Awakin Projects

"Companies are recognising that websites are not just about e-commerce, they are a gateway to the brand." - Todd Pollack, Head of Retail, Google

Over the holiday period businesses can usually expect higher profits and engagement, but you can take it for granted or assume that it's going to happen. With so much competition out there you need to stand out from the crowd and what better way to do it than with a Awakin Smartphone App or a mobile ready site for your business!

Why Go Mobile?

It's Simple - 51% of people research online and purchase items in a store, so regardless of what you are selling people will always shop around. I know what your thinking our website can do the trick, however with 41% of retailers owning smartphones your site better be mobile ready or there's a good chance customers will go elsewhere.

At Awakin Apps we can provide mobile solutions at a very affordable price, whether it be a full mobile app or simply a mobile ready website - contact us for more info!

Mobile Ready

With the constant growth in the smartphone sector it's imperitive that your site is mobile ready or better yet your business has its own mobile app because

70% of mobile users have compared product prices on their phones

65% have read product reviews on their phone

50% of mobile searches lead to purchase

If your still in any doubt whether of not your business need a mobile app or a mobile ready website then consider this - over the 2012/2013 holiday period there is an expected $119 Billion in sales through mobile devices worldwide!

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Mobile usage stats are great for small businesses because if you know what your potential users are spending their time on and what kind of actions they are taking it then becomes a little easier to tailor your marketing for best results. At Awakin Apps we constantly have an eye for the most up-to-date usage stats and they help us create a better user experience.

Don’t worry we don’t expect you to trawl through the report by yourself trying to find nuggets of information, we’ve done it for you, but if you want to read the full report you can do so here. With constant growth of the smartphone sector many small businesses are starting to put money in this area but don’t worry if you don’t know how much it costs to build an app we can offer affordable business apps and even create a preview app for iPhone or Android so you can get to grip with your smartphone app - click here to get in touch.

Now back to the matter at hand - why your business needs to consider a smartphone app. The stats are taken from Nielsen’s Social Media Report 2012 and refer to the US between July 2011 and July 2012:

First of the all the kicker, mobile web and mobile app usage went up a staggering 82% and 85% respectively whereas as PC web usages went down 4%. It’s no surprise that most of this time is spent on social networks and more specifically through apps. In fact app usage accounts for more than one third of social networking time across PC’s and mobile devices!

But how and where do people connect to their favourite social media site? Despite the dramatic constant growth of the smartphone sector the computer is still the primary device for accessing social networking sites, however mobile did increase by 9% and tablet by 13%. 

How many have you used social networking while in the bathroom? Not be embarrassed if you have because 32% of people aged 18-24 have! Do you have a quick peek on Facebook or Twitter while at work (I’m doing it as I write this!)? Well your not alone more than half of people aged between 25-34 have done the same - just don’t let the boss see you.

Social networking is clearly important to your users, I mean think about it it’s probably important to you too! With an Awakin App you can plug in your businesses Facebook and/or Twitter page directly into your app, so that users can like your page, comment on your posts and even share your page with their friends.

Stay tuned for more on the Nielsen Social Media Report 2012

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As a small business ourselves we don't have a fortune to spend on boosting the Awakin web profile - but we've managed to unlock a few secrets to make it a little easier and we want to share that knowledge with you!

I know blogging about blogging may seem a little redundant but at Awakin we’ve found that frequently publishing new and useful content (and maybe a selfless plug here and there) really does help boost your online profile and therefore your ranking in search engines. Blogging is a great way to built your online profile and while it may seem obvious it is time consuming and getting it right can be a bit of a dark art!

Here’s 3 important things to consider when blogging:

1) Keep it Updated - You've got to be regularly posting new content to appease the 'Gods' at Google. The more new content you generate, the more exposure you get in the search engine.

2) SEO is Key - Search Engine Optimisation is a vital part of any blog and this is were many bloggers fall short, because it's a fine line between using SEO keywords wisely and spamming your article so full of them that it's no fun to read.

3) Tracking - By using Google analytics (it's free) you can track how many people are visiting and where are they coming from, which may help you tailor your blog content!

Stuck for content ideas? Then why not step up a Google Alert - email updates of the latest relevant Google results. It’s a great way of finding out what’s hot and staying current! Best of all it’s free!

Insider Secret - Hit Tail

Hit Tail is a great tool for helping you generate blog content, you simply paste their code in your blog/website and they will track all the keywords and search terms from your sites existing traffic.

You can then use these keywords and Hit Tails suggestions to generate new blog posts with SEO friendly keyword that you already know works!

The only down side is that you have to pay for the service - however one of our services is boosting online profiles and we currently have a few clients who are already seeing the benefits.

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The Smartphone App That Tackles Hate Crime

As part of an anti-bullying campaign, the Hands Off My Friend mobile app was officially launched today!

The Hands Off My Friend App makes it very easy to get in touch, find support and report hate crimes in Northern Ireland.

The app, which is designed for young people is free to download and includes resources, detailed information and access to support groups and is aimed at taking the fear and trepidation away from contacting the authorities.

PSNI Inspector Tony Callaghan:

"The App is particularly aimed at young people who are really media savvy.

"They are online all the time and this is our way of getting that low level information from them, to see what they see, or hear what they hear and take away the fear of having to contact the police directly."

Read the full BBC article here.

The app is free to download - simply scan the appropriate code below or search Hands Off My Friend in your app store!

I'm sure you've noticed, through the course of your browsing, that websites are now asking consent before saving cookies on your machine.

Well that's because of the governing law brought in by The Information Commissioners Office to help protect against privacy issues and all websites are now required to comply with this new law. 

Read more about it here!

So if you haven't made steps to implement this into your website, then now is the time!

But How?

If you are not overly confident in using and editing html code or java script but own your own website, there are ways round it.

Contact us and we'll be able to point you in the direction of a free service and we'll even give you some advice into installing the code into your website.

However if you outsource your website management, your developers will asssist you in implementing this piece of code. if they haven't already you may need to bring the issue to their attention (on the the ball or what!).

Our Sites

Our sites are now compliant and come with customisable privacy settings.

It also shows the users exactly what sort of cookies we use.

Get in touch here if you are unsure about your options or would just like some advice!

Insider Tip - Take Tourism Digital

If you work in tourism then this is a great opportunity for your business. 

The Northern Regional College (NRC) are launching their new eTourism Project providing small to medium sized businesses with the free opportunity to set up their own social media strategy, engage with their customers directly and grow their business online!

Read more about it here

But why take your business digital?

Creating a digital strategy is something which is becoming very important and frankly something which you can not afford to be left behind in, with more and more visitors using smartphones now is really the time to connect with them - before one of your competitors does!

Did you know?

1 in 6 mins online is spent on social media

78% of online consumers trust peer recommendations for products and services while only 14% trust ads

With our Awakin Apps platform you can create a smartphone app with many different features and we'll be detailing them all on our blog!

Check out our previous blogs about our Awakin Apps Features - QR Coupons and Push Notifications

Our GPS Map tab allow you highlight places on a map, give information about that place and give step-by-stpe directions to it! We have used this feature in every Awakin App to date because it's such a convenient and versatile tab.

You can have up to 3 categories, so for example if you are building an app for the tourism industry you could have a category for hotels, sight-seeing and entertainment! Within these 3 categories you can have an unlimited amount of places of interest (POI), infact one of our app have almost 100 POI's.

Of course this can open up a great opportunity for your business because you could sell this space to other business who wanted to advertise their product or service - sticking with the tourism industry example, you could charge hotels a fee to be featured on your map.

Another great feature that comes as standard with the awakin apps platform!

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Are you thinking of investing in a mobile app? If not you should be! But Awakin, why should we be spending money on designing and building a mobile app?

Well for starters it gives your company a unique selling point and you'll be able to communicate directly to your customers via push notifications not to mention increasing brand loyalty and repeat business by using QR coupons and loyalty stamps!

So your next question is probably how many people have phones? Here at Awakin we've done the had graft for you and found out the latest sales stats for the UK and Europe:

Recent sales stats (UK and mainland Europe):

IDC say 27.4 million smartphones sold in Western Europe in Q2 2012. Samsung's share is 43.6%, followed by Apple at 19%.

A May 2012 YouGov survey found 47% of UK mobile phone users now have a smartphone. They expect that number to hit over 55% by the same time next year.

comScore reckon there were just over 28 million UK smartphone users by May 2012 (3-month average), a year-on-year increase of 38%.

The same company put combined smartphone ownership for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK at 44% of mobile users as of December 2011 (104 million users).

Figures quoted in the FT put UK smartphone ownership at 46% as of August 2011.

The only question left is why an Awakin App? Well we can offer your business its very own smartphone app with any of the following features:

Create interactive treasure trails/walks

QR scannable codes for rewards

Send specials and coupons directly to users with push notifications

Display your full event list

A Loyalty feature for repeat customers (stamper card)

Turn-by-turn GPS directions to your business 

Music player (able to purchase songs)

We can integrate your Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Photos, etc 

Update your app on your own using our easy edit tools

Plus much more…

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Why choose our E-Marketing solution? Through our research and experience with past clients we have defined several key benefits to using an email marketing campaign to boost your profile and sales, it’s with these key benefits in mind that we will build your list. Head over to Awakin.com to see our past work!

1. Instant Communication

Unlike more traditional ways of getting your message across, such as print, e-marketing allows you to communicate directly with potential customers that have been gathered in your mailing list. Not only do you know that they will see your message but because they are on your list they already identify with your product/service.

2. Create Engaging, Interesting Content

Our e-marketing campaign gives you the chance to send interesting and interactive content - e-mail has always been about more than just words. You’ll be able to send hyperlinks to external pages such as an online shop or a booking site and even images and video links. At Awakin we believe great content supported by a strong call to action will drive the customer to where you want them to go!

3. Hyper Targeted

As mentioned before the customers that you will be targeting already have an affinity with your product/service because they have signed up to your mailing list, this gives you a great advantage in the market and also helps identify what content they would like.

4. Cost

Compared to the tradition forms of marketing/advertising (or whatever term you want to use to mean getting people to care about your product) e-marketing is far more cost effective. Why? I hear you ask! Well simply because are targeting potential customers who have already expressed an interested in your brand by signing on to your mailing list! In addition to buying to ‘air’ space you’ll have need to hire a design so it looks cool enough to catch peoples eyes and it won’t be cheap!

5. Reach People Like Never Before

We are basing this on having a mailing list to market so how do you get them? We’ll it’s quite simple (but potentially time consuming) - first you need to define your market and find out where they spend their time online. Once you’ve found the most popular forums and blogs you can post on them with links back to your sign-up page or even contact the blogger directly, generating content for them works well here.

6. You Can Benefit From Forwarding

People love to share stuff! Whether its links, info, movies of pictures they love it! SO if you email’s are interesting, chances are they will get forwarded on (think how many FWD’s you get in your inbox!). It’s not just forwarding to their friends emails but they can share them on facebook and twitter - imagine how many eyes will see your brand then!

7. Track It!

Mail Chimp and AWeber (the 2 most popular platforms) have built-in analytics so you can see open rates, click rates, what they click on, how many time they opened it and much more! You can’t do that with a newspaper ad!

8. It’s Not Easy Being Green

Because its all digitally managed there will be no tress harmed during the making of this campaign! Not to mention the saving from not having hardcopy print outs!

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At Awakin Apps we like to understand our users as best we can and what better to understand their smartphone usage than to look at socially active they are! SO we've found this cool infographic for comparisons between Android and iOS.

To date they are 500 millions activated Android, which has the edge over 410 million activated iOS device but the sticking point here is that there are many devices available on Android such as HTC and Samsung (to name the most popular) so you would expect the share to be in their favour.

In terms of popular social apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc, Android has more downloads however new iPhone 5 come with Facebook and Twitter integrated into your contacts!

This latest research on Facebook usage for each platform shows that are almost 37,000,000 unique app visitors from Android devices compared to just over 26,000,000 on iOS - but why should you care?

Well as social media has become such an important part of our lives people can share their recommendations for products and services to all their friends - just think of the free advertising! Generally speaking people are more likely to trust their friends recommendations rather than some advertising blurb!

So how can you use this info? Well if you had an app specific to your business with Facebook and Twitter integrated into it your customers could help promote your business for you, without even realising their doing it!

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Want to learn about Irish history and mythology? At Awakin Digital Publishing, we have many cool tourism apps and are very passionate about promoting Ireland which is why we've came up with The Irish in Stories!

The Irish in Stories interactive iBook will study Irish History from prehistory using the Book of Invasions (Lebor Gabála Érenn) as it’s muse. This loose collection of poems and prose is said to recount the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages. It is an ideal starting point to delve for the first time into the mists of our past.

This pilot project is part funded by Northern Ireland Screen and counts a host of local illustrators, designers, historians and content creators in its team with the sole charge of producing our second interactive iBook - The Irish In Stories.

We aim to bring Irish mythology to life with stunning visuals and a great story written by our very own John Bustard. We are currently in the research phase of the project but are aiming for a pre-Christmas release.

At Awakin we are intrigued by Irish History and passionate about discovering Ireland in new and exciting ways. Creating an iBook on this rich vein of Story which was passed on as oral legend and scribed by monastic settlers for future generations, will prove to be a most enlightening journey of discovery.

Hey at Awakin even thought we're based on the Causeway Coast we don't just surf and play golf we do actually do some work too! We've recently teamed up with the guys behind Irish Fireside to create a travel app - The Ireland Travel Kit

The Ireland Travel Kit App gives users the chance to discover the 'offbeat and often missed' sites of Ireland from their smartphone or tablet. The app features an interactive map, 400+ sites, a constantly updated blog and the chance to experience some traditional Irish Music.

At Awakin we pride itself on developing local and national tourism we jumped at the chance to work with Corey Taratuta, an award winning blogger from Irish Fireside. Together we were able to come up with a mobile solution for very successful travel blog - Ireland Travel Kit. Delivery to the American market can be challenging and Corey wanted a company with local passion and knowledge.

The app itself highlights the lesser treaded spots in Ireland Tourism and gives users the chance to View by map and get directions from your current location, dig a little deeper with photos and links to more information for every listing, stream samples of great Irish music and podcasts from our playlists and submit photos of your favorite places.

Corey Taratuta, Founder of Ireland Travel Kit

“I thought it was wishful thinking that we’d complete our app this quarter, but once Awakin jumped in, everything fell into place. The entire process was streamlined, well-guided, and responsive.

“Wonderful having the folks at Awakin make my app ideas take shape. When developing my app, I needed a partner, someone with knowledge and skill, and able to recognize my vision. I found that with Awakin”

Could we do the same for you? Are you in need of a smartphone app for your business?

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Here at Awakin we are always on the hunt for the latest stats on smartphone usage and the communications industry as a whole (as I'm sure you've noticed)

Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries has recently released their report on the communication industry. So rather than you sifting through all the information and jargon, sit back and let Awakin tell you the most relevant tidbits that could help your business!

In terms if internet usage, 8 out of 10 people had access to the internet in the first quarter 2012 and in 2011 the average time spent online was 23.5 per month - thats almost a whole day!

Social media is king! According to the report two thirds of internet users have accessed facebook - that's not overly surprising considering most of you probably have it open right now, I know I do - www.facebook.com/yourawakin. In fact Facebook generates almost a quarter of all referred traffic to YouTube (23.7%) and it's nearly caught up to Google (32.3%)

Lastly, there is more spent on internet advertsiing than any other medium. In 2011 spend on internet advertising was £4.8bn, £4.2bn for TV and £3.9bn for press!

I know what your thinking, 'hey Awakin, tell us something we don't know!' and you'd be right everyone knows that the internet is the most popular medium out there but by having these stats we can get a better understanding of why and what people are doing online, which helps you target your audience that much better!

But how can you do that? Well with two fifth's of UK adults now owning a smartphone and that same number saying that their phone is the most inportant device for accessing the internet then it's pretty obvious, isn't it?

Create a smartphone app for your business! And here at Awakin we can help, and it doesn't cost as much as you might think!

The only question left is why an Awakin App? Well we can offer your business its very own smartphone app with any of the following features:

Create interactive treasure trails/walks

QR scannable codes for rewards

Send specials and coupons directly to users with push notifications

Display your full event list

A Loyalty feature for repeat customers (stamper card)

Turn-by-turn GPS directions to your business 

Music player (able to purchase songs)

We can integrate your Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Photos, etc 

Update your app on your own using our easy edit tools

Plus much more…

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Here at Awakin we not only make smartphone apps, but as a digital publishing company we also create and publish iBooks. 

For those unfamiliar with iBooks, it's basically an eBook but that only available on apple. Having already had great success with our Titanic Island Interactive iBook we have started production on our latest venture - The Irish In Stories. Both of these books have great interactive elements and use audio and visuals aids to lift the story - and that's the power of an iBook.

We know an iBook isn't right for every small business but it could be used by bloggers, travel writers and tourism businesses, we've even consulted on a Ryder Cup golf guide ibook. But why should you invest in an iBook, what's so special about them? Well here's Awakin's run down on the best features of an iBook:

Awakin iBooks can be interactive - certainly most important to us and our past work, iBooks give you the ability to add audio, video and animations as well as cool widgets such as 3D objects.

Awakin iBooks can have hyperlinks - Link out to external content, drive traffic to your online shop the possibilities are endless!

No shipping or packaging required - because Awakin iBooks are delivered through the internet digitally there's none of the usual publishing costs.

They're digital - Users can read them anywhere and store them on their device making the device a portable library. Also because they're digital no trees are required to produce one!

They're instant - a user can buy/download a book anytime day or night and have access to it immediately, click here for an example of how easy it is!

So you get the idea? iBooks are becoming more and more popular with the UK percentage of tablet ownership jumping from 2% to 11% in just 12 months and 19% of Americans owning a tablet.

Is an iBook right for your business? If it's something you have considered then get in touch and we can help! Contact us here to find out if an Awakin iBook is right for you!

Mobile statistics are important - that's a no brainer!

They're important because they can tell you what your customers like and their habits so that you can provide an even better service for them, but who sad smartphone statistics had to be boring?

Here at Awakin we are constantly researching the latest stats so you don't have to! The most recent collection of mobile smartphone usage deals with addiction and there's a few funny stats to go with.

For example - would you go without sex for a weekend rather than give up your iphone for a few days? Well according Gazelle.com, June 2012 15% of people in their recent survey said they would! Crazy right? But not as crazy at the 18% of people who said they would give up bathing before they gave up their iPhone!

But what keep people so engrossed in their smartphones? Well according to a Nielsen study conducted in the second quarter of 2011 which monitored app downloads for a 30 day period over half are using their smartphones for social networking while 26% are using their smartphone to shop.

So what does this mean for the small business who are trying to create a cost effective mobile strategy? Well first of all you need to jump on the mobile app band wagon because its not going away anytime soon, the frequency of which people use their phones tells us that the more accessible your business is from their phone the more likely they are to engage with you - and that's the bottom line!

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Here at Awakin Apps we love infographics but we also know how important it is to find out just what smartphones are being used for! Not only does it help us when creating our own apps but it also helps our clients decide on what features they would like most in their app. Even before we get to that stage the mobile market stats help us show small businesses (like us) what a mobile app could for them!

GDS infographics have came up this a great easier to digest chart for smartphone usage - so just what are people using their smartphones for?

Well not surprisingly games comes out on top with a huge 64% but what is surprising is that weather (60%) beats social networking (56%) to second place. Dining/restaurant and shopping/retail hold a strong position of 26% each. The bottom three categories are health (13%), education/learning (11%) and household/personal care (6%).

Another interesting point this infographic covers is the distribution of apps in terms of platform:

Apple - 300,000

OVI (Nokia) - 130,00

Android - 25,000

Blackberry - 18,000

This distribution statistic is shocking when you consider that android has the leading market share in terms of mobile devices! However whether this is because apple have been around longer and I'm sure that by the end of 2012 Android will have closed to gap considerably!

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As a small business ourselves we at Awakin Apps are always on the look out for key data about mobile apps and smartphone usage because we believe that it will help us create smartphone app that meet your businesses needs.

Ok so that's why we care about mobile stats but why should you? Well its simple really, mobile marketing gives you access to a captive audience in a hyper-targeted way - think about it what other method of marketing can you directly contact your customers. Communicating to your customers through their smartphone produces immediate responses and a higher response rate than any other method.

Because the mobile market is growing so rapidly you need to act fast or you'll get left behind in favour of your more 'switched-on' competitors, by developing a mobile app (with Awakin it could cost less than your think) you can provide a better service to your customers and be in a great position to up-sell your product or service.

So what are the stats that matter:

Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons. (Mobile Marketer, 2012)

91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7. (Morgan Stanley, 2012)

44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012)

Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016. (Berg Insight, 2012)

70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. (Mobile Marketer, 2012)

9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012)

61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. (Google, 2012)

52% of all mobile ads result in a phone call. (xAd, 2012)

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