Archives for September 2015
Common Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Mobile App
Today, smartphone and tablet users spend much more time using mobile apps than they do surfing the web on mobile browsers. It makes sense for your company to investigate the idea of creating a mobile app, if you have a good plan for how it can improve the customer experience.
However, there are certain mistakes that you need to be aware of as you go about creating that app. Beware of these common app development pitfalls:
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⢠Not thinking through your platform choice. You have a lot of choices for where to publish your app, including on iOS, Android and Windows. If youâre not going to get started by publishing on all of them, you need to do some research to determine which one would be most likely to help you achieve your goals. For example, Android is a better option for an international audience because it is used most widely on a global scale. But if youâre mostly a regional company, that probably isnât of much concern to you, and youâd look at other factors.
⢠Not thinking outside the box. Your mobile app is a lot more than a dumbed-down version of your website. Its functionality and scope should be completely different. It should be much more intuitive and easy to use, and possibly introduce new features.
⢠Not marketing the app. You have to realize that there is a whole sea of apps out there, so itâs not an âif you build it, they will comeâ scenario. You have to do your due diligence in marketing the app to draw attention to it. That means cross-channel marketing plans online, on social media, in press releases, whatever you need to do to increase awareness and get eyes on your app.
⢠Not testing the app on other people. You need to have some beta testers available that are removed from the development team so that you can see how it goes over with an unbiased user. That way, you can determine what does and doesnât work well before you launch.
Work with Viral Solutions for high-quality mobile app development and to avoid all of these types of mistakes.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Mobile Website vs. Mobile App: Which to Choose?
Every business should be engaged in mobile marketing. But when youâre beginning to look at choosing which format to focus on, how do you know whether youâd be best served by a mobile website or a mobile app?
Here are a few advantages of each that you can consider:
Mobile Websites
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Mobile websites will require less work to maintain than a mobile app, which will likely lower your total cost. Part of this is due to the rise in responsible design for websites, a type of design that allows your conventional website to essentially double as a mobile site, as it ârespondsâ to the size of the screen from which your users access the site. Consider also that apps have to be maintained and written for a variety of different platforms (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry).
You may also find that itâs easier to drive traffic to a mobile website than it is to get people to download an app. For one, you can use traditional SEO tactics for your mobile site that youâre already using on your website. Also, convincing users to download an app is an extra step that you have to take, and even then thereâs no guarantee that they will become a regular user of the app.
Mobile Apps
If your website isnât designed to be viewed on mobile screens, having an app for your company helps you to avoid having to do a total redesign from the ground up.
There are also numerous limitations to websites, particularly space and resources. This leads to limits to functionality that you can avoid through using mobile apps.
Finally, thereâs a lot of data to suggest that smartphone users spend significantly more time using apps than browsing the web on their devices. By late 2013, users were spending 30 hours a month on average using their apps. Now consider that a mobile app and a mobile web stie may serve a totally different purpose and audience for you business. Which is why this may not be a choice at all.
In the end, you need to consider your companyâs goals, your industry, what you would use the app for and whether you think it truly would add to the customer experience. We at Viral Solutions can work with you to help you determine what your best option is moving forward.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
What is Evergreen Content and Why is it Important for Your Blog?
When you create content for your blogs, the kind of content you create can basically be split up into two categories: newsworthy/timely and evergreen. Newsworthy or timely blogs are blog posts that apply to a certain piece of news or cultural trend, while evergreen blogs are valuable forever, keeping their âleavesâ all year long.
The main purpose of evergreen content is to drive consistent traffic to your website. Because the value of an evergreen blog never expires, people will continue to search for its information and (hopefully) land on your website. Examples include âhow-toâ or instructional posts, industry tips and insights, frequently asked questions, lists, âbest practiceâ posts and more.
One of the biggest benefits of evergreen content is that the more you create for your website, the more the benefits start to compound. Letâs say you find a topic that brings 500 unique visitors to your website each month. If you keep finding different topics that bring in a lot of unique visitors, youâre creating a significant amount of organic search traffic that likely wonât go away, because the value of the content will not decrease.
Please let us clarify some terminology first and put some things into context:
Copywriting services. Beyond our regular sales and marketing services, we also offer full-scale copy-writing services to develop content for your website, blog, featured articles, emails or any other types of written content that you need. All you need to do is let us know your content needs and we will provide you with a quote. Our copywriters take care of the rest, delivering professional, high-quality content straight to you.
What do we mean by organic traffic? Organic traffic means the content you put on your website today will drive traffic tomorrow, next month, next year, and probably even several years from now. That's why it's worth the effort. You don't see that kind of ROI from paid traffic.
What is evergreen content? Evergreen content is content that is perpetually relevant. The word evergreen is most often used by editors to describe certain kinds of stories, stories that, because of their topic, are always of interest to readers. They are always fresh, forever green. “Evergreen content is usually the canonical, or definitive, piece of content your business has on that given topic. It's in-depth, detailed, and it likely took you a lot longer to create than some of your other, non-evergreen blog content.” ~ HubSpot
How can a small business benefit from evergreen content? A great tweet tends to peak at about 18 minutes. An evergreen blog post will last for years. The difference between two pieces can be disparaging. However, it is reassuring when your posts continue to draw site traffic for a long time. Long lasting content on your blog and in your archives is a boon to traffic, social sharing and more. At Viral Solutions we have written nearly 500 original blog articles. Our organic traffic averages thousands of hits per month.
For this reason, a lot of content marketing experts suggest you follow an 80/20 rule for blog writing. Under this philosophy, 80 percent of your content should be traffic-driving evergreen content, while the other 20 percent should be timely, relevant pieces.
Creating effective evergreen content.
So how do you develop evergreen content that actually helps your business to gain online attention? Here are a few ideas:
⢠Choose quality long-tail keywords. Letâs say youâre in the clothing retail industry and youâre starting a new blog post. Rather than using keywords like âsuits,â you should instead choose more specific topics that people are likely to search for, such as âhow should a suit fit.â Finding the right long-tail keywords can be a big help to drawing traffic to your site.
⢠Build long-form content. Because evergreen content is written with the intent to make it last for years to come, you can feel free to go a little longer with your posts. Search engines favor quality long-form content, and you can include even more valuable information in each post.
⢠Promote. Promote your posts on social media, both when you originally publish the post and down the road.
⢠Keep writing. Again, the benefits of evergreen posts compound after a while, so youâre only helping yourself by continuing to create quality content.
What are the 5 keys to evergreen content?
- Be consistent and persistent – for years! When you get to 300 unique articles you are where you need to be – keep going.
- Be the trusted and definitive source.
- Keep you writing at a 5th grade level.
- Stay topical and on point.
- Write content that will be interesting a year or more after publishing.
The results? Well written evergreen content will, over time, rank very high and continue to draw search traffic. When tied to your associated lead generation offer, quality evergreen content will almost forever generate leads. Conversely, your blog can become outdated when you only write breaking news articles. Evergreen content is great for SEO, traffic and lead generation as it accumulates over time. Evergreen blog articles become evergreen funnels because they are passive ways for your business to collect revenue.
Need assistance with developing blog content for your company? Get in touch with us at Viral Solutions today and weâll get you started!
Learn More Here: “An Evergreen Content Case Study”
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Smartphones Now Account for 75 Percent of the Mobile Phone Market
When the iPhone was first introduced in 2007, it marked the beginning of a smartphone boom that has suddenly encapsulated the mobile market. Now, eight years later, a recent study indicates that smartphones now account for 75 percent of the devices available on the mobile market.
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To give you an idea of just how quick that growth has come, last year at this time that number was 65 percent, which means that many millions of new Americans purchased their first smartphone within the last year. Ten years ago, the total number of people who owned a smartphone made up just two percent of the mobile market.
The study focused on Americans age 13 or older. The other 25 percent of people are either still using older style cell phones like flip phones or do not have a device at all. However, according to the researchers, the amount of people that do not own any kind of mobile phone is so statistically insignificant that they didnât bother putting a percentage figure on it.
This figure is only expected to continue to go up in the coming years, and itâs not particularly surprising â mobile has taken over as the nationâs foremost platform for people to engage in digital media, whether itâs through web browsing, social networks, email or apps. While mobile web use has exploded, desktop computer use has generally flattened out over time. This is partially because people are able to use their mobile devices for a wide variety of tasks in addition to web browsing and communication. They can use them as eReaders, flashlights, gaming systems, alarm clocks, cameras and so much more.
So what does this mean for your marketing? The biggest takeaway is that the audience on smartphones is constantly increasing, which means that you have more people to whom you can market your mobile apps and websites. You also have a greater ability to include links to websites or apps in SMS marketing campaigns.
For more information on how you can continue to take advantage of this smartphone boom, reach out to our team at Viral Solutions today.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Tips for Better Local Business Promotion Online
When you first get started with a small business, one of your best bets at getting some early attention is to promote your business locally.
There are a variety of steps you can take with your digital marketing to make it more likely youâll get local traffic:
⢠Optimize your web presence for local search. First and foremost, create your Google My Business account and make sure it is properly optimized for the areas youâre targeting. Having a local business listing with Google will not only help you to show up higher in searches, but it will also give local customers a map of where youâre located, contact information, store hours and more important information all from the search page. Google My Business puts your business info on Search, Maps and Google+ so that customers can find you, no matter what device they're using.
At Viral Solutions, we understand the trials and tribulations that many new owners of small businesses face in the early going. We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves â so business can be fun again.
⢠Get reviews. Companies with more reviews online are more likely to rank highly in searches. Reviews are especially important for local businesses, because customers looking for a company like yours will want to see what other customers have to say before giving you a try. Do whatever you can to get plenty of reviews on Google, Yelp, Urbanspoon and other review sites.
⢠Social media. Social media marketing is an important part of digital marketing plans for companies of all sizes. In addition to building a following and interacting with customers, you can also purchase locally targeted ads to reach out to more potential customers in your area. Facebook and Twitter each have a variety of ad packages you can look into to use to increase your range.
⢠Craigslist. If you get creative, there are certainly ways you can use your local areaâs Craigslist to get some attention for your company. Airbnb is one of many companies that started getting traction because of the way it used Craigslist in its early days.
⢠Donât give up too early. Lots of people new to digital marketing tend to get frustrated early on because theyâre not seeing immediate results, but the truth is it can take a while for the results to manifest themselves, especially in search engines. As long as you stay proactive with optimizing your entire web presence for local customers, you will eventually start to see the effects and figure out what does and doesnât work.
For more tips about local business promotion, contact our team at Viral Solutions today.
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
