Singapore User Experience in Digital Marketing

Successful Digital Marketing

In a time when everything is moving towards being digital, having a strong online presence is extremely important to maintain relevance and keep up with the trend. A range of digital marketing initiatives such as setting up social media account, developing mobile app, and creating websites is the industry standard way to build online presence.

It is, of course, desirable to have a successful digital marketing. The benefits can come in various ways such as making your business marketing more cost-effective, providing a direct and straightforward way to track response rate, generating higher revenue from online sales, giving boost to brand reputation, and heightening the brand competitiveness.

Not Just About the Quantity

Digital marketing can be tricky, though. To be successful and hopefully rank high on the Google search engine result, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing is usually employed. The goal of SEO is to make stuffs easier for both the audience and the search engine robots. Therefore, it generally focuses on making useful content that is relevant to the keywords that users may key in. However, in recent updates, more sophisticated technology is used to encourage digital marketers to pay attention to the user experience as well.

Focusing on User Experience

A good UX is one that put the users’ needs first. There are many ways to do this, for example: writing high quality content that will benefit the readers, using recorded data to personalize browsing experience, and many others. Usability aspect should also not be ignored as it is essential in helping people have an enjoyable experience. In return for the effort, an excellent UX will make a good impression on people, resulting in organic sharing and positive word-of-mouth.

UX in Local Context

The Singapore User Experience scene is a lively one. As businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of UX, companies focusing in the field and freelancers are on high demand. A UX agency can provide their service to handle stuffs ranging from the initial UX research and evaluation, designing and developing the website and mobile, to helping the brand makes a mark in the digital scene.

In Singapore, where the start-up culture is thriving, a good UX is not just an addition to a good enterprise. Research and planning of websites and apps are very important. Designing a good UX and having a clear workflow can help a lot in figuring out a product’s goal, the message it wants to convey, target audiences, and coming up with a sustainable scheme to generate profit.

Why You Need Digital Marketing

Moving to Digital Marketing

Here is a fact: we are quickly shifting into a digital era. As time goes by, people are becoming inseparable with their mobile devices, consuming more and more digital content. It is also a noticeable phenomenon that there are much less traditional media being produced and consumed now as compared to a few years ago. Publications such as newspaper, magazine, and even television production are taken over by the digital. People are now enjoying digital content as it is faster, more accessible, and up to date.

As the popularity of traditional media has dimmed, business and enterprise who want to retain their relevance should have strong online digital presence. The future customers will be the ones who have grown up with internet and mobile devices. Thus, it makes just a perfect sense to dive into digital marketing which can be done by utilizing website, blog, online content (e.g.: video), and social media marketing (e.g.: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

The Benefits of Digital Marketing

Apart from doing it to keep up with the changes in the media industry, digital marketing can also bring you many benefits:

1.        1. Affordable Cost

In traditional marketing, a lot of budget should be allocated to advertise in prints and TV. Sometimes, marketing personnel are also recruited for direct marketing. In digital marketing, however, little resource is needed and wide audience can be reached which makes it more cost-effective.

2.       2. Easy Tracking

You may print brochures, give coupons, and advertise on various media. Nevertheless, the results are often difficult to be tracked and in the end, it is not guaranteed if all the spending is worth it. This is the opposite in digital marketing. Response, views, and engagement rates are easily tracked for marketing campaigns. Equipped with these insights, it becomes easier to identify what works and what doesn’t in the campaign and improve for the subsequent ones.

3.       3. Increase Revenues

Websites, mobile applications, and social medias offer the possibility for businesses to include Calls-To-Action into their pages. Buttons and features such as sign up, download, add to cart, subscribe, call now, and many more can be used to converse traffic from digital channels into revenues. As online transaction is increasingly common and safe nowadays, customers are keen to make purchases through digital platforms, citing its convenience.

4.       4. Build Brand Reputation

Digital marketing channels such as social media usually allow users to leave comments and review. If a business has a strong online presence and reliability, it will cultivate the customers’ trust and loyalty. Positive word-of-mouth can also rapidly spread online, with one user informing many others.

5.      5. Increase Brand Competitiveness

Lastly, digital marketing also makes it possible for smaller businesses to compete with the larger ones. Unlike traditional marketing that requires big budget, smaller businesses can afford digital marketing which does not need much resource. This way, they are able to attract their own share of target market.

User Experience, SEO, and Mobile App

About User Experience, SEO, and Mobile App

User Experience is how people feel when they engage with your product or content. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization which utilizes high quality content to get traffic to your website. Mobile App is the software application developed specifically for mobile devices. At a glance, there seems to be no connection between these three words. But let’s examine further.

UX and SEO for Search Engine Success

To make a website known to the people, it is best for it to appear high on the google search ranking list. While SEO deals more with keywords and links for the site to appear on relevant result pages, UX plays a role in making sure people have pleasant experience which results in organic sharing and distribution. Combined, UX and SEO will help you to optimize your product.

Mobile App for Business

It is certainly good to have a website. However, in this fast-paced world, mobile app development will provide numerous benefits for your business. First, it gives extra value to your product by making it more accessible to customers no matter where they are. Having a mobile app also increases your brand’s visibility and build a stronger brand name. Apart from that, mobile can serve as a more direct and effective way to engage with your customers. By maintaining communication, you can better retain customers’ trust. Finally, mobile app helps to boost your sales if trust is gained. Repeat purchasing is very possible. Moreover, by utilizing technology, workload and other cost can be reduced and profit increases.

Interested in UX, SEO, and Mobile app development?

Read more about How User Experience Affects SEO and Advantages of Having Mobile Apps in Your Business

User Experience in Mobile App Development

The Rising Popularity of Mobile App

Mobile app is becoming a prevalence, making it is safe to say that everyone’s mobile phone must have at least one app installed. Data from the newest studies shows that desktop browsing rate has been dropping. Meanwhile, the use of mobile app is growing. Superior in terms of accessibility and practicality, more people are now eager to download the mobile app of the business or website they frequent. Many factors can affect their willingness, such as the app size, privacy issues, social login, and push notifications, to name a few. However, on top of them all is the user experience (UX). A top-notch UX will attract people to use the app again, while mobile app with poor UX will soon see users abandoning it.

User Experience (UX) in Mobile App Design

UX design for mobile app may not be the same as that of a regular website in some aspects. One of the most clear distinction is in the screen size. Here are some practices that can be implemented to create a great mobile app experience:

1.       Simple Navigation: The biggest challenge in designing UX for mobile is the limited screen size. Unlike website that can have extensive menu bar, doing the same for mobile will use up a lot of screen space. Therefore, mobile navigation should be easy to discover and made sure that it only includes the most essential functions.

2.       Usability: In general, elements in the app should be designed so that users can reach their goal easily. A special feature of mobile device is that people often use it one handed. To improve on user experience, it is important to place main navigation buttons within the reach of the user’s thumb. Required gestures and action outcomes should also be consistent across the app.

3.       Minimal Effort: Mobile apps that are easy to use are often rated highly. It is principal for mobile app to reduce the effort needed from users. One way to do this is by providing search filters to help users quickly find what they are looking for. Another way is by personalizing the experience of each user by learning their behavior when using the app. For example, giving suggestions based on past buying pattern or pick-up point.

4.       User Interface: People typically don’t have much free time when they decide to use mobile app. Thus, minimal design with only the essential elements is recommended to deal with users’ reduced attention span. In this case, negative space is useful to improve readability and bring focus on certain contents.

Creating a good UX for mobile app should always starts with the users in mind. Consideration of the mobile-specific features is also important. The best app is one that combines both usability and simplicity.

App Development: Android or iOS?

Mobile App Development
Whether you have a business requiring mobile app, or is a developer yourself, there is always one question that comes into consideration... Should I start with Android or iOS?
As mobile app development is growing in a really fast pace, it doesn't mean that you have to rush and try to simultaneously build app for both platforms. In fact, it is often wiser to choose one to start from. It is recommended to do so because in the mobile app development process, a lot of learning and fixing are involved, which makes it simpler to achieve your desired app experience on one platform first. Now that we agree on that point, we can proceed to determining whether you should start on which platform.

Choosing Between Android or iOS
Well, it is not easy to choose without any ground. Nor it is a wise solution to simply toss a coin and see what you get. Therefore, here are list of some factors that you might want to consider:

• Target market: Android holds the largest global market share, with substantially more users in Asia and the majority of developing countries. So, if you are targeting that demographic, then android app development will be more suitable. On the other hand, while iOS have less user, they tend to have higher income and education, as well as higher engagement. It comes down to whether you aim for breadth or depth.
• Purpose: Will there be in app purchase or direct charge for your app? If that is the case, then it might be preferable to start on iOS app development. Data from various studies shows that iOS users are more likely to make in-app purchase and generate more revenue than Android. But it doesn't mean that you should scratch Android off your list. In fact, if you want more control over the hardware and software of your app, Android might be better as it allows more freedom in elements customization
• Cost: Generally speaking, the costs of building app for Android and iOS are similar. However, difference in the cost will occur when you need to design for more number of devices that use Android. At the same time, however, it also means that you can reach wider audience.

Conclusively, choosing a platform to develop your first mobile app depends a lot on the purpose and goal you want to achieve. However, due to demographics, cost, and engagement, many developers usually start with the iOS platform first. One of the most prominent example for this case is Instagram, who waited for 2 years before launching its app on Android.

Hope this helps!

User Experience in Mobile App Development

Mobile App Development

As discussed in the previous post, mobile app development is growing faster than ever. Businesses and enterprises, from neighborhood cafes to commercial airlines now have their own mobile app. And indeed, it creates a win-win situation for both the customers who gain easier access to various services, and the business itself as they can engage the customers directly.

However, to make the most out of mobile app development, it takes more than simply create one and put it on the apps store. Of course, there are many things to be considered. Functionality, platforms supported, and speed to name a few, but on top of them all is the User Experience (UX).

Why User Experience Is Important

The term user experience (UX) is quite self-describing, as it is really about how the users interact with certain brand or product (which in this case is the mobile app). So, a good UX is one that satisfies, or even surpasses the customers’ need. And that is exactly the first reason why UX is important. The last thing you want to happen is for customers to download your mobile app, try it, feel frustrated, and end up uninstalling it. Even if you have the coolest feature around, it is of no use if customers are frustrated while using it.

On the other hand, if your mobile app has top-notch UX, customers will be satisfied and deem the application to be useful. When it happens, people keeps coming back and engagement increased. Your brand gets a bunch of loyal customers. In addition, happy customers can also help in spreading positive word-of- mouth which increases your mobile app’s traffic.

How to Achieve Good User Experience

It literally takes a whole book to cover the elements of user experience. Don’t freak out just yet, though. In the most fundamental sense, it all starts with a good understanding of your mobile app’s target users. Conduct some research to figure out your customers’ demographic. Are you targeting youth or adults? Do they live in urban or rural area? What are their occupations? From those information, you can create some personas of your target customers. Each category may have different needs, and this process is truly essential to deliver a mobile app that can satisfy them.

Next, ensure that your mobile app has all the functionalities it needs. Not inadequate, not redundant, just right. Again, research can be useful to find which functions your customers need the most, what might be useful for them, and what may not. To establish good user experience, testing can also be done. It will help in discover how people are using the app, as well as areas to be improved.

Finally, you want your mobile app to be aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate around. People do judge a book by its cover. No matter how advanced the features you have, poor design will quickly turn customers off. Oppositely, appealing interface and app design will make customers more willing to browse around. Other factors that should be considered is the navigation of your app. Complexity causes confusion, thus it is important to keep things simple and highly comprehensible. All these aspects combined together, you are now one step closer to create a mobile app that shines.

Mobile App Development in Singapore, Online Business Platform

What Is Mobile App Development
Mobile app development is the process whereby application software is developed specifically for mobile devices. Usually, mobile app is accessible through devices such as smartphone and tablet. Apart from those that are already pre-installed in the devices, you can also download apps from an online app store. In 2017, it is reported that the Apple has more than 3 million apps in its mobile app ecosystem. Games like Pokemon Go, online ride hailing platforms, and online food ordering have all been a big hit. As technology and smart devices are becoming more and more readily accessible to people worldwide, mobile app development is a rapidly growing field. Designers and developers are often contacted by businesses and enterprises to work on mobile app development.

The Benefits of Having A Mobile App
A common assumption is that only big companies need to have their own mobile app. And that is, in fact, wrong. Even small and medium enterprises can benefit from having a mobile app and stay in the front-line of their industry, here's why:

• Be ever visible. People are on their phone a lot, and imagine the exposure gained if the app icon of your business is there. By just being there, you are able to cross your customers' mind, increasing the chance for them to  think of your service.
• Increase customer engagement. Having a mobile app means that customers can easily reach you wherever they are. Transactions can be done in just a few clicks and moreover, consistent service and procedures are applied so that satisfying interaction is more guaranteed.
• Build customers loyalty. Mobile app development helps you to connect in direct and meaningful way with your customers. It is also possible to provide extra value for your customers by creating a loyalty program or app-only promotions. When customers have a good experience, chances are they gonna use the app again.

How To Create A Mobile App
Convinced to create a mobile app for your business, but have no idea where to start? Check out our post on how to create an app without programming! Alternatively, the easiest way to do this is to be in contact with digital experts who specialize in mobile app development. Mobile app developers are ready at your service, handling the app design according to your needs. The prices will usually vary depending on the complexity and the platforms supported. Therefore, it is good to have an idea of what functions you need for the app and its purpose.

Reviews Of Mobile App Development
Grab - Car, Taxi, Bike Booking App
An example of a very successful and popular mobile app is Grab. Using the app which is available on both android and iOS app store, users can easily use it to book transportation in simple steps. First, location detection is used to determine the pick up point accurately. Users are then prompted to key in their destination and their choice of transportation. After confirming the booking, users are able to track if their driver is on the way, and be notified when it has arrived.
The app is popular as it offers more convenience compared to the traditional taxi. Users don't have to make a call to book with Grab, and the app makes it impossible to misheard pick-up or destination point. The app is more effective and transparent as it directly indicates how much will the journey cost. In addition, Grab also give their customer extra value by frequently giving promo code that users can use in the mobile app. 

Mobile App Development

Mobile App Development in Singapore

Developing mobile app has become a prevalent practice these days. Especially in a country as highly developed as Singapore; mobile app is a growing necessity for business, companies, and startups alike. Compared to websites, mobile app development has some benefits. For example, it allows businesses to connect with their consumers. Mobile app development makes engagement more direct and consumers can receive feedback in real time. The format of mobile app also makes it accessible through many devices such as smartphones and iPad, which people often carry with them nowadays. For certain business like the growing online shopping platform in Singapore, mobile app development is even more important as it is most able to engage customers and provide them with satisfying purchase experience. Also, for ride hailing platform such as Uber and Grab, mobile app development is essential to enable location detection feature.

Mobile App Development Course in Singapore

As the trend and demand for mobile app grows, mobile app development skill is also becoming increasingly sought after. In the local context, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore has identified mobile application development as a rising IT skill that is crucial for Singapore's IT manpower to stay ahead in competition both globally and locally. Some local polytechnics in Singapore offer diploma in mobile app development. The course offered by Singapore Polytechnic, for instance, offer a part-time course over one year which combines face-to-face and e-learning session. Short term courses can also be found easily. For example, the NTUC Learning Hub has a four-day programming and mobile development course. Participants will be able to build mobile app on Android by the end of the course, and receive a certificate of participation.

Mobile App Development Companies

If you are running a business and thinking of having a mobile app for it, fret not. In Singapore, there are many companies that can do the job for you. These companies may differ in specialization so you can choose which one suits your business best. For example, some are more experienced in eCommerce, others handle mobile games, social networking mobile app, and so on. The services offered may also differ in price according to what features are needed for the mobile app, which makes it useful to clearly define what goals your business wants to achieve by having a mobile app. Thorough planning will also be helpful, as the process of developing a mobile app may take from 3 to 6 months depending on the complexity.