ROI or Engagement: Priority in Social Media

If you think social media marketing is just another form of marketing, then you are missing out on a great deal! Social media marketing is here to stay, because it is the best platform to build brand identity and create brand loyalty. All roads lead to ROI and that is what business houses see in social media marketing. To determine whether ROI shall be the sole priority of social media marketing or extensive Engagement is the key to its success, remains still a concern with most businesses.

Every social media campaign has direct effect on your ROI (Return on Investment). The real intention of being social on social media is to make maximum use of your network and drive in revenue. It is about getting (financial) returns on every effort, which can only be the growth in sales and business revenue. To make every penny count, you have to work on your social engagement metrics.

Social Media Engagement is intricately related to ROI. It paves way for businesses to get closer to the target consumers, convert them to leads, and track conversion rate for their goals.  Be it Twitter, Facebook, Buzz, MySpace or Linkedin, engagement level must be high as nothing convinces consumers better than real-time interaction. Product marketing, feasible promises, creating brand awareness, solving queries, and resolving disputes…the more active a business is on social media platforms, better is the chance of getting maximum ROI. E-mail campaigns, social media optimization, unique landing pages, and promotional coupons are some of numerous ways to engage users and generate leads.  

To decide what is more important, ROI or Engagement is a Chicken and Egg situation. The priority must be ‘Revenue’ and the only way to get it is by practicing profitable consumer interaction. 

Adobe AIR for iOS Development

Apple’s decision to lift restriction on third-party development tools has paved way for some notable changes in the world of iPhone application development. To start with, an alternative way of developing iPhone apps without having to write the code from scratch. As developers around the world rejoiced the decision, Packager apps came up with its package of promises. Adobe AIR Development Services is one such third party development tool, which has caught attention of many iPhone developers and with acceptance of Adobe’s Packager for iPhone, things have started to look brighter for flash developers. Before we discuss why Adobe Air is the next big thing for iPhone development, let us get acquainted with Adobe Air and Packager for iPhone.

“AIR, also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime, is a cross-operating system runtime that allows developers to use their existing web development skills to build and deploy Rich Internet Applications to the desktop.” And, Packager for iPhone is an important feature of Adobe Flash Professional CSS Software and AIR. It has enabled Flash developers to build and test iPhone Applications. This feature has enabled developers to reuse the existing codes written for ActionScript 3 real fast and efficiently. Then these codes are used to create native applications for iPhone. This means, now all your Flash applications can be converted to iPhone apps without having to write it from scratch. So, once the app is created, all you have to do is get it approved by Apple and put it on Apple Store!

These AIR applications are available for wide range of iOS devices including iPhone and iPad. AIR 2.5 has gone a step further to work for platforms compatible with Flash. This includes BlackBerry (Tablet), Android, and television. It will also work for accelerometers, cameras, microphones and more. However, Flash is not yet available for mobile browsers. Which means, you cannot run Flash content on your iPhone. It only allows iOS apps to be converted from Flash. It is going to be quite some time before you browse YouTube from your iPhone. Adobe is working with its industry partners to enable web browsing using Flash and run complete apps on AIR.

Adobe Air for iOS Development comes with its own set of advantages. Some of them are as follows:

• Automatic Updating: AIR comes with a brilliant feature like automatic updating of application whenever a user comes online.

• AIR enables the user to load, save application and related data on the computer itself.

• AIR has a notification system that allows two AIR applications running on the same system to communicate with each other.

• The SQL databases embedded into it can store all information locally.

• AIR supports Flash Player and it is but normal that AIR has rich support for multimedia, Vector animation, and Audio. 

• If your aim is to create interactive and rich applications, Adobe AIR is one of the best possible choices to build the same.

Adobe Air for iOS Development has made the process of iPhone Application Development Services more interesting and fun for Flash Developers having already stepped into the world of Apple. 

Top Software Technology for 2011

Like every year, the world is ready to welcome the new software technologies yet another time. The Top software technologies for 2011 are not only expected to add edge to your business process but also influence lives to a great deal. As some business and software experts are predicting, this is going to be a year for small and mid-sized businesses. It will be for them to survive and flourish this year. The Top technology trends for 2011 will also be considered by small and big organizations for strategic planning of their business.  Here is a compiled list of new technologies to watch out for this year.

Top Software Technologies for 2011:

Cloud Computing:  This is going to be a year for ‘Cloud’. Atleast that’s what Gartner says. Cloud Software Technology, which not only cuts down on cost but also is also connectable via various hardware devices. According to the industry experts, it is going to be the year of varied range of cloud computing services. It will the year of vendors providing ‘packaged private cloud implementations’ that will implement their software technologies into the consumer’s enterprise. There will also be service providers who will provide management services for cloud service implementation. According to Gartner, by 2012 there will be enterprises managing and outsourcing Cloud Computing Services.

Mobile Apps:  Since, the beginning of it, we knew mobile applications are here to stay. With so many mobile handsets launched everyday and Smartphones capturing the market, mobile application stores are looking forward to do some good business this year. Mobile phones are becoming more of computers and mobile internet connection is really coming up with amazing bandwidth. From Apple to Android, this is the year for mobile application developers.

Social Networking and Communication: 2011 will be the year for businesses and enterprises to accommodate social networking websites to social collaboration and feedback tools to integrate in their applications.  We know websites like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Wikis, Blogs, Youtube and Flicker have gained much popularity with business organizations and this will be the year for them to use these sites to leverage their business.

Video: 2011 will be dominated by videos. According to Gartner, the coming years will see a considerable rise of videos as the popular form of content on business and enterprise websites. This will be a great year for offshore software companies providing media streaming services.

Business Intelligence: This is the year for enterprises to brush up and modify their business intelligence infrastructure. With Internet and web accessed even from the mobile phones, probably this is the time; business processes will shift to ‘Gen-Next Analytics’. This will include running simulations to predict the future outcome.

Social Analytics:  To quote Gartner, “Social analytics describes the process of measuring, analyzing and interpreting the results of interactions and associations among people, topics and ideas. These interactions may occur on social software applications used in the workplace, in internally or externally facing communities or on the social web”. Well, so this is going to be the year of Social analysis techniques like social-network analysis, social filtering, and social-media analytics. This will also lead to a considerable increase in use of Social Analytic Tools to examine social structure.

Context-Aware Computing: The world is moving towards a context/consumer aware computing system, which will find a strong foothold in the year 2011. A system that will cater to unique needs of end users and provide services accordingly.

Storage Class Memory: 2011 will see the rise of storage class memory in various mobile, entertainment, and consumer devices. This will be a Flash memory, which will work even when the power is down or the system is rebooted. This memory will also be used in IT systems and for servers.

Hardware Options: This year is going to see a range of flexible hardware options for software requirements for managing systems. 

Flex Development

Rich Internet Applications have made web more interesting and when it comes to open source apps, which helps you to build flexible Internet applications, mention must be made of flex development. One of the most popular apps development solutions, Flex is the thing you need when your requirement is of a cross platform rich Internet application. RIA or Rich Internet Applications work as good as desktop applications with features like interactivity and flexibility. Flex is considered the best technology when it comes to development of RIAs. Flex has all the characteristics of Flash and thus, is highly graphics oriented. This is the reason why it works great for creating graphs, galleries, GIS features, and reports and other features for your website. Whether you want to build network solutions, audio and video apps, messaging solutions, custom solutions or CRM and ERPs, Flex development can make web development a richer experience for you.

Flex development is done using Flex SDK or Software development kit. You also need to have Adobe Flash Builder to work on Flex. Flex SDK has all the components required to build a Flex application. The SDK provides a class library, which further helps the Flex developer to create great user interface and superb functionalities. Flex development in India guarantees scalable, flexible, and reliable solutions that are totally customizable and can be re-designed in the future, according to varied requirements. Whether you want to develop an e-commerce portal or other web apps, Flex development services can always get you the desired solution.

The best part about Flex application is that it can be easily integrated with almost all the server side technologies. Whether it is Dot Net, Java, or PHP, you can always get smooth integration for your app. Moreover, there are also other advantages of Flex Development like reducing the use of unnecessary installations, increasing traffic, and sync between the audio and video features of a website. This is the reason why more and more enterprises are going for Flex to scale their website and business. Let’s have a look at some of the features of Flex 4 which makes Flex development the best choice for developing RIAs.

Advantages of using Flex 4:

• Flex 4 can help you develop the most proficient and robust Rich Internet Applications for real low cost.
• Flex 4 comes with an added feature, which is known as the Spark Architecture. This helps developers to work on the same platform with designers thus, making the development process more flexible and fast.
• It supports CSS3 ad HTML5 thus adding to look and feel of the website.
• The best part about Flex 4 is that it supports 3D animation. So indulge into as much multimedia effects as you want and have a great experience developing flex 3D animation website.
• Flex 4 comes with its automated bug-testing feature and ensures that all bugs are eliminated in minimum time possible. This speeds up the entire development process thus reducing total operational cost.

If you are looking for a great web solution, do look for offshore Flex development companies as they can meet your requirements for real low costs. The best part about outsource Flex development is that you don’t even have to worry about a single thing from development of the project to testing to its delivery. When your need is of a robust, flexible, and scalable web solution, which is also great from its look and feel point of view, Flex is what you need. 

iPhone Development

Since its beginning in the year 2007, iPhone has carved out a huge market for iPhone development. Within 2 years of its launch, around 33 millions of iPhones were sold and over 225,000 iPhone apps were developed during a short span of time. With the launch of latest iPhone 4G, its sale has increased manifolds.

iPhone application development has become very important for the companies working on various mobile development platforms. With the iPhone SDK available, mobile developers can now build new iPhone apps and also customize the existing ones. iPhone SDK or iPhone Software Development Kit includes all the tools and technologies required to develop these applications. iPhone apps are built on the iPhone OS, a platform exclusively used to build range of iPhone apps. There are two types of iPhone apps, web applications and native applications. An iPhone user can buy these apps for various prices and also download it for free at Apple iPhone store, which is the webshop for all iPhone apps.

iPhone is the fastest growing and most popular platform for mobile development compared to other platforms. More and more mobile apps and web development companies are going for iPhone development having understood the huge market that it caters to.  Touch screen and instant Internet connection are the key features of iPhone, that has paved way for the popularity of various iPhone apps. It gives users the satisfaction of making maximum use of the costly device that is more of a style statement. These apps can be also used for ipads.

With numerous iPhone apps coming up every day, the challenge for the developers is to make these apps more innovative and interesting for the users. Whether it’s an app for business or an iPhone game, the developers have to come out with new ideas to survive the growing competition in the field of iPhone development. If your requirement is that of an iPhone application for your business or customers, the best way to do it is by hiring professional iPhone developers. There are numerous offshore iPhone development companies, which not only are experts in the field, but can also help you by suggesting add ons and innovative ideas for your applications.

Some of the popular categories of iPhone apps are, iPhone games, iPhone maps, iPhone m-commerce apps, e-book apps, social networking apps, and lot of other entertainment applications.

Your iPhone developer must have years of hands-on experience in iPhone apps development and must know what are the common challenges that come along during the course of development. So, make sure you have the best iPhone outsource development companies shortlisted to suit your need and get the best of it.

Flash Development

Flash has changed the way Web looks. Some may not be comfortable with the idea, but Flash applications are working more than fine for its users. Flash development is not only easy but also has its dynamic and interactive quality that has changed the way businesses work online. Every company wants a strong online presence and look out for the best ways of scaling business. Organizations are not only going for complete makeover of their websites but also implementing various applications and plug-ins to make their website more interesting and interactive for the end users.

A good flash website never fails to draw traffic. Whether it is an e-commerce portal or a website for IT Company, flash is the best way to add value to the website and attract potential customers.  The biggest advantage of Flash Development is that it enables you to add a lot of music and videos to your website. Let us have a look at some of the reasons why you would want to use flash for your website.

• Flash enables the developers to program and develop interactive images and videos that can further be embedded into the webpage itself.

• As mentioned earlier, Flash is a great way to keep viewers interested in your webpage, especially if you have an entertainment or music website. It also works great for e-learning websites as interactive games and educational videos can be easily built on Flash.

• Having a superior compression rate than similar programs like Fireworks and Photoshop, Flash format is perfect for sites like that of MySpace and YouTube.

• It is not easy to steal images from a website built on Flash. Therefore, you can protect your images against piracy to a great extent.

• One of the great things about flash is its flexibility. It can easily be modified to play multimedia movies online and run various applications.

• If you are looking forward to incorporate some animation in your website, then Flash is the thing for you.

• A multi platform application, Flash is compatible with almost all platforms and browsers. However, the plugin has to be downloaded for that.

• Flash helps the developers to build a user-friendly interface with the help of Action Script and the like.

Where can you use Flash:

• To build interactive websites
• Online Presentations
• Games and animations
• Applications
• Templates, themes and screensavers
• Cd Roms
• Online movies
• Banners and advertisements

Flash CS4:

Flash has become more fun with the 3D features available in CS4. Now you can make your projects interesting by adding 3D content to it. Flash CS4 comes with two 3D tools namely the 3D Translation tool and 3D Rotation tool. Now you can rotate, translate and set camera angles for your 2D characters and add 3D effects to it to thus making Flash development fun.  

How to Write SEO Friendly Articles

Writing articles is just not enough, when you are aiming at higher ranks in Google. You must know the tricks of how to write SEO friendly articles to perform well in Google. SEO friendly articles ultimately contribute to the optimization of your website. This is one reason why most companies and organizations go for article marketing, exploiting its potential to get higher ranks in Google. Whether you post articles in your company blog or article directories, a well-written article will never let you down when it comes to SEO.

So, how to write SEO friendly articles? Well, let’s have a look…

Tips to write SEO Friendly Articles:

Topic: It is very important to decide on a topic you want to write on. Remember, the only reason people read your articles is because they expect some new information from your write- up.  Select a subject, which would be informative, as well as an interesting read.

Original Content: Your content has to be original if you are looking for a better ranking on Google. Do not just copy and paste articles from the web. This will not only destroy your reputation but also your website. Google will mark you as spam!

Title: Title reflects what your article is all about and it is the most important aspect of SEO. Make sure you select an appropriate one for your article. Following are few pointers you must keep in mind before deciding on a title for your write-up.

• Make sure, the title doesn’t have more than 5 to 7 words and 65 characters.
• Use relevant words or phrases, which you think, readers use the most to search information relevant to your article. For example: An article about SEO can have titles like ‘SEO Tips’ or ’Tips for SEO’.
• Use the primary keyword in your title. That is, if your article is about SEO, your title must have the word SEO in it. However, don’t overdo it. Do not repeat the keyword more than once in the title.
• Keep the title original and crisp.
• Avoid using special characters in your title.

Description:  Your content must have a description, summarizing the content. This is the part, which attracts readers to your article. Let’s have a look at a few pointers, which can help you to write proper descriptions for your articles.

• Make sure the description is relevant and interesting enough to invite users to read on.
• Description should not be more than 3 to 4 sentences and must have the primary keyword in it.
• You may pick up sentences from your article use it in the description. However, it’s always works better if you write it anew.
• Do not include company name or any personal information in the description part and neither do add the title in it.
• Avoid using ‘all caps’ or special characters in the description section.

Content: What is it about your article that will interest the readers? Well, nothing works better than original content for your article. Also, try to write articles that will be of some use to the users. If it’s an informative article, keep the word limit upto 500 to 600. Writing long articles doesn’t make sense because users tend to have very little patience to read much. Short and crisp write up is the way to go.

As mentioned earlier, Internet users have very little patience and with so many options for a good read, they tend to drift away from your article. So try to keep your write-up lucid and simple. Avoid using bombastic words or long complicated sentences. Use the main keyword of your article atleast 3 to 4 times throughout the article. Do not copy from the web, and publish original content.

Subheading:  Adding subheadings to your article is a great way to keep the users interested in your site. This not only makes the article comprehensible but also descriptive. Each subheading should represent the idea present in the following paragraph.

Links: While submitting articles to directories, you may want to put external links in the write-up to direct readers to your website. However, make sure, you do not put more than one or two links in a single article. As for posting in your company blog or personal blog is concerned, there is no need to post links separately.

Polls: Polls and voting are a great way to popularize your article with the readers. The reason being, users love to express themselves and share their preferences with others. And your article will be the platform for them to do so.

Images and Videos: Images and videos are a great way to bring your article in the limelight. Images and videos must be relevant and add value to the article.

Proofreading: Last but not the least, whatever you write, do not forget to proofread it before uploading. Make sure there are no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.