by: Robert Wang Twitter's new integration scheme has made it easier than ever manage your social media marketing campaigns. Following setup (instructions below), with one simple click you will be able to communicate your micro-message across multiple platforms simultaneously. In a generation where speed is everything, Twitter is quickly becoming an indispensable tool. Now compatible with Facebook, LinkedIN, and Evernote (to name a few), integration will allow your message to populate across platforms every time you post a new tweet. Here's how to set it up:   TWITTER FOR YOUR PERSONAL PROFILE: Create a Twitter account, here. Follow this link. You should see a prompt similar to the following:   Click allow. Login to your Twitter account and tweet away! TWITTER FOR YOUR FAN PAGE: Follow this link. You should see a prompt similar to the following: DO NOT CLICK INSTALL. Go to http://facebook.com/pages/manage Click 'Edit Page' beneath the name of your Fan Page Find 'Twitter for Pages' in your Applications list and click the pencil icon Click 'Edit' Allow Involver to install.   Though this isn’t highly advisable as the social media applications of Twitter and LinkedIn don’t really overlap, we’ve included a tutorial just in case you decide to do it anyway. We know how stubborn you are. Create a Twitter account here. On LinkedIn: Scroll to the bottom right-hand corner of the page and look for the [ + Add an Application ] box. Hover over the box, scroll down the resulting menu and click “Tweet” (left thumbnail) Click the "Add application" button (right thumbnail) Login to your Twitter account via LinkedIn. Choose the settings that best suit your needs.     Create and login to your Twitter account. Go to this URL: http://twitter.com/badges   Pick where you want to place your Twitter Widget. Select the look and options that best suit you. Copy and paste the code provided into the body of your site. Once you’ve completed any of the above operations, you’ll be able to update your Twitter and synchronized account simultaneously through Twitter.com.

You’ve heard the adage, “the best offense is a good defense.” A quick Google search yields unclear results as to who the author is, but the meaning of the saying is as clear as a sunny day in Los Angeles. Wait… Essentially, if you can anticipate the challenges you may run into in any endeavour, the chances are much better of conquering victoriously. With football season well underway, we have offense and defense on the brain and naturally want to help you with your defense. So what issues can you anticipate when you hit the ground running in building your app? Let’s go: Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail Yeah yeah, we aren’t fans of using hackneyed idioms either. But this one felt appropriate to get the point across in a way that (hopefully) doesn’t revive nightmares of childhood teachers. Those finger wagging tyrants who scolded you to get preparation work done for papers you never wanted to write. Well now that we firmly revived those memories, those ladies and gentlemen were right. You must have a plan detailing where you’re going before you get to work in almost any part of life. Same goes with building your mobile app. What is the purpose of your app? What kind of a problem will it solve and how is it going to do so? Have a plan in place and the obstacle monsters will digress. Nice to Niche Ya Some cold hard reality: Someone may have thought of your mobile app idea already. Now that this devastating information has sunk in and you’ve peeled yourself off the floor, it’s time to get to work. What is going to make your mobile app different from the rest? Facebook has been done and done well (you can argue with that but you’d be wrong), and the world doesn’t need another Facebook. Too many entrepreneurs want to build another version of [insert app you know and love here], but that’s not what is going to make you a success. Figure out your niche and stick to it. The Name of the Game - Competition It’s no secret that there are a ton of apps out there. And the competition continues to swell with 2,000 mobile apps published each and every day. Understanding what your competition looks like and what makes them special will help you find a way to differentiate your app. After building an app that separates you from the rest, you must ensure a skillful marketing strategy to get your app off the App Store/Google Play and into users’ mobile devices. We talked about this at length in The Best Mobile App Marketing Techniques, but as a quick overview remember to: Understand ASO Utilize Word-of-Mouth Marketing Leverage the Blogosphere Get and Read Ratings and Reviews We have some more tricks in the aforementioned article, but there’s a start. We Pledge Allegiance, To Your App Say it with us: “We want loyal users. We will take care of them and meet their needs.” It doesn’t matter if your raving fans are your best friends in real life or Aunt Sue from across the street and isn’t really your aunt but she makes the best brownies so she’s Aunt Sue. They are the humans who will gab about your app to everyone they know, and you want to encourage their loyalty. This is helpful for a couple of reasons, one being for marketing purposes. The second is their frequent use of your app equips them to find your flaws. As strange as that sounds, this is great for you. Having users out there who will take the time to let you know how you can improve enables you to grow your app so it can transform into a product users will pledge their allegiance to - and ultimately make you more money. Get To Work If everything were easy, everyone would do it. While the competition is hot and finding loyal users in a unique niche can be tricky, you can do it. And we can help you get started - let us know how we can help here.

We all have our heros. Richard Branson taught us why neckties are the worst. Steve Jobs demonstrated that simplicity can build an empire. Bill Gates proved that a diploma doesn’t forecast success - and that sometimes nerds can win the whole game.   Yet today we want to focus on another hero of ours - Ron Swanson.   Fictional character of the hit NBC TV show Parks and Recreation, Swanson is a no nonsense guy’s guy. A meat eating, Europe hating, screw-the-government, breakfast food enthusiast. While much of the humor spouted by the anarchist character is heavily tongue in cheek, there’s a lot to be learned about web and mobile app development from the father of stoic narcissism.   Here are a few nuggets of Swansonian wisdom that can guide you in your iOS and/or Android application development quest:   1. "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”     One of the most important things when building an app is understanding that you aren’t building a super robot that can accomplish everything there ever was. You won’t develop the Tweeting LinkedIn integrated CRM with chat functionality throwing Angry Birds that Crush Candy.   Find your niche and get good at it. Not just a little bit, but REALLY good at it. You won’t please every user but if you can hone in on what makes your niche users fall in love with your app, that is how you will experience viral growth.   2. “Turkey can never beat cow.”   A little context, Ron Swanson and Rob Lowe’s health nut character face off in a hamburger cook-off. Swanson simply uses a traditional bloody beef burger with nothing on it. Meanwhile Lowe goes above and beyond with ingredients, fancy spices, flashy decorations, and generally puts far more effort dressing up his burger-mimick than Swanson ever did.   Who won? Swanson with his beef burger.   Regardless of how much effort Lowe muscled into dressing up the turkey imitation, he still was working with the wrong product - and his audience knew it. Your audience is just as aware, and will see right through your product if you don’t do it right. Now there are two things we want to point out here: Be original - don’t copy another application.   While we believe in the idea of borrowing brilliance, we don’t believe in being a copycat. Facebook is the Facebook of all the Facebooks, so don’t build another Facebook. Make sure your idea is different enough to solve a real problem in the marketplace and is the solution people are looking for and can be excited about.   Don’t hire a second-tier development team - go for quality.   As the turkey burger is inferior to the beef burger, so are unproven developers to the experts. In mobile app development, finding the right developer who knows what they are doing may seem expensive on the face of the project. But in our experience, we have had client after client come to us lamenting the hiring poor developers to save a few pennies on the surface, only to pay for their mistakes and go to the experts in the end anyway. Do it right from the start to save yourself time and money.   3. “Crying: Acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.”   Building an app is a long, well worth it process, filled with unexpected roadblocks and sometimes unforeseeable problems. We previously discussed the obstacles you may face in developing your application but in sum, remember to keep a cool head and know there will be challenges. This will enable you to lead your team with patience and end up with the product you all were hoping for. The point here is not to freak out and yes, the development process can sometimes be tough.   Through the same vein, Swanson gives us another good example of demonstrating toughness. During a typical meeting, to relieve an alleged toothache Swanson grabbed a pair of pliers. After moments of shaky tugging and pulling, he yanked out his own tooth. As his colleagues horrified shrieks faded down the hallway from fleeing the room, Ron turned to the camera to state, “It’s always a good idea to demonstrate to your coworkers that you are capable of withstanding a tremendous amount of pain.” Touche Ron, touche.   4. “There’s only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk. Which is water that’s lying about being milk."   It’s not uncommon for salespeople to over promise what their product can do. However the companies that really get ahead are honest with what they offer and clear about their application’s capabilities. When you get to the final marketing process of your mobile or web application, maintain integrity in your marketing. Being honest about your finished product is what can earn you lifetime, loyal users.   Overall, building a web or mobile application is a process. Many steps must be considered and many people will be involved - but you can do it. And now that you have completed our bacon lover’s guide to app building, may we offer one final blessing from Swanson:   “Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into Swansons.”   Have questions on getting started on your mobile app, or already started and a little stuck? Ping us here and let us know how we can help.   Ron would.