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The Advantages of Android App Development

In the mobile operating systems division, software giant Google’s Android OS is gaining great market share. Many mobile manufacturing giants have applauded what Google has done with its world-class open source mobile technology in the Android OS.Be it a business presentation, sales presentation, entertainment, game, a universal application, an android development team is available for to work with each individual’s customized requirements for the app.

Android is very famous amongst the Application markets because these apps are made for ease of use. Development of Android applications has unlimited benefits to your business or organization. And with developers being specialized in the most current operating systems, they will make sure your app is up to par with the rest, taking in all of your suggestions.

There are thousands of Android apps in the market place. The great thing is that the market has been transformed as it has grown. This is making it easier to access the apps you are directly looking for. Or put your app at the forefront of the market, and make it be found. This will turn visitors into customers. The new Android Market has each category sectioned out as soon as the marketplace is open. Once in the app, the download process has been made easy by having the link placed directly at the top. If the link being directly at the top of the screen isn’t convincing enough for people to purchase, a link will be added. To help you promote your product more effectively, the page now includes a thumbnail link to your product video, if that is supplied with the application at submission.

The Android mobile phone market is growing 32 percent every month, with new handsets being released all the time.Android will connect using WiFi, Bluetooth, and wireless data over a cellular connection, such as GPRS, EDGE, and 3G. This cutting edge platform provides seamless integration with Google Maps to display an address directly within an application. Support for location-based services, such as GPS and accelerometer is also available in the Android software stack.

This isn’t all. The advantage of Android development is endless. Here are additional reasons to go ahead with android app development. These reasons are for the developer and the consumer advantage. Theses additional advantages include the following; send and receive data across mobile networks through GSM, EDGE, CDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EV-DO and UMTS technologies, widespread libraries for 2D and 3D graphics, a wide range of libraries for image, audio and video files, features of video camera, touchscreen, GPS, accelerometer and magnetometer, P2P using Google Talk, and SQLite for data storage. This is only the beginning on Andriod’s reign over the mobile phone market. The Android OS will control the market before we know it.

6 Benefits of Customized Web Application Development

A web application is a client-server computer program that is stored on a remote server and delivered through the internet via a web browser.

Some common web apps you’ve probably worked with include Google Docs, Pixlr, Evernote, Trello, and Netflix. Essentially, a web app is an online computer program that can help you perform a function, rather than just take in information.

If you’re a business, having a customized web application can not only benefit your employees, but can benefit your customers. Here are six benefits of a customized web application:

It’s Tailor Made

A web application made for your business by a web development company will be exactly what you need to solve your problems. The application will be created to serve the specific purpose you need it for, and you can rest assured your application will be able to handle all your business’ requirements.

It’s Scalable

Sure, off the shelf software may address most of your business’ needs, however it’s not as scalable as something custom built. Having a custom web app developed will guarantee that your application can grow as your business does, and you won’t be forced to switch to a more expensive program or worry about costly license purchases.

It’s Safe.

Most online hacking comes from hackers being knowledgeable of weak points in commonly used software, which can put a big target on your business if you use one of those softwares. To hack a custom coded application would take much more time and effort to learn the program, so it will be a less attractive target.

It’s Adaptable.

If your business already uses a few other softwares, it’s no problem to create your custom web app to flow seamlessly with them. Unlike utilizing multiple off the shelf solutions which often will not work together efficiently, a custom web app can be created with your other preferred softwares in mind, ensuring a higher productivity and easy workflow.

It’s Consistently Maintained.

When you use a commercial software, you’re forced to count on that software development company to keep your software running. If the company shuts down or if they decide to no longer maintain that app, you’ll be forced to switch softwares, which can be an unexpected expense for your business.

You Can Save Money Over Time.

Of course, having a custom web app built isn’t necessarily cheaper than using something off the shelf, but over time it can save you a great deal of money. You won’t have to pay for licensing packages or purchase extra hardware, because your application can be built to work with your existing hardware. You’ll also own your application, so you won’t have to pay to use it (only for maintenance).

Major Benefits and Key Challenges of Android Development

Powerful Android applications make a difference in the world. As more than 84 percent of all the Smart Phones use Android OS, there are great opportunities for developers of Android applications, making it possible for you to find a skilled android developer in any part of the world. Having said that, here is an in depth look at the major benefits and key challenges of android development to help you choose the best platform for your business app development.

Major Benefits:

Android development is cost effective

Android is open source, therefore developers can create any number of rich applications, without any recurring license fees. On the other hand, an easy SDK creation does not require more resources. You can also go for any number of revisions in the application, as there are free modification programs available, which further bring the cost down.

Inter application integration

With Android being an open source platform, it is more suitable for all sorts of inter application integration. Even if you want to merge or cross-promote the various programs together, Android is the most suitable program to use, as the technology itself is perfect for any kind of connection between dissimilar software.

Graphics support

Android offers extensive support for 2D and 3D graphics, which helps companies to attract users to its mobile applications. Using high-quality graphics is crucial for the success of any mobile application.

Less skill is required

Android programs are basically written in Java. A developer with a working knowledge of Java and good experience in this programming type can easily get Android application up and running with relative ease.

Linux kernel

Android is based on Linux kernel, which means that the basic features of Android are very similar to those of Linux kernel. Based on Linux, Android gives a very secure and stable platform, ensuring an obstacle free and smooth environment where applications can perform their best.

The key challenges

UI development

As the OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) produce their own user interfaces, which are quite different from each other, it is sometimes a problem for the developer to handle this variation in UI’s.

Performance

Factors such as GUI (graphical user interface) and memory and power use affect the performance of an application. During application development, the developer must take into account the problem of resource utilization and distribute the resources optimally to all the applications that need them.

Security

With the widespread use of Android smart phones, there is also a need to protect these devices from malicious attacks aiming to steal critical information such as usernames and passwords. The data in transit and data at rest both need to be protected against any unauthorized access.

Backward compatibility

As Android is known for its frequent updates, it is important for the developer to ensure backward compatibility in his application developments. It is necessary to ensure that the developed application runs smooth not only on the updated version, but also on the previous versions of the Android API.

It is time for business owners to start thinking beyond regular app ideas, such as email and calendar, as they are too basic to utilize an Android developer’s full potential. While the business owners struggle with their creativity and lack of ideas, there is no shortage of talent in the Android developer community. Use your potential to come up with a challenging idea, and give it a chance. No matter how bizarre it may seem at first glance.

How To Start A Mobile App Development Business With Little Investment

Most of the people who are planning to come up with their iOS Application development company usually think that they will immediately start earning twice as much for half the work which they use to do their regular jobs. Some folks do get lucky, but not everyone has that kind of luck. Before you enter the entrepreneurial world, it will be good that chalk out a solid business plan and a proper understanding of how the mobile app development industry works.

Given below are the few tips which will help you establish your mobile app development business:

Sign up as a developer: Let’s begin with basics i.e. gaining access to the Android and iOS app stores. As Google and Apple are one of the biggest players in the market, it is essential that you first sign up on these two stores. Once you completed the app, you need to submit it to these two app stores and each company will review your app before making it official on their store. The review process involves a check of app quality, interface, etc. And make sure you’re not embedding any malware or spam in the app.

Once your app is accepted by the app store, your app will be officially listed in their store, and you will get 70% of the selling price, and rest of the amount will be kept by the app stores. In order to get into the game, you to sign up for Apple’s iOS developer program which costs $99/year and for Android you need to register for Developer Console which has a one-time fees of $25.

Additional hats to wear: Having your own business means more flexibility with your time, but it also brings various other responsibilities which you have to handle efficiently. For instance, if you have started your business on sole proprietorship basis then you have to deal with different things like app testing, designing, interacting with clients, marketing and even have to handle the legal matters related to app ownership & contracts.

If you have a good budget, then you can Hire an iOS app developer who will design, developer and test the app on your behalf so that you can properly handle the marketing and legal tasks. Besides this, you can also start your business on the partnership basis and can take full advantage of pooled capital resources and manpower.

Build your app: If you have a small budget and have a good programming or coding knowledge, then you can write the app by yourself. Given below are four tools that will help you in building a feature-rich app:

Appery.io- A bit complicated for beginners, this tool packs an excellent integration of data services with apps. Appery.io comes with a free plan that allows maximum three pages and one user. And at the initial stage, three pages are enough, to begin.

Good Barber- This tool comes with a 30-day free trial package and after that, you choose their premium plan starting from $16/month. What makes this tool stand apart from others is its design elements, Google Font Integration and plenty of icons to choose from. Besides this, you can also find several online tutorials and webinars related to this tool.

Appy Pie: You can enjoy this tools free services if you let them run ads in your app else you can upgrade to ad-free plan which starts from $7/month. Appy Pie comes with pre-set app categories like restaurant, banking, radio, photo-sharing, etc. Apart from that, they also offer the wide range of features by which you can add different functionalities like GPS location, push notifications, and much more.

Game-Salad: If you are planning to create a mobile game then this tool is perfect for you. Most of the Android application development services provider have this tool. The free version of this tool consists of ads, but there’s a $299 version which removes ads completely and makes in-app purchases available. If you want to earn money via in-app purchases, then this tool will help you add this feature in your game.

Test, Test & Retest: Before you submit your app to the app store, it will be good that you check your app correctly. This is something which you cannot do it on your own; you can ask your friends to run the beta version of your app and tell them to provide you with the proper details of any issues, lags or bugs they detected while using the app.

Besides this, you can also roll out the early versions of your app that consists of limited features. By this, you will get a real-time response related to the functionality and user-interface of your app. You can also Hire Android app developers who will test the app on your behalf.

Submit your app to the app stores: After testing and re-testing your app, it’s finally the time you submit yours to the respective app stores. Once you have submitted your app, it will be reviewed by the developers working for the app store. An average time taken to review an app is 13 days. If your app excels in the app store’s quality tests, then they will list your app on their store, and you will receive a welcome mail related to the acceptance of your app.

Marketing your app: To increase the number of downloads and active installs it is essential that you promote your app using different marketing channels. You can start from word of mouth promotion by asking your friends and family members to download and use the app. Beside this, you can also deploy social media advertising techniques and list your app on various pages that will help your app reach international audiences.

Conclusion

In this post, you will read few tips that will help you start your app development business. Before you start, it will be good that you gain a good knowledge of ongoing & upcoming market trends and also chalk out a solid work plan which will help you achieve the desired target.

7 Tips to Choose the Mobile App Development Company

A unique mobile app idea can literally change the world. Apps like Facebook, Pinterest or Uber are immensely popular today, not due to the fact that those were started by famous business personas. It is rather the innovative approach of these mobile apps that has taken the technological world by storm.

With increasing number of tech-savvy users across the globe, mobile application development has created disruptions across all major industries for offering business-friendliness, great ease of use, and on-the-go data accessibility to employees and customers alike. As the need for mobile application development keeps surmounting, a lot of mobile app development companies have come up to deliver right and specific app solutions to their clients.

These companies can help you get started with the mobile app development process, especially if you have a creative app development idea in your mind. But, what if you don’t have any idea and yet require a mobile app for your business? Or, you have the perfect concept of how you want your business app to be, but want that within the very tight deadline or budget? Here’s where a careful selection plays a role.

To put it in simply, you need to pick out a company that understands your business requirements and can provide innovative solutions as per your specifications and guidelines. Just making a search on Google for a mobile app development company will not do; there are thousands of such companies that offer just this, and thus, leads to a whole lot of confusion. You need to analyze, sort and put modified requirements on the search engine to get the right results.

Wondering how to go about it? Here are some tips from the App development team that will help you choose the best mobile app development company for your business.

7 Effective Tips to Choose the Mobile App Development Company

If you have a mid-to-large scale business, the mobile app can be a very crucial part of your business growth strategy. Therefore, you have to choose a mobile app development company that has an innovative approach along with futuristic thinking. But before you judge the strengths and weaknesses of any company, you need to begin by assessing your organizational needs and check whether the chosen company can fulfill those. Here are 7 proven tips for finding the mobile app company of your choice:

1. Know What Your App Requirements Are

It might sound like a no-brainer but having a thorough understanding of your app development requirements can certainly help you in filtering the mobile app development companies. This process should start with the close analysis of the specific business demands and objectives, which you need to convert into meaningful app features and functionalities. We have seen that a lot of our clients struggle while determining what they want from their business app. To help them progress, we provide a questionnaire that helps drive them toward their goal:

What types of products/services are you trying to sell?
Where do you want your app to be: on Android, iOS, Windows-based Mobile Application Development Platforms?
Who will build your user base?
What kind of mobile app do you want- native, hybrid or web-based apps?

Once you are convinced about what you want from the app, you are ready to move to the next step.

2. Inquire About their App Delivery Time-to-Market

Faster ‘time-to-market’ is the new demand in today’s’ age of digital disruption. If your chosen mobile app development company is slow at rolling out apps to the market, there is an increasing possibility that you will fall behind your competition. The quicker your business app hits the market, higher would be your ROI. Therefore, concentrate on choosing mobile app development companies that deliver high-quality apps quickly, while keeping in mind the changing trends in the app development market.

3. Take a Close Look at their Portfolios

Once you open the website of any mobile app development company, start by checking their portfolios. Portfolios provide a good overview of the business domains and project themes the company has been involved in, and the kind of technical expertise they hold. You can also get in touch with the company to understand whether they have worked on the kind of app you want before or have the potential to deliver it.

4. Check How Affordable They Are

When it comes to choosing the right mobile app development company, you will always find the development cost and app quality to be in conflict. A lot of organizations opt for start-ups to keep the development cost low and receive a finished product which has little market relevancy. On the other hand, it is wrong to assume that best mobile app development companies offering quality app solutions will be always high-priced. What you need to keep in mind here is that only strong market players can afford to provide quality apps at efficient costs. If you choose to go for long-established companies with good market visibility, you will notice that their charges are comparatively lesser than the start-ups and others.

5. See How Transparent Their Process Is

The product development cycle and transparency policy followed by the mobile app development company also play a very important role in the selection process. Low code methods of mobile application development have gained immense popularity for faster app delivery, but few leading mobile app development companies in US follow it nowadays. In addition, look for companies that provide transparent communication and feedback loops in the development process for holding better mutual understanding, and promptly respond to errors and iteration requests.

6. Check Their Experience and Reputation Online

Market reputation and experience speak volumes about the credibility of a mobile app development company. Apart from checking the portfolios, keep an eye on the number of positive reviews posted about a particular company, years of experience in the app development domain, and the different kinds of mobile application development services that they provide. Just remember that you can achieve good Return on Investment (ROI) from your app only when the company chosen by you can deliver solutions with innovative, out-of-the-box ideation. Also, if a company projects in-depth knowledge of multiple mobile device requirements and all popular Mobile Application Development Platforms including Android and iOS, rest assured that they are capable of delivering what you want from them.

7. Mark Their Customer Approach

If you end up choosing app development companies offering poor customer service, you are likely to face troublesome issues right from the development stage. A lot of organizations fall prey to mobile app development companies that are just trying to sell their app and will disappear from the scene once the deal is done. Only companies with good market reputation and a loyal client base understand their customer worth and are always ready to assist you at every step so choose the best mobile app development company

Why Is Mobile App Development So Important Today

1-Easy and Direct Marketing Channel

The very first and the foremost benefit of mobile app development is that these provide an easy and direct marketing channel to the businesses. All the information related with the product and services of a business are at the fingertips of the users. Mobile development also make it convenient to interact with your customers through notifications. Businesses can also judge the needs and likes of the customers and develop certain products to satisfy those needs.

2-Build Brand Recognition and Awareness

Apps development has become important also because mobile apps help to build brand recognition and awareness. This is mainly because businesses always focus on developing those products that satisfy customers’ needs. This solution help the businesses to engage with their customers more often which increases brand loyalty.

3-Increased Sales

This service have increased the sales of almost all the businesses because these provide an innovative and attractive way to see the products before purchasing. Moreover, the users can read all the necessary information about the product and services they intend to purchase. Also, mobile apps have made shopping quite easier because you can pay directly from your bank account for the products and services purchased.

4-Competitive Advantage

The mobile application development is also important today because it provides businesses competitive advantages. A business using mobile app for marketing and sales always stands out of the crowd. You can also gain competitive advantage by hiring top notch tech experts for app development. This is because a good and attractive mobile application will engage more customers and increase sales.

5-24/7 Hour Visibility

Most of the businesses are booming nowadays because mobile app development has increased their visibility around the world. Through this solution, your business is 24/7 hour visible to the customers which facilitates them to see the product they need and also read all the necessary information about it. The number of downloads of a certain mobile app either on Google Play Store or Apple App Store helps you judge the visibility of your business.

6-Easy Accessibility

App development also provide an easy accessibility to all the needed information, products, and services while on the go. There are many customers who do not have time to navigate the website of a business and prefer using mobile app for an easy access. Also, you do not need to sign in again and again into the app to get necessary information.

Final Word

After reading the entire article, we can summarize that mobile app development is very important for growth of any business nowadays. This is because more and more people are shifting to mobile usage because it provides on the go facility to carry on your business.

Why Android App Development Is Beneficial for Businesses Seeking Growth and Visibility

Recent stats about the behavior of customers online have revealed that the use of mobile apps to purchase things and to gather data has increased in leaps and bounds. Today, brands are getting purchase orders through mobile apps and are also able to keep the customers engaged through various ads and activities. Android mobile app development has gained much popularity these days and enterprises are also creating customized mobile apps that solve the customer issues and add value to their business. So, if you are planning to capitalize on the popularity of mobile devices through apps, then Android should be on top of your list.

Developing an Android app can be beneficial for your business if you are willing to reach out to the mass. The smart device and touch screen enabled Google platform is used by more than 80% smartphones and 60% tablets all over the world. So, it can be said that Android is dominating the market with its strong presence. Since the devices running on Android are available at remarkable prices, they are the first choice for the users. It is in fact reasonable to build an android business app for the leading digital market.

Ideal to interact with customers:

Any channel that is adopted to reach the products or services should be open and easy. If users have to purchase devices that are very costly, then your business goals will not be attained. With regular features and upgrades, today’s smartphones offer advanced computing features and are able to match any laptop or desktop in terms of their utility. Since Android mobile users are in large numbers, business owners can often target huge market by creating business apps.

No investment in development tools:

Android comparatively has a low entry cost as it offers Software Development Kits for free to the developer’s community and this reduces the development and licensing costs. Same is with the varied tools and technologies, which are open source and are available for free. Developers are not supposed to charge any fees for the tools that are offered by Google as they are available for free.

BYOD preference:

Android holds over 83% of the market share and this is quite evident. For organizations that are adopting the BYOD policy, it is feasible for them to opt for Android as their enterprise app development platform as it is available for a wide range of devices and business can target users of all economic groups. And overall BYOD environments also require heightened security and Android platform offers high security features, so that users can easily share information and make transactions without any issues.

Smart working:

With Android app development, you can put flexibility and power of the platform to work anytime and anywhere to create best in class productivity apps. Android offers more options for customization that are based on the specific needs of the business and also the changing trends of the market. It is easy for the developers to tweak the existing apps and add more features and functionalities to make them more contemporary. Android is the best mobile platform between process architecture and applications.

Free options to choose distribution channels:

Google offers the freedom to distribute your apps from any medium that you prefer. There are no hard and fast rules that you have to put your app on Google Play for its distribution. You can either distribute it on your own or use any other ad platforms for distribution. In case you want to create an internal enterprise operation and are not willing to launch the app on the store, then you have complete freedom to do so and Android gives you this opportunity. According to your choice of promotional strategy, you can now easily reach your end users through various channels.

Easy adoption:

Mobile application design trends are evolving and this requires that your app is continuously updated. This can only be done by experienced Android app developers. Android apps are scripted in Java language together with the help of rich libraries. So, anyone having knowledge of Java can work on them. Usually Java programmers find it quite easy to adopt as well as develop script code for mobile apps. In case of any crashes or bugs, any developer having Java programming proficiency can easily resolve the errors effectively from the android app.

Thus to conclude, if you are willing to maximize your customer reach through mobile applications, then targeting the Android platform will help you to transform your business into a profitable venture.

Business Development – Boost Your Business With These 5 Amazing Tips

Although running your own business can be extremely rewarding, it can also be downright overwhelming and frustrating at times especially if you simply don’t know what to do. Here are the 5 amazing tips that can help you boost your business in no time:

1. Hire only the best people. Keep in mind that the success of your business will largely depend on your employees. So, make it a point that you only hire those who are competent and who care in satisfying you and your customers. Give these people all the types of trainings and seminars they need before and during their employment to help them get better on what they do. This can surely benefit your business as a whole.

2. Marketing campaign. It is crucial that you have a powerful and highly targeted marketing campaign otherwise, your sales will surely suffer. Invest on doing research to truly understand the needs and demands of your potential clients. Also, learn the things that can easily push their buttons. Develop a marketing plan that will help you connect with these people while you properly build up your products and services.

3. Budgeting. Write your financial plans to easily set goals and measure progress. Calculate all your expenses and come up with a projected sales and revenue. Make it your best estimate. Forecast variable expenses such as commissions, travel, training, etc. and fixed expenses like rent, taxes, payroll, etc. You will need to take out these expenses from your gross margin to easily figure out how much you are going to make per month.

4. Know how to avert disasters. Disasters can strike your business when you least expect it. When these happen, make sure that you are prepared to save your business from falling down. You can do this by safely storing all important documents like legal agreements and monthly financials. Then, consider your insurance needs. Evaluate the level of property, liability, and life insurance that you need to get to protect your business in the future. Lastly, establish a credit line just in case you’ll need money that you do not currently have.

5. Develop good vendor relationship. Get to know your suppliers and consider them as part of your team. Make sure that they thoroughly understand your needs and demands. Show appreciation to all their efforts to satisfy you and pay on time. You don’t want any delays in shipments or problems with raw materials as this can surely affect the quality of your products and services.

Hiring Mobile Development Experts for Your Business

Life gets more fast-paced today thanks to the help of smartphones. According to a study by Business Insider, one in every five people in the world own a smartphone. It is safe to say that this advanced phone has become an essential in our everyday lives. In addition, this is also why more and more businesses have become interested in mobile development of their products.

Why is building a mobile app important, you say? A lot of people are always on their phones, and most of these people want to receive instant updates without having to open their laptops. Imagine if you’re traveling, if you want to know where the nearest museum is, all you need to do is to navigate on the map which is readily available on your smartphone. You can also download another app which specializes on traveling. In short, having a mobile app simplifies life functions and saves you time and effort. This is one reason why your business should consider mobile development.

Now the challenge that lays there is this: where do you find a mobile developer who can do what you need for him/her to do? You have a number of options to choose from, and here are some points you need to think about:

Technicality: Your chosen expert in mobile development should be competent when it comes to the technical aspects of your project. They should have excellent development skills and they should know what exactly they’re doing.

Creativity: Your app developers should not only be skillful in their chosen field, but they should also be creative. They should possess the ability to contribute ideas to make your project better and more marketable.

Work experience and testimonials: Feedback and portfolio are important. Their subjective claims on what they say they can do should be backed up with proof that they are actually competent to do what is expected of them. Take a look at the past mobile applications they have developed and see if the apps are any good. You can also contact past clients and ask for feedback on your developer.

Cost: Most of the time, it is true when people say that you get what you pay for. While there are tons of high-quality mobile development experts that do not charge that much, but you can still go for established outsourcing firms that guarantee quality work. Then again, it’s still up to your preferences and budget.

7 Business Development Marketing Tips For Social Media

You would have heard so many marketing experts telling everyone to use social media as part of their promotional marketing mix. The Internet is flooded with information on using Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. Numerous articles have been written on how using social media can help promote your brand image and how it can generate web traffic for your main business website.

Keep in mind that that social networking is a marketing tool and it is only effective when used properly to promote your business.

The key question for a business is “How is social media harnessed to generate real revenue and customers?” In today’s digitally connected society your customers regardless of their age, gender or economic status will be active on social networking sites.

Here are some of the latest usage statistics on social media use that will make a business take notice:

68% of small businesses will increase their social networking marketing efforts in the next year
56% of Twitter users say they use the micro blogging site for business or work related purposes
Over 40% of people have become ‘friends’ with or ‘like’ a brand/company on Facebook or MySpace
20% of tweets are about business products
46% of Facebook users say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook
44% of Twitter users have recommended a product
Social media played a major role in holiday shopping – 28% of shoppers say social media has influenced their purchases

On the Facebook site alone:

More than 400 million active users
50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook
There are over 160 million pages, groups and events that people interact with
Average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events
Average user creates 70 pieces of content each month
Males and females almost equally use social sites (47% vs. 53%)
61% of Facebook users are middle aged or older, with the average age being 37
18- to 24-year-olds don’t dominate any particular social networking site; they’re spread out all over
More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month

The participation of your business in social networking should be self-evident, however, many businesses will go on to set-up social media sites and make no effort to participate and engage in the groups that their potential customers use.

To be successful in using social networking your business must find out where your potential customers spend time on these sites so that you can engage with them where they prefer and not where you prefer or are comfortable with. Participation and engagement with their social networks will form a platform from which to build relationships with communities of interest. This in turn will provide a new customer acquisition channel using the share and like capabilities of the social networking world. This “sharing” is the equivalent of word of mouth in traditional marketing.

Here are the 7 Business Development Marketing Tips for using Social Media:

1. Go where your customers are and not where you are comfortable

To find your customers on social networking sites consider the following:

Conduct a survey among your customers or potential customers.
Analyse and monitor traffic on social sites to discover how and where customers are sharing information about your business and your competitors.
Review marketing research or statistical information on the usage and demographics of the different social media sites.

2. Engage and interact

Social-media engagement is a conversation and your participation in the social network groups and communities is core to building relationships. Your value as a participant is judged by the value that you provide to the community as a whole. You can achieve this by freely sharing relevant, interesting and useful information

3. Research your competitors’ activities

You need to gather competitive information that can help your efforts. Conduct a competitive analysis of your top five competitors’ use of social media for the following:

The social networking sites that they actively participate
The type of content they publish
The number and type of followers, fans and views
The products, programs or events promoted

4. Release offers and programs that are exclusive to your social networking channels

You must give importance to your social media with exclusive offers for these promotional channels. This will entice potential customers to share with their networks the offer that is not available from other marketing channels.

As an example, provide offer an exclusive offer for your social media channel, such as discount coupon or voucher.

5. Social media participation requires authenticity and transparency

The words “authenticity” and “transparency” are a bit overused today, however, these are cornerstones to be successful with social networking. Be a real human being in your interactions. This is the foundation to build trust and connections with real people on social media groups and networks.

6. Look for value opportunities in selling through social networking

Take the opportunity to leverage social media in selling your products and/or services by offering relevant items that are of value to your followers. Make it easy for them to make the purchase from these social media channels.

7. Always test and refine based on results generated

Social media programs as a marketing channel are not exempt from testing and refining your messages and offers. You must make the effort to test, gather results and analyse how it can be improved before launching the program to the entire channel.

Apply these 7 Marketing Tips for using Social Media to give you the foundation for success building and growing your business using these communication channels.