The tourism market is very vast and contains a large number of sectors. Travel agencies, hospitality, transportation companies, local businesses, and more. Today we are also seeing new professions emerging, such as travel bloggers (professional or not), playing a considerable role in the tourism industry. We've said it before—we can't emphasize enough the importance of having an app in order to be successful in this sector. You just have to choose the proper tool to create the perfect tourism app. So, why choose GoodBarber?

A typical sequence of events when a company is first created normally begins with establishing the business along with a website, and allowing it time to get on its feet before incorporating supplemental “Add-ons”, such as an application. However, as we’ve said before: apps are no longer an optional, bonus feature, but are rather a must-have for any successful business. Perhaps waiting to create an app isn’t the most strategic choice, and maybe one should even consider it a preemptive step in the entrepreneurial process.  No need to wait around for the physical business to get under way—create the app now and gain traction for later on. 

Everyone knows that there is an extraordinary bond between children and their parents. It's strong, beautiful, and nothing (or almost nothing) can come between them...well let me tell you, it's also good for business! Why? Simply because if children are too young to be consumers, their parents have no problem doing it for them. And in this case, there are no feelings of guilt. They aren't consuming for themselves, but for the well being of their little ones, and that makes the difference.  The change today comes with the increasing emergence of technology gadgets for children. This market is undoubtedly growing, and the industry is finding more and more ways that represent children in terms of sales opportunities. Parents today are part of the generation that grew up with the Internet and technology, so it is natural for them to use these tools in educating their children. Wearable devices, mobile apps, or connected objects are all innovations that can be adapted to the childhood industry, and that can easily appeal to this new generation of parents due to three fundamental characteristics. 

In honor of the recent buzz over wearable devices, it seems like the perfect time to delve into this topic. “Wearable Device” is a term that gets thrown around quite often, but until just recently, it’s been more of a figment of the future. There have been some attempts here and there, and we often hear all about cutting edge gear that’s on the brink of becoming huge, but whether or not wearable devices are on their way to becoming integrated parts of our lives in the way that smartphones have is something worth wondering about. Up until now, the two most well-known wearable devices have been the Google Glass and the FitBit, and I think it’s safe to say that one has been more successful than the other. While the FitBit can be seen sporadically amongst groups of everyday people, I cannot think of one single person I know who has been audacious enough to sport the Google Glass. Why has everyone shied away from such an impressively capable product created by a company that we all know and trust? I think Google really missed the mark in terms of relatability—it seems to have taken the futuristic concept and run with it, forgetting that its customers are humans, not wealthy robots. The term “Glasshole ” became popular for a reason—it’s not easy to wear this device without emitting a pretentious, Inspector Gadget aura that makes one unapproachable at best.

Has your app been in poor health lately? Low percentage of downloads? Less traffic than before? No reviews in the stores? Perhaps your app has a weak immune system and could have a nasty case of “Lack of optimization”.

Everybody is wondering what the next big thing in the app world for 2015 will be. We aren't psychic, but we have a few ideas based on our expertise, our market analysis, and the evolution of technology about the most exciting inventions big companies and brands will bring us during the next year, as well as the needs and concerns of consumers. We have known one thing from the start: mobile will lead. Mobile is like a little computer that we bring everywhere with us. It's becoming smarter, more relevant, and let's face it—something we are completely dependant on.  What we expect to see this year is apps that are much more customized to consumer needs. They will provide more relevant and personal information, geo-targeting content, app extension for wearable devices, more mobile security, and more opportunity for engagement. Today, we are offering you a look inside the future technology market. So, be our guest and jump into our time machine to discover the next App Trends for 2015.

This month, Facebook introduced a new algorithm for News Feed algorithm for 2015 that will change the way we receive content on the most prominent page on Facebook. If you don’t know about the new guidelines yet, this will be a valuable article for you. We will explain in detail what you should know about the new guidelines for Promotions and Advertisers on the News Feed and how you can optimize your mobile campaign.

As there are 1.3 million apps available in the market, user engagement has become a key factor in the success of an application. Today, I'll show you how to achieve this engagement on social networks through five steps (Exist, Know, Offer, Identify, Award).  

Huge! Facebook is the largest online social network and according to Facebook stats has more than 1 billion monthly active users. Almost 90% of worldwide active users are using mobile phones to check their news feed, chat with friends and update their Facebook profile. There is no doubt that Facebook has conquered most of the world's internet users and brings to the table a great opportunity for brands, companies and entrepreneurs to launch their products with a low budget or even, for free. The mobile apps promotion are not an exception. In the last two years, Facebook has improved the advertising tools for mobile promotion, becoming more successful than conventional Facebook ads. The variety of advertising formats, the deep segmentation (gender, language, interests, behavior, connections, pages), and the placement of your ads on the News feed helps to increase the number of downloaded apps, the app's engagement and retention of app users. These facts also contribute to achieve a more relevant position through search tools of Google Play and Apple's App Store. But let's understand how it works in detail.

Stefano Mongardi, an expert of Online Marketing who is also passionate about tech and innovation, tells us everything you need to know to implement a successful e-commerce business and stand out from the competition. Nowdays we're all quite practical with online purchases. We simply land on a website, scroll through the products, decide the best one for us and order it. Seems easy huh? So now you think: "Wow! ecommerce is exploding, let's open an online store and start selling our products worldwide! It's a piece of cake!". Well, actually it's not. Today the competition is fierce and if you want to bring an added value you either have to work really hard or spend a LOT of money to let people know about your great new ecommerce business. You may even have the coolest products in the world, but just being online doesn't mean you will right away get tons of visits and conversions without doing anything.  Most of the times when an ecommerce platform is created, people invest most of their time and budget setting up a PPC campaign on Google, Facebook and maybe even Twitter. The result is: you spend a lot of money and get a lot of vistas but most people won't come back to your website again. Why? Because you offer products and not added value. Don’t forget that your competitors offer the same or similar products. Unless you are the only person in the world selling that specific product, you have to give people some added value to convince them to buy from you and not someone else.

You’ve most certainly heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise funds for the ALS that went viral this summer. You might have even participated! This brilliant initiative turned out to be a huge success and brought more than 100 million dollars to the ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) association. The concept of taking up a challenge and then nominating your friends has been quite trendy on the socials since a while, but the Ice Bucket Challenge went to whole new level, involving thousands and thousands of people around the globe and becoming the hottest social network topic of the summer of 2014. Everything started when Pete Frates, a former baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, challenged a friend to donate $100 to the ALS association or film himself dumping ice cold water over his head. The idea was so simple and fun that it caught on like a wildfire. As this action spread, it changed somewhat because even though people were more than willing to donate, they didn’t want to miss out on the experience of pouring a bucket of ice on themselves, so they began to do both. Totally understandable!... ;)

Why are brands creating apps? Because a mobile app brings together all the essential components of your brand: useful information, advertising, social networks, products, special offers, loyalty solutions... If well structured, it is the perfect container for your content marketing strategy. With an app, clients can find all the information they need to buy a product, all in one place. Simple and direct. And now, with our E-commerce section, you can easily connect existing Amazon, Shopify and Etsy boutiques.

Many companies today have chosen to be present on mobile by creating an app to support their business. An app is an extremely powerful tool because it’s extremely versatile, businesses can communicate in a much more personal way. Also, people access the internet always more from mobile devices and less from pcs. Why? Because it’s more practical, we carry our smartphones around with us all day and now there is a good connection practically anywhere, also apps are easier to use. On a phone you don’t have any desktop clutter, you just have to enter a specific app to get the information you need, in a few seconds you can check the weather, find the best restaurant in town, buy those pants you saw in a shop at a cheaper price. But it’s not all as simple as it sounds, many companies have missed the mark when trying to take advantage of the great opportunity an app represents. You mustn't forget there there are some specific rules to follow when going mobile, this channel is very different from the web so you cannot just transplant your web strategy, you have to plan a specific strategy for the mobile segment. Here are series of common mistakes that to avoid if you want your branded app to be a success and bring your business that extra value!

Today we spoke to David Gomez, Director of Bien Pensado, a Colombian company that provides information and marketing resources for SMEs. Author of El día que David venció a Goliat  (The day David defeated Goliath) and Facebook Toolbox.

Today, we're honored to talk to Nicola Guerra, web designer at the agency Extera.

Today we talk about Fluxr

We have already talked about it in the past, now we will resume what has been said and delve further into the subject. As you all know, an app can help you to increase your customer base and your traffic. But before this can be possible is important that your new app is presented to the world! You must to expect a normal period of transition in which you will try to redirect the users of your mobile website to your app. At this point, it is usual to undertake marketing strategies to promote the app and make it known to the world.

We have discussed many times the "benefits" that the creation of an app can bring to your brand, not only as a commercial brand, but also as a blog, a VIP, a radio, a club, etc.   Nowadays, native apps provide a better user experience and improve the way content is made available. The experience that a mobile application offers to users is much more rewarding than the one offered by a mobile web app.

The Murdoch University, Australia, and the University of Indiana, USA, studied how mobile apps can have a positive impact on users. The study consisted in comparing the impact on sales, after the use or not of a branded app. It confirmed that using branded apps has a positive persuasive impact, it can increase the interest in the brand and in the brand’s products, and it can also produce a large and significant positive shift in involvement. Apps also seem to be an ideal medium for educating people about new products, or products they have yet to try. Do not forget the high level of user engagement, based on the enhanced user experience apps can offer.