While most large businesses have full-on content marketing programs and blogs, it’s just as important (and easy) for a small business or startup to incorporate a blog as well. But a website alone doesn’t always offer enough information, personality, or authority to truly stand out from the crowd. This is where a company blog can shine. If you’re looking for inspiration, here are seven reasons why your company needs a blog. Keep your audience updated about your business Beyond your company website, a blog is a fantastic tool to keep your audience in the loop about your business. While a website might be more practical in content and straightforward in tone, a blog offers more flexibility to connect with customers, to share updates in a way that shows who you are, not just what you do. Think of your blog as your direct communication channel. It’s a space to talk in depth about your products and services, share timely content, and comment on relevant industry trends in a way that lets your brand personality shine. Great for building long tail and driving traffic A chief reason every company needs a blog is to increase their visibility. Put simply, the more blog content you create, the more opportunities you’ll have to show up in search engines and drive organic traffic to your website. Blogs provide the perfect platform to strengthen your SEO strategy. Your business can boost its chances of generating traffic and converting leads by creating fresh and well-written articles that incorporate long-tail keywords, images and videos. Can help improve internal linking Unlike inbound linking, internal linking is something that is completely within your control. This means there’s no reason not to use them within your blog posts. It can help visitors with site navigation, pointing them to the most important pages on your website. Internally linking to other blog posts and pages on your website can also improve your SEO success. The more relevant links you have, the more likely it is you’ll rank better, which can lead to more traffic and potential leads. Get feedback from your customers Good business websites do a solid job of giving customers the information they need, but it is usually done so in a one-way manner. There’s often no room to ask questions, comment on content, or start a conversation. This is why a blog is so powerful. It creates a two-way conversation with customers, leads and industry peers. With a more relatable tone and an interactive platform, you can encourage feedback and discussion in the comment sections of your blogs. Having in-depth conversations with your customers is a great way to build trust and authority in your brand. Plus, it allows you to examine your business from your audience’s point of view and make changes to improve your services. Helps you build your email database Email marketing is still a solid marketing strategy. But it’s not always easy to get people to sign up. This is where a blog can help. It ensures your business stays top of mind and helps reinforce your audience’s need to keep updated. If people find your blog content informative, relevant and engaging, chances are they’ll trust that your email newsletters are as well. To push them towards signing up, include internal links in both your blogs and newsletters. This makes it easier for them to read about promotions, new products, or business updates on your blog. Teach and explain more about products Blogs allow for in-depth explanations and teaching about what your products and services can really offer. For example, you could write customer case studies, explore specific benefits, or provide easy-to-read “how to” guides on your most technical services. The more your company produces content like this, the more it will be seen as an authority in the industry. This not only builds up your knowledge bank, it also breeds innovation and creativity. The deeper and more complex your posts are, the more ideas you’re likely to generate. It’s much easier to get social exposure with blog articles Blogging is a simple way to get discovered via social media. Every time you write a blog post, you’re creating content that people can easily share on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other channels. This helps expose your company to audiences you might not even know yet. On the other hand, blog content helps fuel your social media output. Instead of trying to pull new social media content ideas out of a hat, you can simply promote and link recent and relevant blog posts. You’re simultaneously strengthening your social media presence and bringing in new visitors. It’s a win-win. If you’re looking to reach new audiences, build your brand and stand out from the competition. Take inspiration from the reasons above and get started on a business blog. Having a blog not only provides a strong foundation for your marketing, it’s also fun and inspiring—and a great way to share ideas, generate new ones, and build a community of like-minded and engaged people.

Today it seems like everyone has an idea for a mobile application. This isn’t surprising. The mobile industry is trending upward from both the consumer and business perspectives. But before you dive in head first and start development, you’ve got to do some research. Find out what types of apps make the most money if you think your idea might be the next big hit like Instagram or Snapchat. If you’re trying to improve your existing company, you’ll need to crunch some numbers to figure out if it’s worth it to build a mobile app for your business. But most importantly, how much will it cost to develop a mobile app? I get this question all of the time. If you ask 10 people this question, you’ll get 10 different answers. The reality is – it depends. That may not be the answer you were looking for, but let me give you an analogy you that can relate to. How much does it cost to buy a car? There isn’t a one size fits all answer. It depends on lots of different factors. Well, same goes for mobile app development. These numbers aren’t set in stone, but they give you an idea of vast price range. There is no “out the door” price either. Your app will continue to cost you money even after development is completed. Think back to the car analogy. You’ve got to put gas in it, oil, get regular maintenance, change the tires, brakes, and much more. With so many elements that influence the cost of development, is it even worth it to hire a mobile app development agency? As an industry expert who has lots of experience building mobile apps, I can help clarify some of the pricing for you. Then you’ll be able to decide for yourself if hiring a developer is worth it the cost. Factors that influence app development It’s important to know what you want before you get started. I wouldn’t recommend jumping into the development stages without a clear plan, strategy, and goal for your app. Here are some things to consider to get you started in the right direction. What’s the primary function of your app? What is your budget? How do you plan on building it? What kind of time frame do you envision from production start to launch? You’ll also want to consider your launch strategy, so you can get downloads and even come up with a way to get ranked in the App Store. So start writing a complete business plan for your app development. This plan should recognize that there are different stages for developing your app. You’ve got to plan and budget accordingly for each stage. In order to make sure you’ve got enough money to pay for each stage, you’ll need to consider where your funds are coming from. The last thing you want is to run out of money halfway through the project due to poor budgeting. Then you’ve got a partially developed app that’s worth nothing and no way to get your money back. If you own an existing business it may be easier for you to secure funding. You can use money from your company’s checking account to pay for this. You’ll also have more luck going to a bank for a loan and borrowing against the business to secure a line of credit. For those of you that are planning to develop a new app as a startup company, you’ll likely need to raise money from investors unless you’re independently wealthy. Jason Calacanis, a successful entrepreneur, and angel investor, recommends raising $750,000 to get started. Don’t get thrown off by that number. That’s not necessarily how much it will cost you to develop an app (although it might be). Jason factors in paying for a small team to work on the startup company and other fees associated with operating a business, in addition to paying for development. We’ll discuss the cost of paying employees shortly. I’ve come up with a guide that breaks down the factors impacting the cost of mobile app development into six major categories. Overhead Complexity Server hosting Operation system Who builds it Type of App I’ll go through each one of these factors and explain everything you need to know to get a better understanding of how much development will cost for your own unique situation.

Nowadays, Web development has been a very crucial part for any business. Working with the global exposure or just a start up, web development has to be an essential part for your business. Now, when it comes to showcasing your business on a global level, it is important for you to have your own official website. The quality of the web design has to be top notch and better development services are quite necessary for your business. The question here arises is, whom to employ to manage both the web design as well as development services? Well, you have two options available. The first option being, hire a developer that works full time in your office and the second being, hiring a professional web development company. Website Development Experts With that being said, there are some downright advantages when you hire a web design developer and a developing company. IT OFFERS UNIQUENESS Upon hiring a website developer for your business, it is necessary to have the support of customized uniqueness, which in result shall offer your business the global exposure it needs. The competency of a web development company would help you boost your business and work as an efficient backup for your business. Try not to make your website similar to your competitors, try and add uniqueness to your website that would really attract the visitors you are targeting. See Also: Advantages Of Hiring Outsourcing Partners HTML TAGS To create a decent look for your website, learning HTML and other coding isn’t really that difficult. A professional and reliable web development company would surely know more about the job. A Website Development Company shall offer you with better web design and development services as they have a better command over the semantics and validation of the codes. It is quite necessary to have your coding semantically meticulous, and more importantly adhered to the finest practices of the web standards. Substantiating codes will ensure and shield that all tags are closed, fixed properly, and very well up-to-date, which precisely a web development company can efficiently perform. PROPER BROWSER TESTING Well, there are some major web browsers and many other smaller browsers that you can choose from. But sadly, not all browsers are created equally, so it is important to perform browser testing well before and see if they are compatible enough for your website. Many Website Development Specialists in their forums suggest that testing is more than necessary. EFFECTIVE WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION It is important to understand that website optimization approach isn’t similar all the time. The content of your website is supposed to be optimized for numerous things such as loading speed of your website, search engines friendliness, and top conversions. It is quite necessary for you to keep an eye on the latest optimization process. With that being said, a web development company shall be the best suitable choice for your website development plan. They’ll help you keep the optimization well in check and upgraded, so that best results are gained for their clients. Website Development Experts often offer great strategies that you can implement to make your website effective.