The 8 most overlooked mobile app usability issues (and how to fix them)

To make your customer's mobile experience truly seamless, everything from onboarding to checkout must work flawlessly. Overlooking something as simple as navigation on a mobile device can mean the difference between a paying customer and a dead end.

I asked eight entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to share what, in their experience, are the most overlooked — and often easily fixed — usability issues. Their best answers are below.

1. Not customizing for Android

Android and iOS are two extremely different platforms. It's not enough to simply clone your iOS app for Android. Android comes with an entirely unique set of programming, design and user interface (UI) considerations. For example, iOS doesn't have a "back" button like Android.

With that in mind, tailor your app to work within the native Android experience so your users can interact intuitively. Also, understand that Android presents challenges inherent to its fragmented market. Unless you optimize the app to work on each phone model, your Android app may work on a Samsung S6 but not on an HTC One. While frustrating at times, you'll want to spend the extra funds to ensure your app is optimized for the most popular Android smartphone models.

— Andrew Thomas, SkyBell Video Doorbell

2. Not taking your onboarding process seriously

If you want new customers to stick around, you need to make sure that they discover what’s interesting, relevant and unique about your app during their first few visits, or the onboarding phase. If you don’t convince them to return within the first week, you’re likely going to lose them forever. There are just too many other things competing for their attention. In fact, studies have shown that you may lose 80-90 percent of your users if you are not listed as a top app in the App store. One way to engage people could be a single onboarding-focused push notification sent to new customers during their first week on the app; we found that this type of alert increased retention by 71 percent over two months.

— Mark Ghermezian, Appboy

3. Not focusing on information architecture and navigation

The information architecture and path visitors take to navigate through an app, make up the most important user experience (UX) decision teams can make. When a user enters an app, they need to understand how to get around so they can easily and repeatedly do what's intended: make a purchase, play a game, etc. App development teams create great features, but can often overlook how they all fit together in an organized way. Instead of spending time figuring out the best structure, they add a bunch of links and buttons that don't necessarily make sense from the user's perspective. This leaves users trying to remember how they got to specific places within the app. And unfortunately, when they can’t figure it out, they leave and don’t come back.

— Michael Saffitz, Apptentive, Inc.

4. Not simplifying the checkout process

Checking out on mobile is a pain. You have to type in your address, email address, confirm that you selected the right product — all on a tiny screen. Simplify this as much as possible, either by eliminating choices or installing Facebook logins. One valuable approach is to make it seamless to create an account, so that people can easily access their cart and complete the purchase from a computer later.

— Aaron Schwartz, Modify

SEE ALSO: 11 tips for creating (or changing) a logo that can grow with your company

5. Lack of user testing and feedback

The biggest usability issue most businesses overlook when it comes to mobile apps is the lack of actual user testing outside of their corporation. You need to get feedback from outside users and determine the intent, needs and usability obstacles through qualitative measures such as surveys. In addition, eye tracking and click tracking studies can provide insight into how users browse and click within the app to identify areas of attraction or distraction. Combine that with quantitative data from analytics and start testing variations of the interface utilizing A/B and multivariate testing software to determine the optimal design and experience.

— Nick Chasinov, Teknicks

6. Not supporting both landscape and portrait orientation

In the last six years, most of our clients did not think of landscape orientation support. A good mobile app should be designed for both portrait and landscape mode to accommodate for best usability and UX. Every mobile app should have proper UI/UX for these two modes to be successful. Think about if certain screens in the app will look better if designed in landscape. Or how portrait mode makes it easier to handle a phone with just one hand. It's a very simple and big issue that has often been overlooked.

— Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

7. Requiring too many steps

I don't want to type anything on my phone. So don't ask me for my address unless you need it. Don't make me type my email if I can register with my Facebook, Google or another account. Don't make me pull out my credit card if you can offer a one-click payment solution. The fewer steps, pages, buttons and fields I have to go through, the better. Each time your user needs to do something, check to see if there's an alternative that would make their lives easier. Consider each action you require of your user as one more hurdle they have to jump. The lower you make it, the closer they get to the finish line.

— Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

8. Not strengthening the engagement loop

Most businesses assume the customer will understand their app anduse it correctly, which they then think creates a positive user experience and high engagement. Unfortunately, this is not the case whatsoever. You need to carefully plan how your users will engage with the app (perform some action) in a way that is a "success" to them. This can be done, for instance, through onboarding or UX design. Strengthening this loop will keep the user coming back over and over, until ideally, that action becomes a habit.

7 apps to help your business grow on Facebook

With over 1.6 billion monthly active users, there is no doubt that Facebook is the place to be when it comes to looking for platforms to scale your growing business. But how can you leverage this dominant social media channel to make the most of your impressive business efforts

Here’s a list of seven apps that your company should consider if Facebook is a part of your growth strategy.

1. Yotpo

IMAGE: YOTPO

While Facebook has been known to be a brands’ go-to marketing channel, oftentimes your actual customers can generate enough hype around a product to drive sales. Indeed, leveraging user-generated content (UGC) such as customer reviews or user-uploaded images on Facebook can help your business immensely.

With Yotpo’s Dynamic Ads feature you can use tools to share customer reviews and photos organically, as well as incorporate them into paid ads — a tool so valuable, Facebook used it as a case study.

2. ViralStyle

Facebook dwarfs all other social channels when it comes to active users, content sharing and referred click-throughs to websites. But the average Facebook users don’t spend their time looking for business opportunities — they’re there to see amusing content and keep up with friends and loved ones. To effectively take advantage of Facebook’s immense marketing potential for business, therefore, companies need to keep their messaging light and fun.

ViralStyle provides a solution for fan community monetization that takes the friction out of selling branded merchandise. This social ecommerce platform lets you offer t- shirts, hoodies, iPhone cases and other products with your own art, and because it’s all printed and shipped to order, there’s zero hassle for inventory or fulfillment.

Using ViralStyle’s marketing tools, it’s easy to set up a “campaign,” which adds a ticker to product pages for a sense of purchase urgency. The platform also integrates with Facebook ads(soon with Shopify as well), to allow users to seamlessly promote creations to highly relevant and targeted buyers.

3. Desk

IMAGE: DESK.COM

Today, business owners and marketers are expected to always be reachable and ready to address customer inquiries. While this may seem overwhelming, there are great tools that help facilitate better and more frequent communication between prospective buyers and sellers.

For instance, Desk.com integrates with Facebook as a highly-effective engagement feature that will help address immediate customer questions and concerns. I personally use them for my payments support and it's helped us manage our thousands of customer tickets each month, a large portion of which comes through Facebook.

4. GetResponse

With so many different marketing options on Facebook, sometimes it is difficult to get the most out of your campaigns. Thankfully, there are solutions such as GetResponse’s Facebook Web Form App that embeds sign-up forms on your Facebook company page. This allows prospective leads and/or interested page visitors to easily sign up for more information.

5. Cyfe

For businesses, being able to stay ahead of all the marketing tasks can be daunting, especially when data plays a major role in your scaling efforts (as it should). Visuals can help make sense of this mess.

Cyfe’s business dashboard, for example, displays various metrics that are often indicative of successful or poor marketing campaigns. With this information at hand, marketers can look to scale based on specific benchmarks.

More specifically, you can track your entire social media and Facebook data, to instantly assess your overall campaign performance, cost, CTR, impressions and more.

6. Shopial

IMAGE: FACEBOOK

For ecommerce businesses, Facebook is often considered a second priority to your company's online store. Being in the payments space, I've found that most business owners don't even consider Facebook for ecommerce. Having just discussed the dominance of Facebook usage, you may need to reevaluate your relationship with this outlet.

The Shopial app is a timely one for ecommerce, as it essentially acts as a bridge between the store's website and Facebook store, allowing you to easily add and advertise specific products to boost engagement and eventual conversion levels.

7. Leadfeeder

On Facebook, B2C engagement outshines B2B prospecting, but savvy business leaders know how to use the ubiquity of Facebook to their advantage. In the B2B space, the journey from curious website visitor to converted customer is complex and rarely predictable. As buyers transition from sales-driven product education to self-service content discovery and become more guarded with their contact details, it isn’t always possible to capture email addresses and use prospects’ inboxes as hubs for lead nurture messaging.

Today’s B2B marketers therefore employ a litany of tactics to track prospects across devices and marketing channels, engaging with potentially interested parties wherever possible. With Leadfeeder, you can circumvent the need for lead capture and instead see a dynamic list of anonymous visitors to your website, along with intelligence on the companies they work for and logs of pages they click on. Now here's where it gets interesting. Because the system integrates with your customer relationship management (CRM) and you can use it to export segmented lists of contacts, the B2B growth hackers out there can easily use Leadfeeder as en engine for creating hyper-targeted “Custom Audience” ads on Facebook.

Do you have suggestions for other apps that help grow your business on Facebook? Share them in the comments below.

JOHN RAMPTON

John Rampton is an entrepreneur, investor, online marketing guru, and startup enthusiast. He is the founder of online payment company Due. John is best known as an entrepreneur ...more

13 effective ways your startup can use Periscope to grow the business

By now, most digital-savvy startups are not only popping up on Pinterest and Facebook, but also on Snapchat and Instagram. Visual and video-driven storytelling give startups a tremendous opportunity to reach new (and younger) customers. But how can entrepreneurs take full advantage of the live video platform, Periscope?

To find out, I asked 13 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what strategies are most beneficial for companies using the popular social app. Their best answers are below.

1. Gain investor interest

Periscope is unique in that it can be a very personal experience that puts you in the hands of someone who can show you the world — or something as small as the postage stamp on your company's first shipment. Use this platform to bring a potential investor into your day-to-day; walk them through your life as an owner, and let them see your passion and competency at work.

— Blair Thomas, First American Merchant

2. Target millennials

A disproportionate number of users on apps, like Periscope, are millennials. Not only are they watching in significant numbers, but they are highly engaged as well. With very little competition for attention today, Periscope can be extremely lucrative for brands targeting the youth.

— Pratham Mittal, VenturePact

3. Launch products

I expect to see Periscope involved with a lot more product launches very soon. There are many companies already using live video to cover product launches or new store openings, because what better way to improve on that experience than to bring your customers along with you and turn an event into a short-term community?

— Adam Steele, The Magistrate

4. Showcase company culture

Consumers love companies that have a personality. Periscope allows any brand to let their audience grab a sneak peak at what they have going on behind the scenes. This type of access can help consumers develop that human element connection, which can quickly create a life long supporter. For a startup, these kinds of supporters can quickly help spread the word and become valuable brand advocates.

— Jonathan Long, Market Domination Media

5. Tell your company's story

Periscope is a vast opportunity for business owners, top leaders and even frontline employees to connect with and reach new customers. It spotlights the human faces of your company. People like buying from other people, not faceless institutions. Tell the story of how your company came to be. What problem did you notice, and how did you fix it or stumble upon the solution?

— Joshua Lee, StandOut Authority

6. Host office hours

No matter what type of business you run, you have customers and partners who share questions and concerns. Periscope is an amazing way to engage your audience and give them information they can use. Hold "office hours" with fans, and give unscripted answers to any of their questions. They'll feel more connected, and you'll scale your ability to give support to your fans.

— Aaron Schwartz, Modify

7. Conduct better business analysis

Periscope Data is an amazing tool to create real-time dashboards for advanced reporting such as lead sources, daily opt-ins and an in-depth look at which website pages people are using to join email marketing lists. Internal teams should use this data to improve their business analysis to see what's working, what's not, and where there may be gaps in their marketing strategies.

— Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

8. Host demos and tutorials

Periscope lets you become a virtual salesperson, giving you the power to not only present your new product or service, but also demo it. This is why channels, such as HSN and QVC, are so much more powerful than catalogs. When you have a real personal showcasing, explaining and demonstrating a product, it elevates it to a level that simple text and images cannot do alone.

— Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

9. Host an online event

Sometimes customers or prospects cannot make it to your physical event or seminar so you can use Periscope to create a live event with a Q&A session. This provides a way to get as many target audience members to your event regardless of location. Plus, it can be free or very low-cost, making it even more inviting.

— Drew Hendricks, Buttercup

10. Attract talent

If you have a fun place to work, you have a leg up on the competition when attracting talent. However, a lot of times "fun place to work" isn't quantifiable or easily described on your careers page. Sometimes it's the softer things — the rapport among the team, the sense of humor, office pranks, etc. — that really make work fun. Periscope is a great way to highlight that.

— Brennan White, Cortex

11. Fundraise

We have had significant success using Periscope almost like a webinar for hosting fundraising events. It is a very useful tool that every startup should utilize. It is also useful for marketing and getting your message out across all channels very quickly.

— Charles Moscoe, eFin

12. Get customer reviews

Being able to talk with your customers live about a product and showcasing it to potential customers is probably the best advertisement you can buy. Whether you hold sessions interacting with the product, or ask the customer what they thought about the service, it will get the people following you to want to purchase faster.

— Derek Capo, eFin

13. Demonstrate your product or service

Use it to demonstrate your product or service. If possible, be creative, even if it means being a bit funny or odd. Think about successful Super Bowl commercials — often the plot of the ad has only an indirect relationship to the product or service. Don't be afraid to go outside the box and entertain as a primary outcome.

— Obinna Ekezie, Wakanow.com

SCOTT GERBER

Scott Gerber is a serial entrepreneur, author (Never Get a 'Real' Job), TV commentator and founder of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneur...more

9 things that'll help your startup grow after the incubator stage

Did you know the first business incubator opened in the U.S. in 1959? Now flash forward to today and there are more than 7,000 incubators worldwide (including Paul Graham’s Y Combinator). For decades, they have been helping startups with everything from technology training, crafting pitches, gaining knowledge from advisors, networking, office space and obtaining seed money.

It’s also been found that “the survival rate of incubated firms can be more than three times higher than non-incubated firms.”

But what happens after you’ve made it through your incubator? Remember, 90 percent of startups will fail, so here are nine things to help you reduce those odds and grow your business.

1. Choose wisely

Let’s start at the very beginning to make sure you chose your incubator wisely.Entrepreneur recommends you ask the following questions when selecting, or deciding if you need, an incubator:

• What can you do and what should others handle?
• Do you need the help of a specialist?
• Are their current startups on your wavelength?
• How much are you willing to spend?
• What else are you looking for?

2. Be sure your business can disrupt, substitute or complement

Kendall Wouters, CEO of Reach Ventures in Cleveland, says “most incubators are cultivating a garden of startups that are dead on arrival.” That’s because incubators are sold on a “gut feeling” instead of understanding whether the business is actually sustainable.

“If you’re going into a market and you don’t have a fundamental way to disrupt, substitute or complement existing innovation enough for the customer’s behavior to change, you are wasting time,” Wouters says.

3. Get your name out there

The most effective way in getting your name out there is through content marketing. Whether it’s frequent blog posts, videos, graphs or eBooks, generating quality content can help your startup gain traction by generating a little buzz — even if you aren’t currently selling a product.

4. Keep it lean

Just because you've graduated from an accelerator, doesn't mean you can act like a big company. Bubba Page, founder of Outro, a referral automation platform for B2B companies, went through Techstars Boulder accelerator in 2014. He says: 

In an accelerator, you are going to learn how to work faster and more efficiently than you have ever worked before. Remember, that staying lean in your software development, marketing, travel and everywhere you can, will give you more runway to prove out your idea. 

Take advantage of the perks that come with accelerators, some provide free credits for web hosting or web services, legal help and tons of software 'starter' packages from top brands from around the world. These perks help you to keep your costs to a minimum, while you are finding product market fit both during and after the program. Don't scale pre-maturely, or you will burn through the cash you have too quickly and not have enough time to reach breakeven or your next funding milestone.

5. Network, network, network

Despite all the connections that you can make through social media or blogging, nothing beats getting out of the office and networking in person.

SEE ALSO: 10 goals that will elevate your business and personal well-being

Think about the people you want to meet and where you can meet them. Will they be at an upcoming industry event? Can you schedule a business lunch with them? You will want to offer them something of value, such as advice on improving their business or an interesting article that they might find informative.

In my experience, this is much more effective than just handing out business cards. Are you an introvert? If so, here are a few networking tips that may be helpful.

6. Focus on customer acquisition, not just financing

Sramana Mitra says in the Harvard Business Review, “Most incubators use funding as a success metric, which is a somewhat flawed criterion. Over 99 percent of companies should operate as organically grown, self-sustaining businesses — bootstrapped, without external financing.” Mitra adds, “For them the goal is to achieve customer validation, not financing. Yet if the incubator uses financing as its success metric, it will try to force inexperienced entrepreneurs into an unnecessary financing round. And more often than not, they will fail.”

Instead, keep acquiring customers through content marketing, networking and most importantly, talk to your potential customers whenever you have a chance. Find out how you can help them by discussing their wants, needs, pain points, fears, objections and goals.

7. Find mentors

There’s a chance that after you made it through the incubator that you no longer have a mentor. But, as George Deeb says in Forbes, “Mentors or business coaches are one of the most valuable resources an entrepreneur should tap into.” 

Deeb further suggests to “search for the mentors who are experts on your specific business size, your specific industry or your specific business problem (e.g., marketing issue vs. technology issue) on a case-by-case basis.”

8. Secure funding after the 'program'

Peter Relan explains this perfectly on TechCrunch: “During the incubator program or at demo day, startups can expect a flood of funding. However after this initial phase, I see too many companies struggle with continuing the flow of funds.”

Fortunately, there are still ways for you to secure funding for you startups. Examples include:

• Getting a loan from a bank or credit-card line of card.
• Trading equity or services for help.
• Finding customers or partners who will purchase your product or service in advance.
• Launching a crowdfunding campaign.
• Seeking a business grant.
• Borrowing money from friends or family.
• Bootstrapping your startup on your own.

9. Have the right tools and resources

Just because you no longer have the tools or resources that were offered at your incubator program doesn’t mean you don’t have access to additional tools or resources. In fact, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of tools and resources ranging from analytics to wireframing and mockups that are at your fingertips.

A great starting point would be this From A to Z: 200 Essential Resources for Entrepreneurs Building Business.

Here's to growing your business!

15 fun things you can do with your smartphone photos to preserve memories

Take a look at your camera roll and it’s a safe bet that there are hundreds if not thousands of photos on there that do nothing but, well, sit there. Facebook says that 2 billion photos are shared daily on Facebook, and InfoTrends previously estimated that 1 trillion photos were taken in 2015.

Of course images are being shared all over social media, but there are so many other things that we can do with them — besides just printing them out and turning them into photo books. In the gallery above, we've rounded up 15 of the most creative ways to preserve your precious memories.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comment