So, you’re thinking about developing a mobile app, but you are not sure where to start? Before you jump into the app development process, take a look at this list of the top five points you should ponder, chosen by a top app development team that walks the app walk every day – Barefoot Solutions. 1. First, choose your platform The most popular mobile platforms today are iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and Mobile Web. The mobile platform(s) on which you develop your app depends largely on whether you want a web mobile, hybrid, or native app. Do most of your current and potential customers use iPhones, or do they use all types of smartphones? Do your research carefully so you know what platform will best meet the needs of your unique customer base. 2. Big decision number 2 - Decide what type of mobile app you want - Mobile web, hybrid or native. If you’re not sure what works for which, here is a really simple breakdown for you. Mobile web apps are fundamentally mobile versions of websites. They make websites easier to read, track through and interact with on phones and tablets. Hybrid or cross-platform apps are coded and then wrapped for whatever mobile platforms you choose, using a framework like PhoneGap or Titanium Appcelerator. They allow for some very interesting give and take because they provide for cross-platform compatibility and can use the phone’s hardware (camera, GPS, user’s contacts). And it’s a timesaver because you only code the app once and can deploy across the various platforms. Native apps are coded in the native language of a specific mobile operating system, like Objective-C for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch apps. For apps that are a bit more complex and have a tad more interactivity, the native programming language provides a faster and more responsive experience. Native apps are speedy, dependable, and brawny. Still to date, games are mostly native apps. 3. Here’s the question that should define exactly what makes your app uniquely yours - what would you want your users to be able to do? Write a detailed description of each and every basic function you want your app to perform and why. Sound daunting? Try writing it out as a user story. Start by filling in the blank: “I want my users to be able to ____”. Every top thing you want to do within the app should be outlined, defined, and explored. And you know you have a picture in your head of what you want it to look like – colors, graphics, etc. Put that in your description too. Once you have laid out all this detail about your app in a descriptive narrative, you will be able to get a much clearer idea of how much it will cost to develop. Oh, and remember that your first user story should just outline your minimum viable product, meaning that you should try to limit the features of the app to the "must haves" and think about postponing the "want to haves" for another version of the app. This will keep your initial costs down and will open up the door to some fast adoption rates and really good user feedback from the initial release. That way, the next release can include some user wishes that maybe weren’t something you’ve thought of already. 4. Know your user demographic. You already know what you want your app to do, so who do you think is going to use it? Why? What age group? How much money do they have to spend? What kinds of smartphones do they use? What general interests/shopping habits do they have? How plugged in are they? Investigate the market, read pertinent blogs, ask questions, observe - and get your answers. 5. And, finally, there is this to consider – if you want to make money on your app, you need a monetization or pricing strategy. Will your app be free, free with in-app purchases, ad-supported, or paid? If paid, how much are you planning on charging for it? How will you charge? One time? As a subscription? Per use? There are many things to consider when coming up with your pricing strategy and it is really important that you think long and hard about the pricing question before you start. With no valid pricing engine in place, your app can derail pretty swiftly. Let’s wrap it up here and underline a few points Your marketing plan plays a big part in all of this, but especially when developing your pricing strategy. Your app, no matter how stupendous, will not sell itself. You’ll need a strong app marketing plan that will help generate a rock-solid fan base of engaged and delighted users. Build all your marketing costs into your equation – both pre and post launch marketing. Think, think, and think about your demographic. How much money do they have to spend? What smartphones do they use? iPhone users tend to spend more on apps, but maybe your app is more targeted toward the larger Android market. Not just the demographic conundrum, but each of these five points should be really mulled over, look at again and again – and thought about in tandem with each other before you go forward with developing your mobile application. A final note - - - Once you are headed down the app path, you may realize that you need a little guidance from a top scale mobile development group - like Barefoot Solutions. Because they walk the app path every day, they know every twist and turn, every potential hazard and have a clear view to the ideal final destination.

So you built, or want to build, an app. Obviously the creation of a successful app involves many moving parts and a multitude of steps. The research, planning, hours and effort required add up to a helluva process - but that’s only half the battle. To fully bring your idea to life there is an important final touch you can’t forget - user acquisition. Given the competitive mobile app market, gaining usership can be a battle. With over 2,000 new apps published every single day, you better plan ahead and get your marketing act together if you don’t want to end up with a dead app. You worked way too hard for that. Now that we have you a little rattled, don’t panic - there’s plenty you can do to get noticed. Start with social media. For example, you can easily set up advertising such as a pay-per-install campaign on Facebook. Find out what tweeters are tweeting and get your hashtags rolling. While you do that, here’s a few tips that will help you get the visibility you need to get those coveted downloads and industry buzz: Learn and Master ASO You’ve heard about SEO and know what a pain in the ass it can be. ASO is certainly not the same thing, but a game you must play if you want downloads. App Store Optimization, ASO, is the sprint to get your app visibility in app store search rankings. Tools such as App Annie or SearchMan are helpful to manage and monitor your soon-to-be-climbing ASO. Keywords are important in ASO, so be sure to carefully think about the title and description you put together. Think about what kind of search the user you’re targeting will type. For example if you were marketing Pandora, you would want to include keywords such as “online radio,” “free streaming,” or “music playlist.” Get inside your audience’s head and figure out what they will search to try and get to an app like yours. Word-of-Mouth Never, under any circumstances, underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. Get your friends and family to download your app and ask them to spread the word. Even better, ask for their feedback and make the changes they suggest. Few people are going to care more about your success than your friends and family, and fewer still will give you the honest feedback you need to improve. Mom may not be the savviest app user, but she’s not afraid to give it to you straight. Utilize the Blogosphere Bloggers are always looking for a hot topic to muse about. Guess what? Your app is a hot topic and damn straight they should be talking about it. Tech bloggers not only love to get their hands on the latest technology, but vie to be the first ones publishing their witty thoughts on it. Comb through tech publications, find out where the early adopters chat, and fire away offering first time access to your app. Writers eat that up. Keep in mind, while you may not have a ton of control over this, do what you can to coordinate publication releases at or around the same time. What this does is hits the Internet like a charging horse, click-a-clacking across the information highway to maximize hype and improve results. And hey, you’re a patron of the internet too - get involved yourself. Comment on the blogs, share on social media, be interactive and boost that buzz. Become a Student of Your Users Listen. L-I-S-T-E-N. Was that not clear? Listen to the users who took the time to download your app. People are happy to provide feedback because they want products they want (see what I did there). If you can fashion your app to something users really want, they’ll tell their friends and increase their own usage. Don’t be surprised if they may have some pretty radical requests. Keep an open mind. While your vision for the app is certainly brilliant, try not to hold too tightly to these original ideas. There may be great suggestions outside the round-one-dev-box that can take your app places you never thought of. Ratings and Reviews Plug in functionality that asks users for ratings and reviews. Users don’t really care what you have to say about your app and what it can do. Users care what other users think and listen to their peers far more than you. Apptentive is a great app to get started with this. Ask users for reviews and again, listen. Make the changes that affects common use cases as quickly as possible. The Internet is instant, it lives in your users’ pockets and purses. They are not a patient bunch and will speedily move on if dissatisfied. Keep Users Happy This is a no-brainer and a theme you may have picked up on. But seriously - keep users happy. ASO also looks at user behavior such as discard rate (how often an app is deleted), ratings, download counts and frequency of use. Ensuring your app is something they really want will increase their use of it, and encourage them to tell their friends how great it is. If you can keep your users happy they will have no reason to delete your app and rate it highly. Happy users are the gold to go after in your marketing campaign. Publishing your app and getting people to use it can certainly be overwhelming - but you can do it. Mobile users want you to make their lives easier with a new fantastic app. Get the word out there, actively listen, and build a happy user base.

If you're someone like Ashton Kutcher, then you don't have a problem getting a lot of followers on Twitter. If you're someone like Ashton Kutcher, you can publicly challenge CNN to a Twitter popularity contest to see who would get 1 million followers first and then beat one of the largest broadcast news organizations in the world. For all the rest of us who aren’t someone like Ashton Kutcher, we would recommend the following to expand your company’s online marketing campaign into the 140-character realm of Twitter. How to Twitter for your company: 1. Before writing your first Tweet, make sure your company’s user profile is completely filled out, especially the bio, website link, user profile picture, and background theme. These elements all lay the foundation for branding your company to fellow Tweeters. 2. Make your company a constant presence. If you’re serious about building a strong online marketing presence in Twitter, you need to consistently be available to post valuable information and respond to any questions. The concept behind Twitter is that Tweeters are constantly looking for new information and are looking to obtain it in the fastest way possible, and so to be effective on this site, you need to provide what your followers are asking for. One tweet may seem like a drop in a bucket, but hundreds and thousands of tweets will start to add up and help build your company’s online marketing campaign. 3. Search for followers. Twitter allows you to search for other Tweeters by their name or user id (if you already know them) or through keywords. Keywords in twitter are identified with the # sign, like #iranrevolution. Search for keywords or trending topics in your company’s field of products or services and select to follow other Tweeters who are interested in or involved in this field. Tweeters you click to follow also have the option of following you back. You can check to see if they do at friendorfollow.com and decide to stop following them if they don’t reciprocate. You should also include keywords in your own tweets to let other people more easily find you. 4. Be yourself. Don’t use Twitter as a soapbox to directly market your company’s products or services. Offer information to set yourself up as an expert in your company’s field or answer questions about your field to help build a potential client base. 5. These are always good reminders: use good text slang grammar and spelling. Make sure your Tweets are clear and focused. There’s poetry in writing a good 140-character Tweet. Always include shortened urls instead of the entire url for a hyperlink in a Tweet. 6. Retweet interesting information you come across, share your friend’s tweets with others, and always acknowledge your Twitter friends and new followers to build a stronger and more supportive base. Bottom line, it takes a large investment of time and energy to learn how to twitter effectively to build a strong online marketing campaign for your company. -- Stephanie