How-To Guides to mobilemarketing and mobile app

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As more and more mobile smart phones are sold, the buzz around mobile apps gets ever louder.
So, every business should rush out and get a mobile app developed - right? Maybe not.
The low-down on mobile apps and mobile websites.
Let's get the definitions out of the way. Mobile apps are basically small applications that you
download and run on your feature phone or smart phone. An app will run locally on your handset
and may or may not access services on the web to update and refresh the content that's
displayed. In contrast, a mobile website is basically a slimmed down version of a normal website
that's optimised for the smaller display area that's typical of feature phones and smart phones.
Mobile websites are generally accessed via a browser application on your handset.
Which one should I choose for my business?
Well, for starters, mobile apps are cool and thanks to the Apple iPhone and Google Android app
stores, they are easier than ever to access and download. You will need to develop a different
version of your app for each major mobile operating system though - about 4 or 5 of those at the
moment.
On the other hand, a properly designed mobile website can be viewed on pretty much any mobile
that has web access. You can't do as much with them as you could with an app though, since they
rely on web technologies and don't have access to all the fancy built-in-features that an app
running natively on your handset will have - stuff like the camera, GPS module, address book.
There's always a catch.
The best option will depend on your business. We can't give you the answer, but we can hopefully
give you some helpful advice before you go spending any of that critical marketing budget. Ignore
the hype, forget about the cool factor, and consider the following important points before making
your decision - Need. Audience. Budget.
Do I really need a mobile app or mobile website?
Before starting out, it's worth writing down your list of reasons for creating a mobile app or mobile
website for your business. Think about what you would like to achieve and what you would like
your product to do.
Are you trying to create a potential new revenue stream? Are you looking for new ways to promote
your business? Are you targeting other businesses or consumers? How do customers access your
existing products and services? Will your product display interactive content or will it be used as a

2. static information portal? How often will you be updating content? What type of content will you be
displaying? Is your product fun or unique? Will it always require internet access?
We could go on and on but ultimately it's not a question of whether you need a mobile app or
mobile website. Rather, it's about what is best for your business and we can only give some
guidelines.
If you don't already have a website or are in the middle of building one, ask your web developers
to build it in such a way that it will be optmised for mobile. It may require an extra outlay but will be
less costly than starting from scratch.
If your existing website is relatively static but would like to enhance your online presence and get
the benefits of mobile advertising, consider a mobile website. Site visitors coming from mobile ad
clicks will get a good first impression of your business when they are presented with easily
readable information formatted nicely for their mobile phone.
If your product is for fun, is highly interactive, is intended as a standalone marketing tool or
revenue generator, is designed to be used offline, or requires users to regularly access large video
or media files it probably makes more sense to go down the mobile app route.
Who are the audience for my mobile app or mobile website?
When we talk about audience, we are referring to two very separate ideas - the target market for
your business and the overall set of people that can actually access mobile apps and mobile
optimised websites.
First off, think about your existing customer base and how they currently interact with your
business through your website, RSS feeds, Facebook pages, and LinkedIn profile. Since smart
phones will only become more and more prevalent, a mobile app or website will give you a good
platform to build on existing customer relationships and extend your reach to a population that is
becoming increasingly mobile.
If your main aim is to increase your profile and presence in the mobile space, it's a good idea to
start off by taking advantage of existing technologies. If people are using Facebook on their mobile
and click a link on your Fanpage for more information, its a good bet that unless your page loads
in a few seconds and displays well, they will give up and go somewhere else pretty fast. Bottom
line - best to make sure any pages you link to from your social media sites load quickly, display
relevant information, and look good on mobile.
The main benefit of a mobile website is it's large audience reach. A site that is properly optimised
for mobile should display well on the majority of feature phones and smart phones that are web-
enabled. However, when you move into the realm of apps, things become a whole lot different.
Since apps are mainly confined to smart phones, your target audience is narrowed to the phones
or platform(s) your application is designed to run on and the percentage of people actively using
each platform.
Our main advice to you here is before going down the app route, consider the size of your own
potential business audience and find out how many of them are using the 5 major smart phone

3. operating systems: iOS (iPhone), Android, Blackberry OS, Symbian (Nokia), and Windows. By
doing this, you will get a good feel for how many versions of an app you should potentially
develop.
How much should I budget for a mobile app or mobile website?
Answer: How long is a piece of string? There really is no easy answer to this. It will come down to
exactly what you want to achieve and what you want your site or app to be able to do and
ultimately who you get to do it. It would be unfair to even give guide prices but what we can say is
that any prices you are quoted should be grounded in reality.
If your site is based on WordPress or some similar content management system, there may be
free or low-cost plugins available to display the pages optimised for mobile. If your main website
was built using recent technologies like xhtml and css, optimising it for mobile should not be that
difficult or costly, assuming it has mostly static content. If it has more dynamic content with lots of
bells and whistles, don't be tempted to just replicate each page. Limit your site to the pages that
will transfer well to smaller mobile screens.
On the mobile app side, the costs can range from hundreds to tens of thousands, depending on
the complexity of the app and the number of platforms it will be developed for. There are sites on
the web where you can create basic apps for free but these will typically be limited to a predefined
set of templates that allow minimal modifications. Some may also charge for hosting content which
is something to watch out for.
Philip Culbert is the Sales and Marketing Manager with uMobilize Promotions. They are the
providers of the uConnect mobile marketing platform. To find out more about uConnect visit
http://www.uConnectsms.co.uk or http://www.uConnect.ie
Contact Information:
Philip Culbert
uMobilize Promotions Ltd
Sales & Marketing Manager
E: Philip.Culbert@uMobilize.ie
T: +353-61-503040
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Culbert

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