testing

What Are The Best Mobile App Development Platforms?

BuildFire

Flutter

Microsoft Xamarin

Adobe PhoneGap

Different Types of Mobile Apps

Native Mobile Applications

Cross-Platform Native Mobile Applications

Hybrid Mobile Applications

Progressive Web Application (PWA)

Cross-Platform Or Progressive Web Application?

Cross-Platform Advantages:

Cross-Platform Disadvantages:

Progressive Web Application Advantages:

Progressive Web Application Disadvantages:

Hybrid vs Native Apps

Hybrid App Advantages:

Hybrid App Disadvantages:

Native App Advantages: