mobile app for school

How Your School Can Benefit From Launching A Mobile App

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These days, connectivity is essential for effective communication. There is no better example of where communication is needed than in schools and educational facilities. According to recent findings, 68% of American adults own a smartphone, making it easier than ever before for school administrators to engage and communicate with faculty members, parents, students, and the community as a whole. Here are some ways that a mobile app for your school can be beneficial to your community.

An Information Epicenter

These days, there are many other uses for apps than just playing your favorite mobile game or catching up with the people in your social networking circles. A mobile app is a specialized technological offering that allows you to quickly send important updates to anyone who has downloaded the app, regardless of whether they are students, parents, teachers, or auxiliary staff members. These updates can include anything from sports schedules and scores, school closings and delays, information on extracurricular activities, and other administrative updates that concern students and parents. Additionally, a mobile app for your school allows administrators to have a centralized location to work as a reference point for nearly everything that concerns the school. Your app can provide a wealth of information to users, including a list of the teachers, faculty, and staff members, the student handbook, access to forms and permission slips, bus route information, field trip itineraries, and school menu options.

Offer Access To School Records

Mobile apps are useful for not only sharing general information about the happenings at your school, but they can also get used for sharing progress reports on students throughout the school year. Instead of parents being ‘in the dark’ about troubles like truancy, slipping grades, or missing homework, they are granted access to this critical information so they can get ahead of the problem and address it quickly.

Mobile Is Quickly Outpacing Desktop

Technological trends are always changing and evolving. As mentioned before, 68% of American adults now own a smartphone. The widespread access and use of wireless internet, in combination with affordable and powerful tablets and smartphones, outpaced the desktop market years ago. Now more than ever, people want to be able to get access to the information they want with just a few touches of a button. A mobile app launches cleaner without needing to open up a web browser and conduct an online search. While the overall desktop use and search have slowly declined over the years, you still want to be sure to cater to whatever audiences you have on this operating system and platform by having a classic website available as well.

Push Notifications Send Instant Alerts

Most parents want to stay abreast of everything that’s going on at their child’s school. A mobile app is an ideal way to engage with parents and ‘keep them in the loop’ about valuable information concerning their kid’s education and wellbeing. Everyone dreads the thought of an emergency taking place at a school. If something were to happen, a mobile app serves as the fastest and most efficient way to communicate using native ‘Push Notifications’ that pop up automatically on mobile users smartphones or tablet computers. This capability is especially useful for announcing school delays, cancellations, early dismissals, and other events that parents and students need to be aware are happening.

Streamline Calls and Emails

Depending on how extensive you want to make your mobile app, adding a “Click to Call” or “Click to Email” button helps streamline how parents, students, and other community members conduct their outreach. In today’s day and age, almost no one takes the time to memorize phone numbers and email addresses. A mobile app that offers users a convenient way to call or email makes things a lot easier for them and helps encourage two-way communication, whether it’s to report an absenteeism or to schedule a conference with their kid’s teacher. In higher-education settings, such as colleges and universities, these features offer students a way to stay in touch with professors, advisors, and other key faculty members.

Build A Stronger Community

While it might sound silly to hear that a mobile app can help foster a stronger sense of community, it really can! Many school districts have turned to their mobile app as a way to leverage their connection in the communities they serve. Instead of having to cut through miles of red tape to get in touch with staff or board members, mobile apps make it much easier to get in touch. Further, they can get used to promote events, sporting events, and fundraisers to support class trips, intramural and extramural sports teams, or other causes and initiatives the school stands behind.

Deploying A Mobile App Doesn’t Have to be Difficult

For many school districts and independent school systems, making technological advancements are sometimes difficult. Undoubtedly, making significant investments in the education system such as computer lab upgrades, textbook purchases, as well as building maintenance are always needed to remain competitive. Adding a mobile app to your school’s roster of ‘must have’ technology makes a lot of sense because of all the controls it gives you for sharing information with students, parents, and the larger community. When you work with a skilled team of Mobile App developers who have a thorough understanding of how to put everything together for your school system’s mobile app, you’re taking all the right steps to assure that your school is using cutting-edge technology.

Mobile apps are ideal for keeping in touch – and increasing engagement – with students, parents, faculty, and other key personnel. The team at Colleen Eakins Design is ready to tackle your school’s mobile app project with enthusiasm and skill! To learn more about our mobile app service offerings, visit our mobile app services’ page and give us a shout to discuss your unique project needs, we’re always happy to help!

Push Notification Marketing Best Practices

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If your business has recently launched a mobile app, you’re probably enthusiastically entering the world of push notification marketing. Congratulations on your new app and for taking a powerful first step towards expanding your marketing program! However, it’s worth pointing out that you should temper your enthusiasm with some of the important realities of the technology.

For instance, the fact you CAN push messages doesn’t mean you should always do so. People will start to think of your brand as annoying if you send too many messages. That’s why most brand managers now expect push messages to follow the same general principles that email marketing follows. For example, get subscribers to opt into push messages and give them a way to turn them off if they don’t want to hear from you. The basic principles of exchanging value for their consent to send messages applies. Once that is in place, continue to follow best practices to achieve optimal results.

Seize on Events to Send Push Messages

People will be happy when you send them reminders of important events. If your product or service has updates, let them know. Reminding someone they have an appointment with your office is a perfect use of a push message! They’ll love knowing you care enough and are professional enough to let them know ahead of schedule. Obviously, the type of app and the nature of your app dictate the kinds of messages you send. Stay timely, and you will have an advantage.

Pay Careful Attention to Your Language Usage

Push messages are succinct. That’s fantastic, but means you have added responsibilities. You need to be entirely precise about what you say. Don’t ever use language that is scary or scolding! Be as friendly and professional as possible. If you have a new version of something, tell people! Also, include any information that you consider to be crucial to communication. It also makes sense to use a “voice” that’s congruent with your overall marketing. That way people will identify with your brand easier.

Location-Based Messaging Is Possible

You may want to notify people based on proximity to your location. If they are local customers who happen to pass within a mile or two of your business, let them know you’re open! You don’t want to be creepy about it, but a gentle nudge based on proximity tends to convert well. You have a unique chance to create a bond with people through the use of mobile marketing. Think like them and get feedback from individuals who use your app and frequent your business. They’ll have plenty of actionable advice for you to use to improve your offering.

Send Alerts That Users Simply Must Have

Another successful class of push messages is the alert of an important trigger. Perhaps a product reaches a certain price point that a user wants. In such a case a push message will drive them to purchase directly. You may even decide to offer a discount to someone who is on the edge of buying. There are a number of ways to approach the subject, but notifications that directly help create sales are always powerful.

Your Imagination Is the Only Limit

You can use push messaging in any manner you like, as long as you meet the technical requirements. If your app sorts or ranks, you can send notifications of items based on sorting and ranking! Whatever functionality your app has can be translated into messaging. What matters most is that the output is useful and demanded by users. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting, especially if you take feedback. Adding features based on customer suggestions is one of the strongest ways to encourage loyalty. Brainstorm with your team to come up with unique and engaging ways to use the technology. It may be surprising just what you discover!

Build in a Response Mechanism

As you know, people don’t like waiting around for answers! If people get in touch with your company, they expect you to respond. Don’t make people wait when using your app. If you do, they’ll simply drop it and move on to greener pastures. Give some serious thought to the structure of your messaging. Automation could be the road to take, when possible. If your user base grows rapidly, you may be unable to respond to messages or users individually. If that’s the case, set up mechanisms that help them discover answers for themselves. That will keep everyone happy when using your program.

Think Like a Marketer

Apps are a chance to reach broad markets. Push notifications are a way to keep people coming back. Those companies who implement marketing strategy across their entire spectrum of channels are making fantastic use of this form of messaging. All it takes is a mindset that says “how can I serve this customer best?” Once you think about what they need and how to provide it, the rest comes easy. You aren’t alone in your project. If you think handling this many details is overwhelming, find a qualified professional to handle it for you. Your campaign needs to work well but it also must satisfy your business objectives. If it doesn’t, you’ll be supporting an app without reaping the rewards. Put marketing at the forefront of everything you do and you won’t have any problems growing your user and customer base significantly.

These are exciting times for mobile marketers who use push notifications. In many ways, the industry is still in its early phase. There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of if you’re willing to put in the effort. Don’t have a mobile app yet? Contact us today to have one developed. We’re big believers that small businesses benefit enormously from having a mobile app and push notifications are the extra frosting on the cake. Developing an app is a strong first step towards reaching the vast network of mobile users who dominate the digital landscape. Once you achieve a foothold, you’ll be able to work on growing your user count every year. With the right framework in place, you’ll find that this is the most responsive type of marketing you’ve ever done.

Push Notifications Are an Essential Marketing Tool for SMBs

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As more people engage, consume and make purchasing decisions using their mobile devices, the popularity of push notifications by business mobile app owners continues to grow. Not only will more companies build mobile apps and employ this technology moving forward, but they will also continue to explore the marketing potential it brings. For marketers, push notifications represent an ideal way to stay in touch with prospects and customers.

Push notifications are the fastest way to stay in contact with a connected customer and are a quick way to let people know about updates and new features.

Cross-Channel Promotions Are a Necessity

Small businesses need to use as many cross-channel promotional strategies as they can. There’s no reason to focus on just one channel because that’s not how the modern digital landscape works. These days, people spend time on their favorite sites and apps and respond differently to communications. Because of this need for diversity, the role of digital marketers keeps changing. It’s crucial to create specific content and messaging not just for specific platforms like social media, email and websites, but also for mobile apps.

Push notifications have proven efficient and should make up a significant part of any SMB digital marketing strategy. In addition to using social media channels and email marketing initiatives to highlight a new product offering; coupon; event or special, consider also using a push notification to make the announcement.

Following up with Customers Brings New Business Through the Door…or Site

Push notifications are a great way to augment your current follow-up process. Most companies already use newsletters and email autoresponders to stay in touch with customers. It’s worth going one step further, by implementing push notifications when possible. Not surprisingly, people tend to pay more attention to a push notification. They have been getting them for a while, so they are used to receiving them and know them to be important or to contain information of interest. Because users routinely ignore emails, marketers have been transitioning to push notifications instead or in addition to their email campaigns.

There are a few rules worth considering before you begin sending these out like a maniac! Remember they’re most effective when something unique and important is going on. For example, a coupon or special will get most people to look. Any vague or unrelated messages will eventually make them want to turn your business’ mobile app notifications off. That’s why picking your spots makes sense. If you don’t overdo it and get your timing right, you’ll have a very high click-through and conversion rate. The job is not to annoy people, but to give them something of interest instead. Make sure any messages you send are brief and to the point.

Add Some Extra Pizzazz with Rich Text Push Notifications

Rich text push notifications contain more than just text in their messages. They may contain web links to click for more information, a link to a specific area of the mobile app and even maps a user can click on for a location or directions that are specific to the push message notification.

Like with standard push notifications, you always want to be as focused as possible in your messages. Since push notifications tend to be short in general, make your meaning simple. People are busy, so don’t waste their precious time.

Push notifications are going to remain popular because of convenience. Any company that supplies an app will want to notify users about updates pertaining to their company and also to the app itself. In the case of bug fixes or feature upgrades, the fastest way to get users to update their app or try a new feature is with a push notification. Offer users the chance to install the new app and a significant percentage will do it quickly. Tell customers to allow notifications for the very purpose of receiving updates and if your mobile app allows for it, sign-up for the list that meets their specific interests.

Remind Inactive Users You’re Still Around!

Sometimes people forget they installed your mobile app or haven’t used it in awhile. In cases like this, a notification is in order. You can use the old “I missed you” ruse to try and drum up interest. Or, you may consider telling them about a new feature you added since they installed the app. That might be enough motivation to spur them back into action. It’s worth a try at the very least because people often install and forget apps. If someone is inactive, you have little to lose by attempting to spur them into action.

If you don’t have time or the staff to implement a push notification marketing strategy, you can always turn it over to a third party. There are many providers that can step in and fill that gap. If you used a third party to develop your business’ mobile app, your app developer may be able to assist you with a campaign strategy and implementation. Either way, understand this is a dynamic form of marketing and will require testing and tweaking along the way. Once you see patterns emerge, you’ll be in an ideal position to craft campaigns and push notification marketing strategies that work well. Just make sure your notifications are succinct and useful.

Now’s the Time to Begin Your Journey

Adapting your current strategies to mobile platforms will yield a whole new market of potential customers. The app market for small businesses has grown enormously and having the ability to “push” a message to an engaged user base is always going to be beneficial. If your business does not yet have a mobile app, get in touch with Colleen Eakins Design (CED) today, to get started developing one. CED has mobile app development plans that include push notifications (standard and rich messages) to your mobile app users.

how-to-start-a-blog

How to Start a Blog with HostGator

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I wrote a post about 4 years ago titled, “I Need A Website! Where do I Start?” to help provide information to clients and others with questions about starting a website and paying for web design services. This post is written for similar reasons, but goes into details about the signup process with HostGator.

I have been using HostGator to host all of my websites for about 4 or 5 years now, after making a switch from GoDaddy. Although I loved the customer service I received while with GoDaddy, I hated the fees and the fact that they nickeled and dimed me for EVERYTHING! I did not and have not had that experience with HostGator AND I have been quite pleased with the level of customer service I have received from them, when I needed it.

For my web design clients, I encourage them to procure hosting and a domain name on their own (with guidance from me), rather than paying me or someone else to do it. The reason is so that they own those assets. The last thing you want to happen is for your web designer to get sick, close up shop or something worse, whilst holding the keys to your web presence. It also ensures that you can adequately keep up with and be on top of domain name registration expirations.

I’m Confused. What is Hosting? What is a Domain Name?

If you are completely new to blogging and websites, I’ve probably already thrown around a few terms that you are unfamiliar with. So, here is a brief synopsis of what is needed and makes up a website or blog.

I use the analogy of a house to help explain things. In order to start a blog or website, you need a domain name, a hosting account and website files. Your domain name or URL is like your house street address. In order to receive your mail, the post office needs a street address to send it to. In order to view your blog or website, visitors need a URL (address) to type into their web browser.

To obtain a URL, you need to register a domain name with a domain name registrar. There is a fee associated with doing this and they are typically done in yearly terms of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years. This is something you can do through HostGator and I will go over that process in more detail later in the tutorial.

Your actual house is like hosting. Your house contains your belongings like clothes, lots of shoes and furniture. Clothes and furniture are like your web files. A hosting account or hosting environment is where your web files live. Your web files are the visual representation of your site and are what power and make the site function. They are a combination of what a visitor sees when they navigate to your URL and they are also what churns on the backend of the site to make it all work. HostGator, as the name implies, also provides hosting accounts.

So where does WordPress, Joomla and Drupal fit into all of this? They are what is churning on the backend to power the functionality of your blog or website. They are what we refer to as a CMS, or Content Management System. It’s what allows the average Joe to start a blog site on their own or maintain and update a full website built by a designer.

WordPress is what I use to build full websites for my clients and is probably the most popular CMS for blogs. It is very user friendly, but I will admit that if you are not technically inclined at all…meaning you struggle to use your smartphone, you may not find it so user friendly.

How to Start a Blog with HostGator

Step 1: Choose a Hosting Package

HostGator has plenty of affordable plans that are perfect for starting your blog.

According to them, their most popular package is the Baby plan, because it allows for unlimited domains. This used to be the package I recommended to clients, but I have now started to recommend the Business plan because it comes with a private SSL. This is important because Google recently made updates to their search to identify sites that are ‘secure,’ meaning they have a SSL certificate vs. sites that are ‘unsecure,’ and do not have an SSL. Google is also giving prominence in their search engine rankings for sites that are secured with a SSL certificate.

Once you select a plan, click the bright yellow ‘Get Started Now!’ Button to add the hosting package to your cart.

Step 2: Choose a Domain Name

You can use HostGator’s domain registration tool to check for a domain name that is available. From here you can register a new domain name, or click the second tab “I Already Own This Domain,” if you are only buying hosting.

 

Make sure you keep Domain Privacy Protection checked. This will mask your domain information in ICANN and replaces it with HostGator’s, so that you can maintain a level of privacy. If you don’t do this, you can expect to receive spam and unsolicited emails from people trying to sell you on their services, Viagra, and maybe even to collect an inheritance from a Nigerian prince.

Scroll down to step 2. Here you’ll need to enter a user name and password that you’ll use to manage your hosting account with HostGator. In step 3, you will enter your billing information.

The fourth step is to sell you on a bunch of additional services that really are not necessary. I always tell clients to skip those because I install plugins that take care of most of those items. If you are starting a blog on your own, you can find a decent array of free to low-cost plugins to do those same things.

When you reach step 5, make sure to enter coupon code CEDBLOG25. If you go to HostGator by clicking my affiliate link here, you’ll receive an extra 25% off. Yay for discounts!

Finally, click that you agree to the Terms and Conditions, then the big yellow ‘Checkout Now!’ button.

Step 3: Install WordPress

The next step is installing WordPress, the world’s most popular blogging platform, so you can get to work writing, sharing and posting.

When you completed your purchase, you should have received an email from HostGator with your cPanel username and password. cPanel is the portal you’ll use to manage your web hosting. The cPanel link is unique to you, so be sure to bookmark it for future reference.

If you are a Colleen Eakins Design client and I directed you to this post to help you set up your account, this is the email you need to forward to me. You also do not need to complete any further steps.

Log into cPanel and click on the Quick Install icon.

From there, you’ll see an option to Install WordPress for free.

Click the Install WordPress button and then complete the form accordingly.

    1. The Base Domain for your installation.
    2. The sub directory you would like the site to load from, if desired. You can leave this blank. Example: Should you wish your WordPress URL to be mydomain.com/site instead of just mydomain.com. Your site will always display this extension if you enter one.
    3. For Admin Email, enter an email address where you want the admin password emailed to. Make sure this is a working email address.
    4. For Blog Title, enter the name of the website. This is what will appear in the header as the name of your site.
    5. For Admin Username, enter your preferred user name.
    6. Your first name.
    7. Your last name.
    8. Click Install WordPress when you’re ready to proceed.

A progress bar at the top of the page will let you know when installation is complete. Once complete, you will be able to start working on your WordPress site. Check your email for your WordPress username and password as well as a link to your WordPress dashboard.

That’s it! You are now ready to log into your WordPress blog and start your blogging empire. Remember to save a little dough with HostGator in the process by using the coupon code CEDBLOG25, to get 25% off.

 

Inbound Marketing

Inbound Marketing: What Is It and How It Helps Small Businesses

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Digital marketing and inbound marketing are slightly different disciplines that both serve to boost sales. Companies that have an online presence want to reach new markets. Digital marketing helps them do that by stitching together a framework that gets them attention. Inbound marketing attempts to draw new prospects into the customer’s sales funnel. Together, both disciplines are a way to get useful results for any business.

Attracting Clients Through Inbound Marketing Works

The idea of attracting customers is surprising to some people. Many people assume that new customers come in naturally for reputable organizations. However, this is not usually the case. For the most part, companies that attract business through inbound marketing invest heavily in the effort. The process may look seamless from the outside, but the campaigns they orchestrate are accurate. Everything from website design, SEO, and content through email marketing fall into the category of inbound marketing. It’s worth looking at each of these in some detail.

Start with Fantastic Web Design

How your site and app look and function is crucial. People have grown to love fast-loading, easy to understand applications and websites. They won’t put up with anything less. If you plan to embark on a mission to do inbound marketing, don’t neglect the importance of design and functionality. Focus on quality during these initial stages, and your overall task gets easier down the line. Ugly or poorly functioning apps won’t spread your message. A slow website with no clear navigational hierarchy will not improve sales! Marketing starts with a slick presentation and grows from there.

Build in SEO from the Start

Search engine optimization is the discipline and art of creating pages that rank highly in search engines. On-page optimization helps pages rank naturally for keywords that assist the business. Inbound marketing experts are well aware of the benefits of SEO and never neglect this crucial component. When you’re building a new site, it makes sense to think about the ways people will find the site. It’s also worth considering what content you’ll have waiting for them when they arrive. Inbound marketing experts direct the people towards purchases with content, social updates, and email follows-ups.

Inbound Marketing Is a Great Way to Have Constant Qualified Leads

Inbound marketing remains popular with digital marketers because this method of gathering and closing leads is very useful. Inbound marketing as a discipline is changing the way people access online information continues to evolve quickly. Inbound marketing is moving towards catering to mobile devices more now than ever before. Mobile devices are stronger than they used to be, so content created for mobile devices should probably appeal to the particular technology each device uses. One idea is that interactive touch screen content is likely to be an excellent idea in coming months. The level of personalization you offer helps differentiate your company in a crowded marketplace.

Congruence Matters for Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is challenging because people online are now using many different services to access content. Tailoring content for each particular service makes complete logical sense but gets expensive in a hurry. A solid strategy to combat high prices is to analyze which services are most applicable to an individual business and then bulk up the content that’s precisely likely to improve sales. Why spend money on creating content that won’t earn a return?

This trend towards more accurate content is already underway and will likely accelerate in coming years. The mobile revolution is not slowing down. One thing that always remains consistent regardless of what technology you’re using is to create a corresponding message for your inbound marketing. People expect clear and coherent branding and messaging from companies.

Deliver Timely Updates to Strengthen Your Message

Content marketing is an essential part of a successful inbound marketing strategy. A good tactic involves having a few major, anchor pieces of content receive traffic from paid ads and live updates. A lead magnet of some type should be in use, which helps people seamlessly join the sales funnel. Congruent follow-ups serve to answer many of the prospects general questions. They also contribute to warm the person up to the product or service. Define an editorial calendar if you want to establish a logical flow of content.

Automated marketing efforts are being used by successful businesses to bolster inbound marketing results. A digital marketing strategist can put all the many pieces in place to ensure that your online presence is a well-oiled inbound marketing lead generation machine. Any time your organization can utilize automation, it’s worth doing it. The costs are less expensive, and the results are consistent. Inbound marketing and automation go together like peanut butter and jelly!

Inbound Marketing Continues to Rise in Prominence

Inbound marketing is likely to gain even more importance in coming years as the ROI has been increasing as technology improves. More people than ever use social media channels to help inform them about purchasing decisions. Savvy companies are helping their potential clients to make the decision to buy from them. Give them as much information and motivation to purchase as possible, and make it easy for them to ask any questions they have.

Once a sale happens, inbound marketers continue to contact clients. Creating a robust mechanism to assist your business with inbound marketing will make a significant impact on the type of numbers you do online. Make it a point to hone your strategy until it’s powerful enough to generate leads and sales. Since you collect data through lead generation, you never have a problem following up with people. Whether it’s a month or year later, you can introduce new products to people who already went through your sales funnel. With the proper configuration, you can make more money year over year for as long as you want! A significant promise of inbound marketing is to add consistency and long-term stability to your revenue generation efforts.