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Smartphones are the first thing that you will find to be with anyone you meet. More than a partner, smartphones are the necessity of today’s human beings, and the next best thing to smartphones is their apps. These apps can assist you in tracking your food to book tickets online. From buying a paperclip to a car, everything can be done through these apps.  Using social media app marketing is the most (cost) efficient way or marketing your app.

Social media app marketing can be hugely effective

by Manoj Rupareliya 

But, when you think of mobile apps, traditional marketing strategies have not been the best option. The reason being, most of the smartphone users are actively spending most of the time on Social Media platforms. Social Media is all about engagement, and if your apps are not engaging, no marketing strategy can help your app.

Apps are the epicenter of online user’s interest as 85% of online users are on mobile apps and relatively less on the websites. With mobile apps being the most used online medium and about 5 million apps to choose from, your app needs a marketing strategy that can stand out, and Social Media engagement is the marketing strategy you can count on.

So, let us dive deep into how Social Media engagement can help market apps!

  1. Gauge the Interests:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-cutting-daylight-facial-expression-1153369/

When you are strategizing a Social Media campaign, and you want to gain more engagement for your app, you need to gauge the interests of your audiences. What your audience’s interests are should be in line with what you have to offer! As your consumers are the ones who decide whether your app is worth an install or not.

For example, you are promoting a fitness app; you can back your promotions through a series of infomercials, like a workout video, a diet, and nutrition review or publish an article on fitness-related topics and issues. Like this commercial for Workout buddies app, where everyone needs a workout partner to push them hard for the results is emphasized to market the app:

 

The same marketing strategy can be applied to achieve greater Social Media engagement through video ads and commercials on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook.

  1. Be everywhere: 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-standing-inside-room-2608517/

As a marketer, you would want to be there where your consumers are, and in today’s hyperconnected world, they are everywhere. That means you need a strategic marketing plan to promote your app across the Social Media platforms and not just any platform. 

As your consumers spend most of their smartphone usage time on Social Media platforms, you can’t miss an opportunity to engage them in any specific forum.

Identify the platform specifics and design your marketing strategy accordingly, some of the characteristics that can be used for marketing your app across the social media platforms are:

Facebook: More or less, it is a community builder and a place where people get connected to their social network. So, you can maximize your Facebook engagement by exploring the stories behind your app that can inspire people.

Instagram: This is more about aesthetic values, and it provides users the ability to be more expressive with images and stories. Help your app by offering excellent visual content on the Instagram pages.

Twitter - a hugely important social media app marketing platform - and a huge influence on consumption habits

Twitter: A place where people get to express their opinions in a limited text restriction of 260 characters, and yet it is considered a paradise for marketers. With 40% of users purchasing an object after seeing it on twitter, it makes it a great place to attract installs and downloads of your app’s content.

  1. Gamification Theory:

Gamification in apps can strongly influence usage. In it's pure sense, gamification can be used as a core social media app marketing tool. Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-playing-poker-1871508/

Gamification theory is all about involving your consumers and users to be part of your campaign as an active participant in return you provide them with rewards and incentives on the participation. Once they achieve something, they will share the same with their Social Media circuit, and your app gets promoted with more robust recommendations from these participants.

Chipotle’s “A love story” game was a campaign based on the gamification theory, where users were told to find real ingredients to match them together for a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for any food item. The only important tweak to the game was, participants must avoid the use of added colors and flavors. Users can play the game on the apps and receive rewards all on their mobile devices, which they can share on the Social Media platforms to promote the brand. This strategy boosted more sales of the food items and encourages a brand image that was suggestive of natural ingredients in food production.



  1. The Paid Ads: 

 

Paid Ads are an essential marketing tool these days on Social Media platforms. You can sign up for individual ad accounts on Social Media platforms like Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Twitter insights. These ads can help you not only to market your mobile app but, it enables you to analyze the engagement on these Social Media platforms.

With more mobile app development activities gaining traction, designers are now looking for better Ad-solutions than regular banner or pop-up ads. Take an example of the TikTok Ads that allows you to use its platform and influencers on their platform to promote your products.

All new big social apps (like TikTok) typically establish ad platforms(https://getstarted.tiktok.com/)

  1. Look to influence: 

Influencer marketing has reached a stage where it is more of a necessity than just an accessory to other marketing strategies. Social Media has seen many influencers across channels, and each of them has been successful in their way to cater to the audiences with unique, engaging posts. App marketers can capitalize on the influencer’s influence and partner with them to achieve more app users.

Social media app marketing can be used for more than selling pizza

Today, 49% of consumers rely on an influencer recommendation for the purchase or an app install. This makes influencer marketing an inevitable part of your app marketing strategy. Most of the influencers are on Social Media platforms, and that makes Social Media engagement more promising and tactical ploy to bet on!

  1. The Personalized Touch:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/4k-wallpaper-adorable-blur-boy-1148998/

Personalization of app features and other products on your apps can uplift the app install or downloads through higher engagement. You can optimize the personalization fo your app marketing campaign through personalized messages to Social Media users through messengers provided by the platform and engage them in your drive.

Engagement through personalization offers higher customer authentication and relevant data on the user’s behavioral pattern to design the campaign accordingly. Further, personalization can also help in testing features of your apps by providing them a prototype version of the app for user testing, and this could help get better hold on the app performance too.

Signing Off: Social Media engagement is the pinnacle of marketing strategies today, and every business is looking to strategize their marketing campaigns around them as 38% of app users download apps for specific purchases or tasks and then uninstall the app. Hence, engagement is the factor that keeps your app user cling on to your app.

With Social Media, achieving those levels of the engagement for marketing your apps becomes a little easier, and this should be realized, while you are planning your app marketing campaign.

Author Bio

Manoj Rupareliya is the Online Marketing Expert and Blogger. He is an experienced writer with expertise in the field of technology, blockchain, crypto, AI, Digital Marketing and SEO. All the blogs he writes are aimed at providing credible help and insights for readers who want to stay updated all the time.

Linkedin | Twitter 

 

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CodeNgo note:  We normally write about app development or marketing only, but realize most app developers are really small business owners. We hope you enjoy this article from Camino Financial about small business loans.

by Camino Financial

App development is a complex process of algorithms and codes, especially for those outside the programming field. However, if you are an app developer, or own an app development business, you know you need enough funds to see your project through.

Having financial aid can help eradicate various inhibitors that stunt your business’s growth. This can come in the form of a small business loan. Such opportunities provide significant incentive to develop your app.

Several lenders offer credit and loan products of different kinds to small businesses. If you are eligible, business loans can cover everything you need to launch and operate your app developing business. In most cases, getting a small business loan is a straightforward process that requires minimal paperwork.

Do you need a small business loan?

If you are working on an app and need money to facilitate various processes, a small business loan seems like a great idea. Every business will require a loan at some point in their lives, and there are several products available in the market.

During the loan application, you get to gauge whether the lender and the loan suit your business needs. Some lenders also provide incentives that target mitigating your expenses.

You can review upfront rates, speed and reliability to gauge a lender’s dependability. When you use small business loans to your app development, the possibilities of you succeeding and thriving are limitless. Nonetheless, you should be able to repay the investments within the agreed period to avoid any issues with the lenders.

Where can you invest your small business loans?

If you don’t have enough capital to see your app’s successfully developed, you can opt to acquire business loans to aid you to reach the finish line.

After obtaining a small business loan, the decisions of where to invest can be quite daunting, especially if you had no initial budget. There are numerous areas you can spend your newly-found loan to maximize growth.

Advertising is one essential factor in sensitizing the public on your app. The best way to market your brand is through digital media. Achieving this is easy and requires the use of online marketing strategies.

You can also use the loan to upgrade your app, perform testing and debugging, purchasing copyrights and patents, software, paying personnel and daily cash flow.

Visiting a lender

After completing the system development phase of your app, the next natural step is to seek finances that can help improve and grow your brand.

Crowd-funding, loans from financial institutions, SBA loans, angel investors and factoring are some of the methods of acquiring finances. However, loans tend to be the favorite solution of many business owners, of any type of industry, especially online loans. So why not visit some lenders or go online to research the best online lenders?

Every financial institution and entity that offers small business loans have unique stringent measures to govern the application process. Make sure you compare and review your options before settling for a loan offer.

Get in touch with a professional

Although most businesses need counsel, very few lenders provide the services of a professional small business loan specialist. These services have several loan products and illuminate the best option for your business.

Expert insights can help answer pressing questions regarding the terms of the loan. So make sure to find a lender that actually cares about its customers and offers as many resources to help them thrive.

What you need to apply for a loan

Whenever you apply for a loan, you will need to:

a)     Have a good credit score

Having a good credit score is recommended before even applying for a loan. Why? If you have substantial outstanding debt, your chances of securing a loan for your app development will be reduced.

A strong business credit score means you can get higher loan amounts and better terms. There are numerous ways you can submit your financial records.

b)    Accept loan terms and finishing orders

The lender will look at and review all your application documents. Strict frameworks are put in place to ensure every aspect of your financial records is verified.

If you pass this stage successfully, all that remains is to accept the loan terms and leave things as they are until your loan is approved.

If you and your business are eligible for a credit, lenders will send a document with all the loan terms and final orders. If you feel the conditions are understandable and you can work with them, the remaining task is signing the paper.

Just make sure to thoroughly read all the loan terms to make sure there isn0t any small print that could harm your business.

It’s time to get a loan!

When looking for financial aid, you will find many lenders and many offers. So make sure to thoroughly research the lenders and check it the loans they offer actually fulfill your needs.

Tell us below how you think a business loan will boost your app development business.

The importance of mobile games localization

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Mobile gaming is a billion-dollar global business. These days, people download highly sophisticated games from Google Play and App Store. Games make money for its developers, not to mention copyright owners. Even if the products are offered for free, publishers still make a great deal of money from in-app purchases. Given that the industry will enter a new year of positive growth, it’s paramount to have a game localized before releasing it. This way, it will reach people in the global market.

by Erica Sunarjo

Mobile games localization can be quite challenging. If you’re not a seasoned localizer, the following tips will come in handy. You’ll increase your app’s visibility and exposure.

The importance of mobile games localization

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-playing-candy-crush-on-nokia-smartphone-228963/

1.      Internationalize Your Software

The first thing you need to do is internationalize your software – in other words, design a software application that can be adapted to several languages and regions without having to make changes to the code. Create a global product from the very get-go. Place the content (images, text strings, sound files) into sperate files and folders that can be properly translated. This will save you time and money later on. It may be years before the native market will become saturated. However, you’ll want to take your company global at some point.

Case in Point: HubSpot

When the company entered the market for the first time, it didn’t have a vision for the future. HubSpot soon understood that it’s necessary to create an international product, which required going back to the basics. Serious time and effort were put into maximizing the company’s strengths and improving the existing product. HubSpot didn’t take long to see that it’s a good idea to embrace localization and internationalize the marketing software.  

2.      Take into Account Local Standards and Cultural Intricacies

There are certain standards for code pages, which aren’t compatible with one another. For instance, if you use some encoding in DOS, other in Windows, other in ISO Standard, local standards must be respected. Additionally, keep in mind that, in some countries, Monday is the first day of the week, while in others, it’s Sunday. You’ll have to collaborate with local experts to handle these differences. The last thing you want is to go back and forth between edits. Not only do you need to consider local standards but also cultural intricacies.

Mobile games have transformed into complex narratives that rely on language and cultural cues. Language and culture go hand-in-hand, so you have to make the product appropriate for the target language, while not neglecting the cultural aspect. Conduct thorough research and learn everything there is to know about the target market. The strings of text, dialogues, and in-game cinematics should appeal to the game players. Basically, cultural adjustments need to be made to meet the needs and expectations of foreign gamers. Provide an excellent experience for all users, regardless of their cultural background.

3.      Don’t Ignore App Store Descriptions

Thanks to video game localization, you can reach an impressive number of users. Make sure that your app store description is perfectly clear. The description helps people understand what the app does. Plus, it increases visibility for high-volume keywords. From the point of view of the game developer, the description is the chance to pitch. In between correcting errors to meet the deadline and coming up with a monetization strategy, it’s tempting to let go of app store descriptions. Maybe so, but getting these words right is essential.

According to the experts at The Word Point, there are only 225 characters to play with, which determine if the rest of the description gets read. Be clear and don’t make jokes because there’s a risk that people won’t get them. Try to convey that unique selling point. Gamers aren’t going to download the app if they don’t know why it’s so great. Speak in terms of benefits. What makes the mobile game unique? It’s recommended to localize screenshots. Many developers don’t even bother localizing screenshots due to the complexity.

It’s not all that complicated. There are plenty of online tools that enable you to automate screenshot building. Interestingly, there’s a Google Plugin that lets Google Sheets synchronize with Sketch. The result is that you can instantly make strategic changes in the user interface. It’s worth giving it a shot.

4.      Localize Your Game in Other Languages

Roughly 360 million people speak English as their first language. Knowing this fact helps you understand why it’s necessary to localize your mobile game in different languages. There are gamers who will only play games in their mother tongue. They either live in places where immersion in the native language isn’t possible or they simply want to have a positive experience. if you dot want to leave yourself open to bad press and negative reviews, you know what to do.

The question you should be asking yourself is this: What languages should you translate the game into? As a rule, when people want to localize content for new markets, they turn to the use of 4 languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish. These are the FIGS languages. They ensure access to players in all geographies, so let’s talk a little bit about them.

French

There are approximately 300 million French speakers worldwide. Francophones can be found in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada. Translation into French is necessary as the French games industry had more than 1200 titles in production in 2019. To be more precise, the competition is fierce.

Italian

Italian is an important language due to the economic power of the nation. At present, Italian isn’t spoken by a great number of people, but this is set to change as Italy advances on the international scene. Localization means adapting the mobile game to the linguistic and cultural traditions of the country.

German

The 6 countries that have German as their official language are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. However, about 80% of German speakers live in Germany. German is similar to English from a linguistic standpoint, but even if German players speak English quite well, localization is still necessary.

Spanish

Spanish is spoken across 20 states and territories. Roughly 60% of people in Spain are willing to spend their money on video games. Spanish localization is meant to avoid negative connotations and simply sound natural in the target language. Remember that you’re localizing for the rising Latin American market too.

5.      Have Your App Tested By Native Users

Last but not least, it’s important to have the mobile app tested by native users before taking things too far. It’s a mistake to think that you know everything about the target culture. Require locals to test your product and take into consideration their feedback. They’re better able to identify linguistic and cultural glitches. So, see if the video game meets local requirements. It’s better to identify potential problems early on than to be sorry later.

BIO:

Erica Sunarjo is a professional marketer and writer at 3to5Marketing website. In her spare time, Erica enjoys horseback riding and reading classic literature.

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Technology is revolutionizing almost each and every aspect of our lives. Governments and businesses are adopting technology in their daily operations, and in some areas, the results are spectacular. Implementation in various domains is working and is making life easier for citizens and consumers alike, especially with location-based apps.

by Donald Fomby

City authorities are finding it easier to manage traffic and other operations using the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Mobile applications are enhancing cities and making them smarter by the day, thanks to location services enabled by the widely used Global Positioning System (GPS) and other similar location provision services.

Apps that allow users to check in to some public and private places like restaurants and places of work give essential data and insight into city movements. Some of the ways data from Location-based mobile apps come in handy include:

  • Provision of traffic information
  • Urban planning
  • Creation of operating procedures in emergency situations
  • Safer cities
  • Smart sustainability

Provision of Traffic Information

Location-based mobile apps transmit the location of the device through various mechanisms that involve pinging nearby cell towers and relaying the data to authorities via telecommunication companies and other relevant government agencies.

This data, when augmented with other IoT technologies, can indicate the volume of traffic in particular routes, which in turn can inform the planning decisions of city authorities. In such a case, the authorities can mull easing traffic in congested areas by limiting the movement of automobiles into some areas of the city, expanding pedestrian and cyclist paths, among other alleviation measures that can help in the decongestion efforts.

Data from Location-based mobile apps can also come in handy in real-time direction and monitoring of traffic, thus giving road users actionable information they can use in making their arrangements regarding road transport.

Urban Planning

In the day, people go to work, shopping centers, and back to their homes. This trend is pretty much uniform for a good majority of people. When these people use Location-Based Apps that allow them to check in these places whenever they arrive, then this data can undergo aggregation to provide meaningful information on commonly visited areas by use of heat maps.

This data further helps to provide insight into the movement of these people and subsequently help to inform planners how and where to make modifications as far as roads and paths go. Facebook, Instagram, Foursquare, and a ton of other apps allow for location tagging, and this data can come in handy in urban planning.

Location-based mobile apps offer precision data for use in particular contexts or areas, just like the translation sites you can find at PickWriters do in their website localization efforts. It is all about context, specificity, and precision – things that are achievable when the relevant data is available.

Creation of Operating Procedures in Emergency Situations

The upside of working with data is that data manipulation can provide meaningful insight into scenarios and situations. Location-based mobile apps allow for the collection of location data of individuals, which can be used to point out busy areas during the day, and the data consequently informs planning.

However, it is worth noting that with cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and prediction, authorities can use the data to predict city movements, and determine possible scenarios when there are emergencies. These predictions can, in turn, help to create robust reactionary strategies, hence making the city smart, capable, and ready for any eventualities in emergency cases.

Safer Cities

A key feature of smart cities is safety. The ability of citizens to go about their business freely in the city without having to fear the possibility of someone mugging them or harming them in any way. Location-based Apps help to provide data on how people move around the city, the times that they move around, and their frequency as well.

This information is essential since authorities can use alongside data they have on cases of mugging and theft to point out insecure areas. Studying the data in depth helps to map out the modus operandi of perpetrators of acts of theft, and authorities can consequently take the necessary steps to reduce their activities.

Smart Sustainability

Location-based apps provide data on locations that are frequented by the city dwellers. Most adequately designed cities have public spaces like parks where people go to pass away their time, meet friends, and watch kids play. When people frequent such areas in the cities, city authorities and planners get the data of the visits to these places. This data informs their planning since they can determine the locations most frequented and how to improve those spaces for the benefit of the public.

The traffic, businesses, and installations in cities do not mean that public spaces and parks should not be in the city. On the contrary, these open spaces, and if they are green spaces for that matter, improve the look of the city, attract tourists, and improve the quality of life for the inhabitants.

In summary, Location-based mobile apps can help to make cities smarter – thanks to the data that these apps generate. Just like any other planning process that factors data as an input, planning of smart cities equally requires the use of location data to plan on traffic flow and transportation, designation, planning, and building of public spaces. A key component in smart cities is mobility – which is essentially the movement of people and goods. By harnessing and leveraging data from location-based mobile apps, planners can structure cities to ensure that there is an optimal flow of traffic and that there is no congestion.

Further, this data can also be used to improve aspects like security and emergency response, which are among the essential things any city should have in this day and age. Smart cities are not smart if cases of insecurity are rife. Cities are not smart if emergency services cannot respond to situations in time. Therefore, in this sense, location-based apps can provide the data necessary for emergency services planning and security planning, as well.

BIO:
Donald Fomby is a communications professional with more than five years of experience. Donald runs his own blog BestWritersOnline and is proud of an uncanny ability to explain the most complex subject in simple terms.

 

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Nowadays, kids are more connected to the internet, and it has become part of their life. Though the internet has many advantages, there are multiple potential risks to make parents concerned. Therefore, it’s a dangerous place if not controlled appropriately, and kids can get exposed to inappropriate information. Luckily, there are many online safety tips for parents.

Some ways to outdo your kid online are:

  • Be tech-savvy!

There are many online safety tips, and one of them is understanding how to make use of technology. Know the usage of privacy settings on platforms like Facebook or MySpace and such will go a long way in ensuring your kid stays safe online. Have your kid’s login information, and frequently watch their activities online.

  • Set limits and clear rules

If your kids are to stay safe online, you need to supervise them and established rules and regulations depending on their age. The same way you wouldn’t allow them to wander in cities alone, that should be the same way you control what they do online.

Therefore, set clear rules on the most suitable online activities. More so, have styles of reprimanding them when they break your rules. If this doesn’t work well, consider selling the kid’s gadgets. Just search, “where can I sell my iPhone near me?” There are many places to market your phone online; this way, you will forget about your kid accessing unsafe apps.

  • Train your kid on online threats

Having open communication with your kids is helpful when it comes to online safety. Let your kid know why is it important to stay safe online. Also, get them a guide on how to stay safe online for kids.  

Take home

With many threats lurking online, this necessitates parents to be aware of the many online safety tips. You must know the proper use of technology, set rules, and enlighten your kids on the many online threats.

 

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Are you a frugal enthusiast? The one who practices and advocates frugal living. If you are, then be a proud one. Because frugal living is not just about cheaper things or saving. Its a way of life. A life spent with the purpose of not spending your hard-earned money on pity things but on many other important things in life.

by Vaishali Sonik 

For those who are always on the move or mostly the city people, de-cluttering their living space becomes a huge headache. To make room for new stuff like new furniture or for that matter new members of the family, we require selling old stuff. At such times, online reselling platforms can be of great help. You can buy and sell old stuff locally saving your time and of course your hard-earned money.

So next time when you have stuff lying without use and acquiring unnecessary space in your home you can refer to this list of Best apps to sell your stuff locally.

The Best Apps to sell stuff locally

 Craigslist

If you are living in the US you must have come across an online classified advertising platform Craigslist. Being one of the most frequently visited English language websites Craigslist hosts local classified ads for almost every category possible like Tolet, Job posts, used items for sale, services, etc. Craigslist is operational in 70 countries and over 450 cities worldwide. Posting classified advertisements for most of the categories on Craigslist is free and also no fee is charged to search and respond to an ad. Thus it encounters over 80 million classifieds every month. Of all the categories of classified ads, buying and selling of used goods gets the most posts.

Oodle

One of the major rivals of Craigslist, Oodle is also a free online classified ad posting platform. It also shows listings from other sources so that buyers and sellers can compare prices. Oodle also offers posting ads through facebook. Its wide classified ad catalog includes services, job listings, pets to buying and selling goods.

Letgo

Letgo is an app to list items online. It is an app alternative to Craigslist. All you have to do is create a free account in the app by signing up, take images of the item you want to advertise, upload it and post the ad for it.

Also, Letgo app has a ‘free stuff’ section which allows users to get rid of the items they have no use of. This helps many in decluttering their spaces. However, as in the Craigslist case, Letgo users can only buy and sell items locally.

OfferUp

OfferUp is also a MarketPlace App for online sale and purchase of used items. It has recently become one of the most preferred online platform to buy and sell goods. This app has all the features which Craigslist provides but additionally it also provides the sellers option to ship their stuff if the buyers are ready to pay shipping charges. There are no charges for listing stuff on OfferUp. OfferUp makes claim that all it takes to list goods on this platform is 30 seconds or even less. So one can list multiple items on OfferUp as quickly as possible.

Mercari

Mercari is another mobile app for reselling goods online. Although Mercari is not really a classified ad posting platform like Craigslist, one can sell or buy almost anything on Mercari.

There is no need to meet people you want to sell your items to, as you can directly ship it to them. Also, listing items on Mercari is free. But you definitely will have to shell out 10% when the sale is completed.

Trovit

Trovit operates with the tagline “ a search engine for real estate, jobs, and cars”. It is available both as an app as well as site. Trovit app does the smart work of bringing together classified listings in 3 particular areas from different other online reselling platform. Thus while one cannot sell his/her goods on this platform, listings on other sites do show up here.

But Trovit does charge for showing up your listings on its platform.

Geebo

Geebo is also one of the most legit platforms like Craiglist to buy and sell goods. Geebo’s edge over others lies in its precautionary approach to listing ads. Each ad posted is reviewed for its legitimacy. This promotes trust amongst buyers

While the Geebo platform does not provide for animal and firearm listing options. It does provide for listing of other items. Also, the Geebo platform is operational only in the United States.

Carousell

Another free online reselling app. Although launched recently, the has become a huge hit amongst users. A user needs to upload the image of the stuff for selling and add its price. This exercise takes merely 30 seconds on Carousell. Carousell also allows social media sharing options to increase visibility of the listings posted.

To prevent frauds, Carousell does not allow in-app payments but buyers and sellers have to meet in person to complete a transaction.

Locanto

This site offers online classified add posting services in over 60 countries. Locanto’s city boards of major US cities gives the option to post ads for free with the highest response. However, a user has to pay extra for ad hosting in other cities. Also by paying some extra bucks can give you experience of listing your items without a third-party ad and your classified appearing at the top of the buyer’s search.

Bookoo

Bookoo is a reselling platform with a personalized touch to it. Those people who are constantly on the move in the US Bookoo comes as a great relief.

Also, Bookoo offers buyers to create a profile for themselves, along with showing there ad posting history. This also has live chat support for a user’s benefit.

We hope this list of Best apps for selling stuff locally will be of great help to not only the frugal enthusiasts but also the public at large. Buying and selling goods until their shelf life is remaining can also be a climate-smart living approach. We have tried making this list as comprehensive as possible but there is every possibility that we might have inadvertently left one or two apps.

Do share if you liked our list or you want us to add some more apps to this list.

Vaishali Sonik is a passionate writer and explorer who has an interest in sharing the knowledge she has gathered over the years while working as the content strategist and writer at different companies. With the vision of bringing the change in the content industry, she jumped her career from M.Tech ECE Engineer to follow here passion. FYI, she portrays herself as a fun person who loves to explore all her hobbies & she has many. Follow my work here.

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Google has improved its Android app Store a lot in the past few years, but sometimes you need an alternative. For those times, here are 9 great Play Store alternatives that you should know about right now. While these alternatives may not provide you with all the functionality you may desire, they can come in handy in a number of ways.

Sometimes an app is not available in your region on the official App Store for Android and it is a very valid problem for many people. Thankfully, the Play Store alternatives do not segment their audience based on the region and provide apps to all of them.

Other times a country may have blocked Google services and the Android Play Store might not be readily accessible.

For developers, these alternate app stores offer another stream of revenue. If you are a developer and you’ve developed an Android app, you’d absolutely want to get extra eyeballs from these alternate app stores.

Some people also like to keep backups of apps in the form of APK files for later usage. The Play Store doesn’t allow us to download a backup of an app, instead, it automatically installs the app on your phone after downloading. So if you want to have a healthy collection of apps which are ready to be installed on any device you want, it is advisable to download them from one of these great PlayStore alternatives.

A word of caution, though, while these Storefronts are well-maintained and have a healthy collection of Android apps, there might be some malicious apps lurking on them.

To be honest, Google also doesn’t have a fail-proof method of detecting harmful apps on their Store but at least they take them down immediately after discovery.

CLICK HERE to read more.

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Mobile gaming apps continue to grow at a fast and furious pace, set to reach 60% market share in consumer gaming spend in 2019. In partnership with AppsFlyer, the global leader in mobile attribution and marketing analytics; the 2019 Mobile Gaming Apps Report delivers valuable user acquisition trends and benchmarks by mobile gaming sub-category, including in-app conversion rates and retention data.

by Liz Rustia

The report draws from Liftoff internal data from April 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019 — spanning 90.9 billion ad impressions across 13.6 million installs and 3.9 million in-app events. AppsFlyer’s analysis of retention data (Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14 and Day 30), based on 6,500 apps and 950 million installs, is integrated throughout the report.

In this report you find:

  • A breakdown of key engagement activities and trends to compare performance across platforms (Android and iOS) and throughout the calendar year.
  • An analysis of regions (North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM) highlighting key countries and trends.
  • Additional granularity on four distinct gaming app sub-categories (Midcore & Strategy, Casual Gaming, Hyper Casual and Social Casino).

Key Takeaways

  • Prepare for a perfect storm of marketing conditions. Moderate increases in costs and impressive double-digit conversion rates indicate that users still need some convincing early in the funnel, but they are willing to pay, play and stay around—particularly if the sub-category offers a habit-forming core loop.
  • Competition heats up but summer months could give you the edge. A strategy to target users in the summer months from July to September can pay dividends. It’s during this period that the install-to-in-app conversion rate (16.0%) hits its second-highest point and the cost to acquire a new user who makes an in-app purchase hits a low of $27.09.
  • Don’t just play it safe in mature markets; explore untapped opportunities in APAC and Europe. North America may be a textbook model for robust growth in the mobile gaming apps market, but the data also reveals several countries where potential is huge while the costs are not. Russia, in particular, stands out as a country that embraces Casual and Social Casino games offering insanely affordable CPIs and eye-watering install-to-registration rates. Japan also merits a closer look, showing the highest interest and commitment to Casual games and a healthy appetite for Hyper Casual. Finally, EMEA—specifically Germany and the U.K.—is a region that offers lower costs and a healthier retention curve for Midcore & Strategy games.
  • Social Casino has staying power & Hyper Casual has users hooked. Day 1 retention is highest for Social Casino (32.2%) and Hyper Casual (32.7%) games, but it’s Social Casino that maintains momentum into Day 30. But retention rates for three sub-categories (Casual, Hyper Casual and Midcore & Strategy) narrow at Day 7 and again on Day 14, indicating that audiences for these games are equally engaged, and, perhaps, equally receptive to campaigns and messaging that nudge them to return to the game and play more often.

The mobile gaming apps market continues to thrive, but that’s no guarantee your business will ride the tide. View and download the report here and get more insights, know the latest trends and benchmarks on 2019 mobile gaming apps to keep you at the top of your game.

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In 2018, there were more than 4 billion mobile devices – both smartphones and tablets – in circulation worldwide. In mature markets, many people own more than one device, while in emerging countries such as India and the Philippines, where the internet is mostly mobile, a large segment of the population can only access the web through a mobile device.

by Liz Rustia

AppAnnie assesses the performance of several app rankings, macro trends, and a number of industries including mobile marketing, shopping and retail, travel, gaming, social networking, media and entertainment, banking and fintech, video streaming, dating and more. The report also looks at the time spent on social media, mobile games or videos, discovering that people in many developed countries such as Canada and the United States spend nearly three hours a day staring at a mobile screen, while in some emerging markets such as Indonesia, that cumulative daily period can surpass 4 hours.

View the full report here.

Here are the key points to consider and worth applying to one’s business:

  1. In-app subscriptions are booming
  2. People are spending more and more time in apps
  3. Apps can be the core revenue generator for business
  4. Consider using in-app advertising
  5. Create content regularly

 

  1. In-App Subscriptions Are Booming

The top 5 most lucrative non-gaming apps of 2018 all contained in-app subscriptions. Since 2016, the 120% growth in spend in non-gaming apps has been fueled by these subscriptions.

  1. People are spending more and more time in apps

With time spent in apps still on the rise (we spent 50% more time in mobile apps in 2018 than we did in 2016), there’s still a huge market to take advantage of and establish a business in.

 

  1. Apps can be the core revenue generator for business

In markets like the US, Canada, and the UK, key indicators of mobile user engagement such as sessions, time spent, and consumer spend, are all showing continual growth rates.

Entertainment apps are seeing huge growth, and since 2016, in-app spend for entertainment (video streaming, music streaming, or other paid content) has grown by 460%.

  1. Consider using in-app advertising

AppAnnie predicts that 60% more apps will monetize through in-app advertisements in 2019, and there are more and more advertising platforms available to app publishers. Despite the growing popularity of in-app subscriptions, in-app advertising should remain an important way to generate revenue from an app.

  1. Create content regularly

AppAnnie’s report highlights that time in apps isn’t spent in a continuous session, but consists of “micro-moments” throughout the day.

According to The State of Mobile Report, micro-moments happen across many industries. Examples of micro-moments include checking emails, browsing news articles, or checking online banking.

If your app contains regularly updated content that your audience enjoy, it’s highly likely that they’ll regularly check your app to for relevant updates in these micro-moments.

“Mobile is no longer an add-on channel—it is the engine fueling digital transformation,” said Theodore Krantz, CEO, App Annie. “The State of Mobile 2019 report unlocks the potential of mobile for businesses in all stages of mobile transformation. The insights delivered in this report are unparalleled and inform the strategy every company needs to deliver winning consumer experiences.”

AppAnnie is not the only source for key statistics either. Take advantage of the opportunity, it’s never too late to create a mobile app for your business.

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Native apps have exclusively become an integral part of smartphones in the last few years. In fact, you will find Native apps being developed especially for a specific operating system. It supports software and hardware of different types of the operating system in the form Android, iOS, Windows as per its specific needs. It has the capability to gel perfectly with the newly launched technology. For instance, the camera and GPS applications have the ability to take advantage of the latest tech invention in the industry of smartphones. 

by Nikunj Shingala

When it comes to non-native applications, they either get wrapped into a web application or compile down into codes. There are several benefits and drawbacks of every procedure but here we are going to discuss the advantages of Native apps procedure which you must keep in mind during the app development process.

Below mentioned are the benefits of native mobile app development services, take a look:

  1. Secure & Reliable

Proactive security is one of the best features of a native application. These applications even provide remote management of applications on individual devices. When it comes to Web application development, it depends upon different browsers and technologies in the form of HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS. But when it is about native mobile applications, it helps you with complete assurance and security of your data. Being developed for a specific platform, Native applications are responsive and very fast and are compiled with the use of core programming language platforms and APIs.

  1. Performance

When it comes to speed, anything short of lightning speed is slow in today’s era. Especially when it comes to software and hardware usage, slow speed becomes a big pain to have. There have been many applications developed with the use of HTML5 and it didn’t provide the speed one was looking for. For instance, LinkedIn and Facebook invested quite heavily in HTML5 but with poor results they came back to the native application as it helped them enhance the application performance big time. Speed literally showed a huge difference and it benefited them with excellent response.

  1. Easy To Develop

The developers will get the assistance of SDK and all other tools with which the native app can be developed with ease. One can develop native apps with IDE ecosystem where a professional developer can get their native application built without any kind of glitches. Android and iOS platforms support all the tools with which not only one can design their application but also test before getting it published online. You will get a good range of tools in both Android and Xcode platforms with which you will be able to use a different type of hardware features for your needs and requirements. You will not be assisted with these type of features in cross development and web platforms. 

  1. Compatible Interface

Customer’s UI and UX expectations are fulfilled with native applications. It looks and feels the same as default applications with common icons and buttons. You do have the option to change to older version again but it gets even worse and will certainly not be easy to use. So, this shows how with native mobile app development, you get easy to use application which can be worked without any kind of complications.  

  1. Access the Full Feature Set of Devices

The native applications are feasible and can easily connect with USB, Bluetooth, GPS, camera,  and other device hardware. In fact, some of the features will help you with double touch, zoom, multi-touch and even more. The response of native application is more fluid with gestures like swipes and pinches. The design and functionality might differ with a different model but you will be able to avail complete access of these features with native applications. You will not be able to access such features when it comes to non-native applications. It makes it easy to understand with the use of unique features as similar to default or inbuilt applications. You will feel much more engaged with native applications when compared to other apps because of the interactive feature. 

So, this shows the advantages of using native mobile application development. It gives you a lot more control and security than any other applications. You will never have anything to complain about the user experience as the applications are designed according to the devices which can surely help you with a lot of support. So, you must stick to native applications and get their design attributes into work which can surely help you avail the best of experience. 

 

Nikunj Shingala is a CEO and co-founder at Webs Optimization Software Solution which is successfully delivering services in the realm of UI/UX design, web development, mobile app development, and enterprise solution. He’s enthusiastic blogger and his writing interest includes web and mobile app development technologies, startup ideas and strategies.