"It’s all about the notifications, not the apps", this quote by Fiona Spruill, head of global growth at Meetup, really struck a chord. Not that we don’t believe in Beautiful Apps anymore ;) But, we do agree that push notifications are among the most effective tools you can use to engage your audience. However, as we have often stated, we also believe they can be your own worst enemy. Remember our blog post about 4 reasons apps get deleted? An invasive use of push notifications is often to blame. 

2015 has come and gone and the new year feels like a blank slate, ready to be filled with new projects… Year after year, it’s the time most of us decide to take resolutions… Now, guess what our resolution this year is? To make sure you don’t give up on them come the end of January! With that in mind, we are going to take these New Year’s resolutions together and stick to them. Tried and true, they all come from experience and are bound to make your life at work easier ;)

A Beautiful App is first a concept. Whether it is tied to an existing business or not, a mobile application must have its own purpose. In order to help you create a Beautiful App which is best in line with your project, we make a point of providing you with an ever increasing choice of sections and connectors. But sometimes, what you need is actually already in front of you. Indeed, in some cases, it doesn’t take much to create an outstanding Beautiful App…

Attention GoodBarbers,   This year again, Apple made its Winter Holiday Schedule public. In case you didn't get the memo here is the company's announcement below:

Content Marketing has been big for quite some time now, and more and more companies are turning to it as they start to understand the stakes. Content creation is a time-consuming process which doesn't necessarily come easy to all businesses.  One thing's for sure, content is here to stay and 2016 will certainly see new developments unfold for those already relying on it as a strategy or considering it. Let's have a look at one of the major trends for next year: how quality matters when it comes to the content published by businesses.

Users are increasingly turning to Instagram over other social platforms. Why? For starters, the content on Instagram is more universal than elsewhere. Also, it tends be more anonymous than Facebook. Although the irony isn’t lost on us that Facebook bought over Instagram for $1 billion…  With that being said Instagram remains a very appealing outlet, especially for businesses looking to grow their brand and especially their brand’s image. Instagram is perfect to help make your brand identifiable, as long as you follow a few guidelines of course. Because if social networks praise spontaneity, with Instagram in particular, when it comes down to marketing, a lot of thought actually goes into what is posted by brands. Images with the most reach are often carefully arranged to fit trending criteria (even when they have an effortless feel), with a clever caption to boot! So, if you want to become a master of Instagram, here’s a few Instagram DOS and DON’TS to get your business on the right track. Read on!

What a world we live in. Not too long ago, all cellphones could do was make calls, send out a few lines of text, and play simple, monochromatic games like Snake (though, let’s be honest – no mobile game has ever been better). Then, in 2007, came Apple's iPhone – this weird, newfangled device that many people initially scoffed at – and the entire mobile industry has never been the same. Thanks to the popularity of the iPhone, countless companies followed suit and soon rode the touchscreen smartphone wave, which pushed what Apple was initially going for into several bold, new directions.  Nowadays, people are more connected than ever. The proliferation of smartphones with advanced mobile internet capabilities has made sure of that. And with the ability to easily and quickly download countless social apps with tons of rich media features, getting in touch with friends, family or colleagues has become more than just typing out simple messages.  You can share photos, videos, life events, play games with friends, chat in real time, engage in video calls, and so much more. With a plethora of powerful social features already at any mobile device owner's disposal, one has to wonder: has the envelope been pushed as far as technologically possible? Where is all this headed?

So, your app is published on the Stores and you are, obviously, very proud of it. Now, what you want to do next is increase your number of users, right? In this article, I will share 5 tips to illustrate what can be done to create a real community around your app. 

Beacons have been around for quite some time now and are gradually becoming a part of marketing strategies for some of the biggest brands out there. These tiny devices are as powerful as they are mysterious, but one thing’s for sure, they are introducing a new way to buy .  By blending the digital and physical they are taking the user experience one step further, providing a very flexible approach to displaying information about products, the layout of the store or even discounts. Everything is possible, for any kind of business. A few weeks ago we explained how you could implement this technology inside your app thanks to our iBeacons Add-On. A breakthrough update since we believe Beacons are an incredible asset when it comes to developing your business ! However, we are well aware how intimidating these devices can seem at first, so here is an Infographic which will give you an overview of what you need to know about Beacons and how they operate, which should help you overcome your hesitations!

There are all sorts of Apps out there in the stores, but what part does "content" play? What’s the public appetite for Apps with a lot of content? One could be quick to pin down App users as hurried consumers who don’t stay for too long in one (virtual) place. But, a recent study issued by the Yahoo Developer Network seems to hint at the contrary.

Hello GoodBarbers! Updates are pouring in these days. Have you started customizing the icons in your App  yet? Well, here's another update to play around with the design of your app. The importance of the Calendar section can’t be denied. Many of you are making use of it in your Beautiful App to promote your events. We already improved it this Summer with the possibility to add content into the section, directly from the back office of your app, without requiring an external source.  We are now taking things further and allowing you to properly shed light on your events with 3 new templates to display your events details :) Let’s take a closer look at them…

Learn How to update and replace main features icons within your app

Virtual Reality rhymes with enormous possibility. Something Facebook sensed when it acquired Oculus Rift for $2 billion a little over a year ago. But what now? What can we expect out of Virtual Reality aside from the gaming community’s expectations. According to the MIT Technology Review: "The dominant way most consumers will experience Virtual Reality will be on mobile devices". A projection which encouraged us to have a look at the future of VR. Are you coming with us?

Remember our tutorial about content creation ? Today we are going to share with you a secret ingredient which you can add to the recipe for creating great content: the power of story. It is actually advice which can also prove useful for your business in general. Let us show you how.

Hashtags are more a thing than ever. First used on Twitter, they are now getting big on Instagram, but also Facebook and Google +. But, do you really know how to use them for your business? More than a mere character, the hashtag, if used correctly can significantly improve the way you communicate with your audience.   How? Let GoodBarber show you the way ;)  

Mobile devices are everywhere, even at school! But they can’t possibly be reduced to their disruptive effect on students’ attention. They can actually prove quite useful, or to be more precise, School Apps can. Not only by engaging students, but also parents, teachers, and so on. So, here’s our overview of why we think School Apps are here to stay.

Hello GoodBarbers,  We are on a roll! Here comes a new update! After the Scheduled Push Add-On and Geofencing, it is now time to talk about the Add-On which will send your business into a new dimension: the iBeacons Add-On! This Add-On has a huge potential, and I am certain that it will spark a lot of amazing ideas to make the most of your Beautiful App ;) Let’s take a closer look…

Once you’ve published your App on the stores and it is live, it’s time to start promoting it. There are many ways you can get the word out about your app, but today, we will focus especially on getting it reviewed. A very cost efficient manner to get publicity and, hopefully, praise. But, beware, just because it is free, doesn’t mean there aren’t a few ground rules to comply with. And really, we can’t stress enough how important it is to get a review request right. The first impression you give must be perfect, because it is likely your interlocutor will have a limited attention span. After all, you are not the only one approaching him. As a result, you are left with a very narrow window to draw his valuable attention, so make the most of it. Here’s how to best tackle PR , with the help of our Infographic!

Hello GoodBarbers !  Today is a big day for GoodBarber because I’m about to present you with the result of months of hard work… I’m talking about a new Add-On which you can now find in our store. Yesterday, we introduced the Scheduled Push Add-On , which was the first of a series of updates. And it is now the turn of the Geofencing Add-On to be in the spotlight!

Push notifications are undoubtedly a must have for effective communication with the users of your app. A while ago, we already provided you with the possibility to send automatic push notifications , notifying your users of the publication of new content in a given section. You’re now familiar with the fact that, at GoodBarber, we like to always give you more possibilities and make your life as easy as can be… We’ve therefore decided to put some hard work into a new version of that feature. Let me introduce to you our brand new Scheduled Push Add-On!

They just happen and you’re bound to have to deal with them at some point if you are active on social media: negative comments. It just comes with the territory, the moment you communicate on public platforms, you expose yourself to praise, just as much as criticism, justified or not. When it comes to coping with it, finding the right attitude isn’t easy. Here’s a few guidelines in order to learn to deal with negative comments on social media.

We’ve mentioned before the importance of building a great splash screen  or how your App icon matters. And if you don’t want too much text on one or the other, choosing a great font is still essential when putting your brand out there.  Think of the font you choose as your brand’s voice. You will want something that will make you both stand out and be classic enough so that it won’t seem outdated as trends come and go. 

Fitness trackers, pedometers, fitness challenges, « fitspo », the connected world, on the go, on your desktop and on your mobile, is all about health and fitness these days, for better and for worse. Even if the trend isn’t something you’re naturally into, you’re bound to have colleagues, friends or family that have jumped on the bandwagon. Fitness fanatics aren’t the core audience anymore. Health and Fitness apps are now in the top 10 most popular apps in the App Store, before « Food and Drink » or « Photo and Video » (courtesy of Statista)! In fact, the health and fitness mobile app market was already « worth about $4 billion » a little under a year ago, according to a mobile Health Economics report quoted by Digital Trends. It thus definitely seems like a market to have under your radar if you are looking for inspiring ideas to create Beautiful Apps.  Here’s our overview of the Health and Fitness Apps Craze, for the better, of course!

It’s no secret by now that great content is a significant marketing asset. It’s a strategy which has proven useful time and time again. Even if beneficial to the businesses that rely on it, it can also be quite demanding and time consuming. Small businesses often can’t afford to dedicate an actual team to the task and can, as result, feel somewhat lost when faced with the challenges of content creation. That is why we've decided to put together a quick tutorial for you, to pinpoint the main stages the creative process, with an infographic, synthesizing the information while serving as a reminder for future use ;)