How to Create a Social Media App & How Much It Costs?
by Dhara Ais Digital MarketingNow is the best time to create a new social
media app.
People and even entire businesses are in isolation because of the
coronavirus, and traditional old-fashioned, in-person communication has become impossible.
Some people, such as Joel Golby in his Guardian article, even claim that “coronavirus has ruined communication forever”. What
can help save it if not the social networks and social media applications? No
wonder the voice calling over Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app has doubled in volume in recent weeks. And social media apps are also a great source of
breaking news. Even when the world returns to normal, we may continue shifting
towards online communication. And this is a new opportunity for entrepreneurs
wondering about how to create a social media app and how much it costs.
Even without pandemics, social apps are a very good business
opportunity. Nowadays, you can’t do without a phone. People are engaging more
in tablets and smartphones, and mobile traffic volume is increasing. According
to eMarketer, owners of smartphones and tablets use the
browser only 10% of the total time they use their devices. And 90% of that time
they spend on various applications.
Most often, users go to the following applications: digital audio,
social networks, mobile video, games, and messaging.
What people
expect from social media apps
Let’s see how to
get the most out of creating a social application. First of all, determine whether
it’s going to be useful but not from the business point of view, but the
end-user standpoint.
At this stage,
you should make a list of problems that the application solves. Consider the
purpose and objectives of the application from the users’ perspective.
Determine why they would want to install and use your application. What
problems will it solve? People download apps because of their content,
functionality, and ease of use.
So what do Do people expect from a social app? They want to communicate, share, like,
discover. Some use social networks as a tool for attracting customers, others —
for self-affirmation and nourishment of their egos. Sometimes they become an
integral part of life, fulfilling people’s needs for intimacy, attention, and
communication. Besides, many people are preoccupied with how they look. Social
networks provide unlimited possibilities for creating an image or themselves
that people like to present.
In short, the
main features of a social media app are:
·
Communication.
·
Self-expression and self-realization.
· Ease of use.
How to make a social media app like Instagram
With an intent
as bold as this, it’s possible. Instagram is the number 1 social media app in
the photo segment and has few competitors (Pinterest is no match for it), which
leaves an opportunity for making a successful new social media app.
I like Instagram
as an example because of how aptly its creators occupied the niche. Initially,
they wanted to make an application for processing and sharing photos, but in
time they realized that what users want is just to share photos and to like. So
they created an application that combined the filters from Hipstamatic (a photo
app that imitated vintage photo effects) and the Facebook feed.
Another reason
for Instagram’s popularity is its publicity options. The interaction system on
Instagram was built on a principle that differed from other social networks.
While Facebook has such a concept as “friends”, Instagram deliberately avoids
it by replacing it with “followers”. Thus, a user positions themselves as a
public figure not bound by any social bonds, which means the wider society, not
just friends from real life. So the more followers you have, the more popular
you are.
According
to statistics,
·
Instagram is visited by more than 500 million users
daily.
·
More than 100 million photos and videos are published
per day.
·
The number of Instagram Likes per day is more than 4.2 billion.
·
Instagram generated $20 billion in ad revenue in 2019.
· Instagram’s potential advertising reach is 849.3 million users.
Instagram
feature analysis and monetization models
Social media app
development costs vary depending on how complex and versatile a particular app
is. If you are determined to transform your idea into an application, you
should first take a look at your competitors and try to figure out what you can
do to make your application even better. The main idea is to create a social media app that will last.
The basic
features of Instagram are:
·
Image editing.
·
Location tagging.
·
Private messaging.
·
Push notifications.
·
Group messaging.
·
Hashtags.
·
Filters.
Instagram stays
successful thanks to the continuous improvement of its features. Now and again
its developers delight users with new features while improving the old ones.
A good social media app should have the following:
·
The ability to post and share photos and/or
videos. This is the main point.
·
Ease of use — if you find
something simple, make it even easier, otherwise, people won’t use your
application. After all, one of the reasons for Instagram’s success was the
ability to edit and publish a photo in just 3 clicks.
·
Ability to customize profiles and
present yourself in the best way possible.
·
Ability to either find and follow your friends
or make new ones using names, keywords, or hashtags.
·
Integration with other social platforms. Your
application is unlikely to survive by itself. Link it to other social media
platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Integrated applications are
more trusted by users.
·
Privacy and security — Facebook’s
recent history of security and privacy issues illustrates this point.
·
Notifications and feeds — many people
even start social network accounts without posting any content of their own.
Their goal is to discover what’s new in other people’s lives.
· Ability to post comments and send private messages.
Monetization
models
Instagram is a
free app for iPhone and Android. Being a photo-sharing app, it’s a natural platform for branded advertising,
so advertising is its main source of income.
However, apart
from placing ads, there are other ways to make money from free apps. There are
several ways to monetize your free app:
·
In-app purchases — this is
probably Instagram’s next big business with the company introducing an in-app
checkout last year.
·
Freemium — the Lite
option is free, but with a limited set of functions. If you buy a Pro version,
you unlock the full functionality.
·
Subscriptions — you can
provide a subscription for a user to pay a monthly fee to have access to your
app.
·
Affiliate marketing — using
affiliate partners to promote and sell your app on your behalf is a great way
to start your social media marketing campaign.
·
Combination of several
methods.
UI/UX design
of a social media app
An attractive
and user-friendly design is a part of a mobile app’s success. When the
interface looks beautiful and easy-to-use, people subconsciously want to
install that app. Follow the guidelines, help solve problems, present your benefits, pay
attention to details.
The easier it is
to navigate the application interface, the better. The ideal option is the
intuitive use of an app. A well-designed menu is half the battle, the remaining
50% depends on the content.
Instagram has a
clever, almost magical UX. Everything that the user does either is lightning
fast or creates a convincing illusion of being lightning fast.
Moreover, a
successful design today means a good choice of the color palette. With the help of a well-chosen color scheme, you can
emphasize your brand and increase its recognition. It’s necessary that the
selected colors appealed to users. But don’t use too much color. Design is not about art, it exists to solve problems. The main idea of a social
media app is to let people connect and share their contributions. Don’t let
your design distract them from doing so. The latest redesigns of Facebook and
Dribbles moving towards more whiteness and rejecting the unnecessary elements
prove this point.
Social media apps trends
Social networks
are changeable. New trends and ideas change and go. This is what can prove to
become a game-changer in 2020:
·
Interactive content
91% of users are
striving for more interactive content. AR/VR, 360-degree video, quizzes, games, and not only
that. The fundamental factor in the further development of social media
marketing is the introduction of new technologies.
·
Video content
Video is one of
the most attractive forms of content and it’s gaining popularity. Whether it’s
short videos, like on TikTok or Instagram Stories, or long videos like on
YouTube, the social media video apps are our present and future.
·
Social commerce
It’s becoming
the primary way of retailing along with other means, such as websites and
offline stores. This trend will intensify with the advent of an increasing
number of social networks offering new sales features.
· Using social networks to serve customers
This transition took place gradually, as brands began to notice that many customers are trying to contact them through social networks. The possible reason is the lack of response on other channels. Or it’s simply the easiest way to get in touch for some people.
Social media
app development cost & time
There are many
websites on the net offering clones of the Instagram app. These are templates
with few customization options. It’s tempting to choose one of them to try to
save money. However, using them can breach security and privacy in the future.
What’s more, you still have to develop a backend.
Truth is, an
application developed from scratch stands out among others with its unique
design, brand, and functionality. But like any bold project, such an
application is likely to take time and money. So how long does it take to build
a social media app and how much is it going to cost?
Social media app
development timescale
The one-platform version might take up to 2 000 hours to develop, including UX and UI design,
app development (server-side and client-side), and accompanying procedures like
testing, deployment, and project management. If you also want to create a
promotional landing-page website for your app, add another 150–200 hours.
Social media app
development costs
The cost of a
social media app development depends on how much you pay your developers. You
have 3 main options:
·
Freelancers — from $10/hour.
·
In-house development team — from $80/hour.
·
Outsourced development team — around $35/hour.
The problem with
freelancers are the necessity to coordinate them plus the possible lack of
expertise which is especially hard to notice if you are unaware of all the
intricacies of development and design.
Hiring a local
development team means spending way more money.
The way out is
using outsourcing development. It’s a great way to get the benefits of an
in-house team at a lesser cost.
For an Instagram-like application, you can take these
rough calculations:
Application
development: iOS/Android — $23 100.
Server-side app
development: $25 200.
Client-side app
development: $13 475.
UI/UX
Design: $8 400.
Total
cost: $70 175.
Conclusion:-
In a world with over 70% of internet users active on social
networks, who spend at least one hour a day on average on those social
networks, we have to conclude that social networks have become a sort of the reality in which people communicate, interact, and trust.
We also have to be aware
that over 60% of those users access social networks via mobile devices, with
strong indicators that this percent will only increase in the future years.
In such a world, we have to admit that social networks are a new
dimension of reality that has become a part of the business world as well. Over
90% of marketers report they are or will be using social networks for business,
while over 60% of them claim to have acquired new customers over social
networks.
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Created on Mar 31st 2021 04:55. Viewed 441 times.