The Beginner’s Guide to Mobile App Marketing

Here you go entrepreneurs, build a mobile marketing app from beginning steps to success.

Excerpt:  Building an app is hard, and marketing an app is even harder. It requires a multi-faceted approach that is coordinated and coherent. Each of the steps above will contribute to a successfully marketed app, but none of them are silver bullets.

Read full article via The Beginner’s Guide to Mobile App Marketing.  From QuickSprout

8 Tablets for Business: the Pros and Cons

Small business  check out the comparison of 8 tablets to help you decided which is better for your business use.

Excerpt:  …..  tablets are not one-size-fits-all. For business users, your choice can depend on how you plan to use a tablet — making presentations, processing transactions or reading documents. You should also take into account your preferred mobile operating system, available apps and the kind of connectivity you’ll need.

Here’s our guide to eight of the best existing and soon-to-arrive tablets:

Read full article via 8 Tablets for Business: the Pros and Cons | Slideshow | Entrepreneur.com.

A Buyer’s Guide to Cloud Apps (Infographic)

Want to know what cloud app would work best for you and your business? Read more to find out.

by NowSourcing. Learn about infographics software.

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5 Steps to Building a Million-Dollar App

Here is a scaled how-to build a successful app for you and your small business.

Excerpt:  The mobile app boom has made success stories out of individuals who turned a great idea for a mobile application into a monthly revenue stream. However, for every success story, there are hundreds whose apps went bust. What are the common trends between successes and failures in mobile app development? What is the overall business plan? How can I become a so-called ‘Appreneur’? The book App Empire documents answers to these questions in an effort to empower anyone to become a successful Appreneur. After reading the book and newsletters, and interviewing author Chad Mureta, I’ve distilled down a few key takeaways.

Read full article via 5 Steps to Building a Million-Dollar App | Inc. 5000.

Why Simplicity Is A Must For Your eCommerce Mobile App

Guest Post by Travis Lee

By the end of 2012, mobile purchases will account for 3% of ecommerce sales. That’s $10 billion that people will spend via smartphones. Forrester Research also predicts that by 2016 those numbers will grow to 7% and $31 billion. That’s a significant portion of sales that no business can afford to ignore. So, is your business ready for mobile ecommerce?

One way to capture some of the mobile revenue stream is with an app.  An ecommerce mobile app can allow your customers to buy from you quickly and easily, anytime and anywhere, as long as it’s well-designed.  An effective mobile app needs to be functional and user-friendly, and, most importantly, it needs to be simple.

Simple is Fast Mobile users are implicitly on-the-go.  They often don’t have a lot of time to devote to any single action on their smartphones; they value the ability to accomplish things quickly and efficiently. If a task takes too long, they’re likely to stop trying. As for mobile shopping, browsing and purchasing functions that are too time-consuming to use go against everything mobile users want.  If it’s not going to be fast, they might as well wait until they get home and do it on their laptops. Unfortunately, by that time they may have lost the impulse to buy, and you’ll lose customers and sales. Simplicity is absolutely necessary for the speediness of your app.

Simple is Easy Another thing that’s important to smartphone users is usability. Your app absolutely must be easy to use, so it needs to be simple. Complex apps with lots of bells and whistles will not impress mobile users, and mobile users will actually be turned off by a complex app. In most cases, they prefer to use either a simple app or no app at all. While using your app, there should be absolutely no confusion about how it works, or about how to perform essential functions like searching for products, getting product information, and completing purchases. Customers do not want to experience any hassle in order to give you their money.

What Makes an App Simple? No matter what is being sold, all ecommerce mobile apps are essentially the same. Your app should allow people to browse your product catalog, add products to a shopping cart, and complete the sales transaction without ever leaving the app. It doesn’t have to do much more than that, although it might be wise to add a store locator tool that can help people quickly and easily find a brick-and-mortar store nearby, as well as a link to your mobile website.

Text Input Users should not be required to enter a lot of text while using your app. The less text input, the better, because most smartphone users find typing to be a big pain.

Clicking/Categories Users should be able to easily click the buttons on your app through the small screen of their smartphone. They also shouldn’t be required to do too much clicking. Make it easy by providing users with category menus that will help them narrow down your inventory to exactly what they’re looking for.

Shopping Cart Users should not be confused about how to add items to their shopping carts or how to view them. Sales conversion is the aspect of your app where simplicity is especially important. Keep your “add to cart” button above the fold on the screen.

Smartphone users are an important market for your business. Catering to them with an ecommerce mobile app that is simple to use will help you capitalize on their growing sales potential.

Travis Lee is an SEO and branding professional who generates content with the goal of helping others implement successful digital marketing strategies.

Digital Dilemma: Do You Really Need an App? – Knowledge@Australian School of Business

There are great takeaways in how-to  —  develop apps that serve your customer’s needs.

Excerpt:  Alan Thorogood, senior visiting fellow in strategy and entrepreneurship at the Australian School of Business and course leader in IT strategy at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) MBA programs, cites the development of the CaseBase Case Citator by LexisNexis as a key example of “co-creation” of an app. This is where a company works closely with customers to explore what would be useful to them as it develops an app.

Read full article via Digital Dilemma: Do You Really Need an App? – Knowledge@Australian School of Business.

15 Free (or Cheap) Web Tools for Creative Entrepreneurs : Innovation :: AMEX

Entrepreneurs and small business owners check out these free or cheap apps and tools to help you in your day to day tasks.

Excerpt:  It’s easier than ever to be a young, creative entrepreneur. Whether you’re running a successful T-shirt company or just getting started commercializing your family’s homemade soap recipe, there are new tools springing up online everyday to help you.  These tools can save you time, help you be more effective, better spread your message and (most important) get you back to building beautiful products. If you’re taking your business to the next level, about to hop into entrepreneurship full-time or are just getting started, here are the top apps you need to know about.

Read full article and links via 15 Free (or Cheap) Web Tools for Creative Entrepreneurs : Innovation :: American Express OPEN Forum.

Streamline Your Efforts With Social Media Systems : Innovation :: AMEX

Check out three social media workplace systems outlined in this article — providing how-to and task solutions within the workplace, including the one in excerpt below is for physicians  ….  Our doctors are getting their own chat, learn and collaborate space …  sounds like a winner to me.

Excerpt:  The use of social media in the workplace is a burgeoning area of development for companies creating apps and platforms to boost employee productivity. According to USA Today, the global market for these and similar workplace tools is expected to grow to a $4.5 billion sector by 2016. It was pegged at about $767 million in 2011. Social media for business is not just about how to get workers to be more productive, though. It’s also about fostering new collaborations and increased creativity. Check out these three examples of how social media is fostering connectivity and bringing colleagues together brand new ways. ………

Doximity: A more specialized example of how social media platforms are penetrating the workplace is Doximity. Think of it as something akin to Facebook for health care professionals. With it, your doctor can plug into an online web of other physicians. Specialists and those in primary care can trade notes, records and other kinds of information. Beyond that, Doximity hopes to become a forum among health care professionals for the exchange of best practices. And there’s a commercial incentive for participants as well: to promote one’s services to the medical network at large

Read full article via Streamline Your Efforts With Social Media Systems : Innovation :: American Express OPEN Forum.

Burn After Calling: Disposable Phone Numbers

Okay, you have got to be kidding me!!   In my opinion, this is definitely a Friday story.  Check out the iPhone app — certainly good for nefarious activities if you are so inclined?

Excerpt:  Enter the Burner App. For $1.99 per use, iPhone owners can get a disposable, short-term phone number to use for business, pleasure or any combination of the two. From within the app, you choose an area code and ask for a number.

But like a prepaid phone card, when the time expires, no more calling. The number is “burned,” or quarantined for two weeks before being recirculated.

Fresh Burner numbers are good for talk and text for seven days. During that week, you get up to 20 minutes of talk and 60 texts. You can add time to a burned number, too. An additional 30 days, 50 voice minutes and 150 texts costs about $2.50.

Look at this app via Burn After Calling: Disposable Phone Numbers.  From Read Write

Stanford Medical Residents Launch iPhone App to Help Physicians Keep Current on Research

There is an app for that — here is another good idea.  Keeping our healthcare providers up to date and informed is a good thing.

Excerpt:  As evidence-based medicine takes a greater foothold, medical residents and physicians are tasked with the seemingly constant challenge of staying up to date on the latest treatments and drugs. To help their colleagues keep current on medical advancements, Stanford medical residents Dave Iberri, MD, and Manuel Lam, MD, introduced a new medical app that features physician-written summaries of landmark clinical trials.

Read full article via Stanford medical residents launch iPhone app to help physicians keep current on research | Scope Blog.

Is a Mobile Website More Cost-Effective than a Mobile App?

Guest Post

It seems like whatever it is you want to do nowadays “there’s an app for that.” But what about driving traffic to your store or improving your brand recognition?

Is it worth the cost to develop an app for your business? Or are you better off with a mobile website, possibly adapted from your existing site? If you have a limited budget, how can you best focus your mobile marketing efforts so you reach customers — without breaking the bank?

The Benefits of Apps Apps are designed to provide a seamless user experience by integrating with a device’s native applications. For example, your app may allow users to instantly find your nearest store location using the smartphone’s built-in GPS function. Your app also may not require an Internet connection, which is helpful if the user doesn’t have a strong signal or can’t connect via Wi-fi.

Apps by the Numbers From a cost perspective, however, the problem with apps is they only work on the devices for which they were designed. It can be quite expensive to develop an app for each individual smartphone platform.

In fact, according to Mashable.com, it can cost around $30,000 to create a native iPhone app — and iPhone users represented less than 7 percent of all U.S. mobile phone users as of 2010. Reaching Android and BlackBerry users will require additional investment, and again, you’ll only reach a segment of the mobile market.

Expanding Your Reach With a Mobile Website By contrast, when you create a mobile website, you can reach any smartphone user, whether the user is on an iPhone, an Android device or another mobile phone with Internet access. In this way, your marketing dollars go further, even if you can’t offer certain cool or convenient features specific to a particular mobile device.

In addition, the content on a mobile website is accessible by search engines, and it’s easier to drive traffic generated from a Google advertising campaign to a landing page on a mobile website than to an app.

Mobile Website Costs The cost of a website varies, and this applies to mobile websites as well. There are many factors to consider, such as design and photography.

The good news is there are options available to business owners looking to create a mobile website. For those on a really tight budget, there are do-it-yourself platforms for mobile websites.

If you choose to hire a professional to design your mobile site, you can save by taking a less-is-more approach: avoid background photos and multimedia that add to download times and frustrate users.

Another advantage of mobile websites is the maintenance costs are lower over time compared to apps. To update an app you’ll likely need to hire a professional; in addition, when there are changes to the device, you may need to update your app, which can add up over time.

Whether you choose to develop a mobile website or an app ultimately depends on your unique business and goals. But if you’re looking to reach the widest audience at the lowest cost, you may want to consider a mobile website as a viable option.

Your next step should probably be learning more about the cost of a website, now that you know why mobile sites may be better for you than mobile apps.

Post written by guest blogger Mary. See the WebpageFX mobile website guidelines for additional tips on developing a cost-effective mobile site.

Three New Trends for Consumer Health Apps

Here is an update on healthcare apps  — uses and trends — plus a link to the original study.  Good read for healthcare provider as well as healthcare user.

Excerpt:  Of the more than 13,600 consumer heath apps we analyzed in April, the vast majority fit snugly into one of our 12 main subcategories, which include cardio fitness, dieting, stress relief, chronic condition management, and medication adherence. Since we began tracking consumer health apps in early 2010 we have noticed a handful of emerging categories of apps that are only now becoming large enough that one might consider them a trend.

Here’s a list of three mini-trends that didn’t make it into our consumer health apps report this year:

Read full article via Three new trends for consumer health apps | mobihealthnews.

11 Super Mobile Medical Apps

Apps adopted for better healthcare — see list.  Healthcare small business

Excerpt: In the end, the applications that are taking hold are the ones that provide needed services, and make doctors and patients more efficient. Take a look at the 11 apps featured below and see which ones will improve your practice or your health.

Read full article and list of apps via 11 Super Mobile Medical Apps — InformationWeek.

This Week’s Greatest Social Media Hits for Financial Services

There is a list of apps and mobile that affect the consumer — access links to read more about each.

Excerpt: Between Canada Day and Independence Day, it’s been a short business week in North America — but that hasn’t set back the tremendous advancements and exciting new digital developments the financial services industry.

It’s been a jam-packed week of international updates on the mobile banking front and retail banks using social media in new, innovative ways. Here’s a look at the week in brief.

Read and access links via This Week’s Greatest Social Media Hits for Financial Services « Radian6 – Social media monitoring tools, social media engagement software and social CRM and marketing from the industry leader in social analytics..  From SalesForce Radian

The 20 Best iOS And Android Apps Of 2012 (So Far) |

Overwhelmed by the choices in apps.  TechCrunch attempts to narrow it down to the top 20 choices for you.

Excerpt:  Halfway into 2012, there are now more than 1.2 million mobile applications available to download to iOS and Android devices. With so many options literally at our fingertips – including dozens of worthy titles introduced to us each day – the task of compiling a mid-year “best of” list of new apps is more challenging (and enjoyable) than ever.

Read full article via The 20 Best iOS And Android Apps Of 2012 (So Far) | TechCrunch.