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Step 1: Identify your company's Legal Signatory. Be sure to provide us with the details of a legal signatory for your company. This could be a director or someone who has been granted signing authority. Even if the Apple developer account will not be monitored or administered by this person, Apple requires that the account be linked to this person's details. Your organisation’s website must be publicly available and the domain name must be associated with the name of your organisation. You will need an email address that uses your organisation's domain name i.e. yourname@yourcompany.co.za Provide a CIPC document, or any document that provides details of the category of your organisation. Provide an official business document that includes: the company's physical address the company telephone number the full name of your legal signatory the job title of your legal signatory the mobile/cellphone number of your legal signatory Step 2: Obtain a D-U-N-S number. To enroll an Apple Developer account for your business, your company must have or obtain a D-U-N-S Number so that Apple can verify your company's identity and legal entity status. These unique nine-digit numbers are assigned by Dun & Bradstreet and are widely used as standard business identifiers. They are free in most jurisdictions. Find out more If you are a South African company, you can request a DUNS number from TransUnion. Other African countries can request from DNB SAME. Ensure the details submitted are accurate as changes may take weeks to be actioned and to reflect on the global system. TransUnion should take 2-5 days to respond with a DUNS number. Once the DUNS number has been received, it may take at least 15 business days for the number to be available on their global system from which Apple will retrieve it for their verification purposes. Expected duration: ±20 days Step 3: Create your Apple ID. Ensure you are using the First Name, Last Name and Contact Number of the approved legal signatory of the business. The Apple ID will need to be connected to a phone number on an iOS device that can receive phone calls (i.e. Two-Factor-Authentication) which can be used to receive One Time Pins. Step 4: Enroll for the Apple Developer Program. After Step 2 is completed, the DUNS number should be available on their global system from which Apple can retrieve it for their verification purposes. With your Apple ID, log in to App Store Connect and Enroll for the Apple Developer Program as an Organisation. When completing the requested information, ensure you are using the same information as you have in your DUNS request and Apple ID application. If the application is successfully submitted, Apple will send an automated response to the email address associated with the account. Apple will phone the approved legal signatory within 1-2 business days. If you miss this call, Apple will ask you to provide them with a few time-slots in which they can contact you. Once the approved legal signatory has been contacted, an email will be sent within the next 1-2 days providing a link to complete the annual Apple Developer payment of $99. Once payment has been made, an automated response will be received indicating that the payment will be approved in 1-2 business days. When payment is approved, an email will be received congratulating the applicant on your successful approval into the Apple Developer Program. Our developers' email addresses will need to be granted Admin access to the Developer account. Expected duration: ±7 business days Step 5: Receive a test app to review. After our developers have been granted Admin access to your Developer account, it may take 5 business days to build your app. After the app has been built, to make it available to you to test via TestFlight takes at least 24 hours (or 1 day) for testers to receive a link to access the app. Expected duration: ±7 business days Step 6: First submission to the Apple App Store. From the time you provide the go-ahead to submit your app, our developers require 2 business days to prepare for submission. Note that your Terms of Service documents must be uploaded to your app prior to submission, or the app will be rejected. When the app is submitted, it will be reviewed by an individual at Apple. This process can take 3-5 business days. Expected duration: ±7 business days

To test a beta or draft version of your Android app, you will need: An Android smartphone running Android version 4.3 or later; An internet connection. Installing the test app Our team will send you a link to the app. On your Android phone, access the link. Your browser window will open up. Download the latest version by tapping the 'Download' button. Your browser will ask you to confirm that you want to download a file that ends in .apk; tap the 'Download' button again. The device may take a few moments to download the apk file into your Downloads folder. Once the file is available on your device, the browser will prompt you to 'Install'. Because you are "sideloading" an app from a link and not the official app stores, your device may present you with security warnings. Please dismiss these warnings and proceed. Once you tap 'Install', the device may take a few more moments to install the file onto your device. Tap 'Open'. If you have issues when installing, check out this post. Downloading a second Test version If changes have been made to your test app and you'd like to open the new version, be sure to delete the previous app before installing the new one, as follows: Remove the old test app: On your home screen, tap and hold down the app icon of the previous app. Tap on 'Uninstall'. Tap on 'OK'. Install the new test app: Be sure to click on the new link provided to you by our team. Follow the steps above as though you have a new app. Testing your app While reviewing your app, you may notice bugs or identify changes that you'd like to make. In addition to making notes, you may also want to take screenshots and screen recordings: Take a screenshot: It is best to take screenshots of the elements which you'd like to discuss. Here's how to take a screenshot on your Android phone: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9075928?hl=en You can add drawings and text to your screenshot to highlight important aspects. Take a screen recording: You may want to show a particular behaviour, for example what happens when a link is tapped on etc. Here's how to record the screen on your Android: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9075928?hl=en Provide your feedback to the team: Email your notes and screenshots to the team and/or use these as discussion points in the next conversation with your Fabrik team.

To test a beta or draft version of your iPhone app, you will need: an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 13 or later; an internet connection; an email address; the TestFlight app. Receiving Access to the test app To get started, send us the email address with which you want to access the test app link. Once you hear that we've sent you a link, check your mailbox for an email from TestFlight (no_reply@email.apple.com). The email often goes into your 'Other' folder or may end up in Junk, so it's best to search your entire mailbox. When you click the 'View in TestFlight' button, a web page will open with a code which you will need once you open TestFlight. Installing TestFlight Install TestFlight on the device you’ll use for testing. Search for "TestFlight" in the App Store, or open this link on your iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/testflight/id899247664. Open TestFlight and register a profile to begin using the service. Click on the 'Redeem' link on the top-right of the screen. Add the code that you received on the webpage opened from your TestFlight email (see point 3 above). More info about TestFlight. If you have issues when installing, check out this troubleshooting guide. Accessing your App After your app has installed on your device, tap the 'Open' button. Just like any normal app, your app icon will also appear on your home screen to return to at any time. Your app icon should have a yellow dot next to the name - that's how you can tell that it's a test app. Open your app and go through the app to play around with it. Downloading a second Test version If changes have been made to your test app and you'd like to open the new version, be sure to delete the previous app before installing the new one, as follows: 1. Remove the old test app: On your home screen, tap and hold down the app icon of the previous app. Tap on 'Remove app'. Tap on 'Delete app'. 2. Install the new test app: Open your TestFlight app. Check that you have the latest version available for download as follows: Your app says that it will expire between 80-90 days; Or open the listing, click on 'App Details', and confirm that the Release Date is as per the latest release. Install the app. Testing your app While reviewing your app, you may notice bugs or identify changes that you'd like to make. In addition to making notes, you may also want to take screenshots and screen recordings: Take a screenshot: It is best to take screenshots of the elements which you'd like to discuss. Here's how to take a screenshot on your iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-za/HT200289 The screenshot will be saved in your Photos app. You can add drawings and text to your screenshot with Markup. Take a screen recording: You may want to show a particular behaviour, for example what happens when a link is tapped on etc. Here's how to record the screen on your iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207935 The video will be saved in your Photos app. Provide your feedback to the team: Email your notes and screenshots to the team and/or use these as discussion points in the next conversation with your Fabrik team.

Depending on your pricing tier, you may be able to make use of the Dialboard feature within your app. What is the Dialboard? The Dialboard is a screen in the app that displays a set of important numbers for your community. You can use the Dialboard for emergency contacts, departmental phone numbers, or even as advertising space. The Dialboard is also home to the optional Call Back Button, which is an additional feature that Fabrik offers you. See the last section on this page for information on how this works. How it works: The Dialboard slides down from the top of the screen when the app member taps the "phone" 📞 icon in the top-right corner of your app. If you don't have the option of using the Dialboard or your would prefer not to, the phone icon will simply be connected to one phone number of your choice. (You can also choose to hide the phone icon entirely.) For the best user experience, you can add up to 9 numbers on your Dialboard. Note that, when a member taps on any of these icons, they are redirected to their device's Phone application in order to place the call. Therefore, the call is connected over their cellular network and not via the app. To customise your Dialboard, send us the following: Title of each listing (see specs below). Phone number for each listing. Icon for each listing (see specs below). The hex code of the colour in which you'd like the icons and text to appear. Title Specifications: Try to keep the name to a maximum of 20 characters. If the title is longer than 20 characters, it will be shortened on many devices. Icon Specifications: Dimensions: The height of each icon should be a maximum of 142px. Filetype: Send each icon as a transparent .PNG file with no background. File-size: As small as possible for quick loading on the app. Colour: A light colour is suggested as the Dialboard background is dark. The Call Back Button The Call Back button (also known as "Cloud Concierge") is a feature that empowers your app member to send you a "please call me". It is a useful feature if you: are not always contactable via telephone and would prefer to call people back when you have the time. offer a helpdesk or call-centre service to your app community. would like to save your member on cellular costs by calling them instead. would like to offer an advertiser the an opt-in feature from within your app. How it works: When a member taps on the Call Back button, they will see a notification asking them to confirm that they'd like to be contacted. Should they agree, an automated message will be sent to a private channel of your choice that only those selected individuals within the channel will receive (e.g. your team). It is then up to those individuals to call the member back. Specifications: Title: By default, the button is titled "Request a Call Back". This can be customised to a title of your choice. Icon: By default, the icon will be a bell, but this can be customised to an icon that you send to us. Colour: The Call Back button and title will appear in the same colour as the Dialboard information. Channel information: The name of the private channel in which you'd like to receive these Call Back requests, as well as the registered phone numbers of the individuals who need to respond to the requests.

KC 107.7 entered a new digital world with the launch a brand new App. The biggest Radio Station in the Cape Winelands has partnered on a Digital Leap program with Durban-based tech company immedia who have invested R10m to help African media entrepreneurs build sustainable community radio. Read more

We are living in the age of online platforms, and most brands are increasingly seeing the value of having a mobile App as part of broadening their reach and tapping into the new age consumer. Having a mobile app for your business gives you the power to influence how and when your app members consume the content you share with them, and it also gives you the control to protect your app member's data as we gravitate to the age of POPI. Like every touchpoint for your brand such as your website or social media, the app needs a clear content strategy that is aligned to your business goals and objectives whilst staying true to the essence of who you are as a brand. Having an app is an amazing addition to your consumer engagement strategy. That strategy needs a clear and concise content strategy to support it. When this is done right, you will experience an increase in app downloads, app registrations, and member engagement - thus adding value to your consumer engagement strategy. Here's a summary guideline that can add benefit to your own content strategy: 1. Set out clear goals Setting goals is the starting point in any content endeavour you choose to undertake. Having a goal helps you create a foundational structure of where you want to go content wise and how the journey will look. Even the simplest content strategies have set goals - this is what sets the tone, and informs the type of content that needs to be created, thus helping create content that will an impact on your app members. The goals of your content strategy will vary, and might include: Increase the in-app Conversation and Channels member count Brand/app awareness Increase app downloads Increase app registrations Greater user retention rate Increase app member engagement. These are just a few examples — when you create content, bear these in mind throughout, and your strategy will have greater resonance as a result. 2. Clearly define your app target audience One of the most important principles of building a successful content strategy is to know your app members. This forms the foundation of every good mobile app content strategy too. What is important is seeing your app members as personalities for whom you can create tailored content for unique needs and interests. For instance, if your app members prefer a certain social platform over another, you could add that site as a provider on your Smashboard to see and respond to all messages received. Another great way to gain an understanding of who your audience is and what makes them tick is to create surveys geared to give insights into their personality. 3. Write content with a tangible hook As content creatives, we often produce our content with a consideration of the medium on which the content is being consumed. Because the app is on a mobile device, we might assume that most app members are less likely to engage with lengthy blog posts. That assumption is a bit far-fetched because app members or content consumers in online platforms are quite happy to read long-form content via a mobile app if it is engaging. To provide a teaser, share a summary of the article linking to your website so that you can kill two birds with one stone. If you want your audience to engage with the content from the first paragraph to the last word, you need to entice them with interesting content throughout. One way of maximising this would be to add content that is trending in another platforms. 4. Deliver fresh and diverse content As an app content creative, a vital intention is to keep your app members coming back in the app and spend time consuming the content in the app. This means you need to be creative in the pillars you choose to focus on in terms on the content you decide to publish to your audience. The precedence here is when app members keep getting exposed to the same content repeatedly, they become disengaged and, as a result, they decide not to come back in the app or read or listen to your podcast for a few seconds and disconnect from the app. The best strategies lead the charge in diverse content pillars to keep your app members stimulated. The best content strategies embrace a diverse array of content formats to keep audiences stimulated and engaged, and your mobile app’s content strategy is no different. Some of the content pillars you can get started with for your mobile app. Example include: Product sneak peeks: mobile apps are a terrific way to source app member feedback. Offer teasers for new products and invite customer input via in-app surveys. Here you can partner with a potential advertiser to give them brand awareness. Product tutorials: value is key in your mobile app content strategy, and how-to and explainer videos are perfect for delivering that straight to your audience. More on content pillars here: Creating Killer Content Pillars 5. Use metrics to guide and hone your content strategy One of the key benefits of having an app is the fact that it gives you real-time insightful result to report on and, in this case, helps you create content that is heavily consumed. For example, if one live podcast gets more plays, find out what the discussion around that podcast was about and use that as a pillar for creating content. Better yet, use the four most-played content as a foundational pillar for the next round of podcasts you add. If your audience engage heavily with news posts in the news channel, take note of what news content they reacted to mostly and in future instead of just having a post, include a podcast of it and it link on your socials. Lastly, if you are uncertain about how to create an app content strategy, contact us - we can help!

Now it has come to be known as Nkomazi FM, previously accessible only within the Nkomazi jurisdiction, but currently worldwide. Keeping up with the times, this people’s station has just launched its digital platform, which will enable listeners from anywhere around the world to tune in and be part of live shows, entertainment and news. “It’s very simple, really. All you have to do is download our app and follow the easy instructions to tune in anytime and anywhere,” said Makhosi Zulu, the station manager. Read more

There are few local tech inventions that have received international attention, despite an abundance of successful South African tech stories. However, one South African innovation is changing this narrative. Read more

Radio is facing a challenging time. Listener numbers have fallen during the pandemic, advertising budgets have been cut, and streaming is luring audiences away from traditional radio. Read more

There are few local tech inventions that have received international attention, despite an abundance of successful South African tech stories. However, one South African innovation is changing this narrative. Fabrik, developed by SA company immedia, is being used by international public broadcasters to bring audiences into the digital and social revolution. Fabrik has totally transformed and enhanced audience engagement of the publicly funded national broadcaster of the Republic of the Seychelles, the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation. The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), recognising the need to capitalise on the opportunity inherent in digital transformation, have invested in modernising its offering with a full set of featured mobile apps to support its Paradise FM and Radyo Sesel radio stations. Both apps are built on the Fabrik digital platform, a cloud-based set of tools and applications - backed by Microsoft - that allows broadcast radio organisations to digitise, consolidate, and monetise audience engagement. Derrick Young-Khon, head of marketing, multimedia and corporate affairs at the SBC, says managing fake news during a public emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the SBC apps deliver tremendous value to citizens, allowing the station to provide listeners with fact-based, objective, breaking news stories from a media source they trust, in real time. “The apps have become the go-to place to get information. Firstly, because it is instant, it is in the palm of our audience’s hands, and the latest pandemic statistics are available on the app with just one click. Second, we give people credible information,” says Young-Khon. Creating cultural impact The SBC also incorporated the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) sessions into the apps. The TRNUC was established in September 2018 with the aim of bringing closure to past socio-political events that had negative impacts on many Seychellois citizens. By streaming the sessions, listeners in the country as well as those abroad were able to follow the debates. “What we have provided is not just a service to the public, but to the TRNUC itself,” says Bérard Duprès, CEO of the SBC. Building a more connected and engaged audience In transitioning from traditional media to digital, the SBC already understood that the youth generation were more geared towards mobile technology. “For youths accessing information via radio apps on their phones, without having to tune in on the radio or having to watch TV, the digital route for us as a public broadcaster, is a no-brainer. It has also stimulated citizen engagement, participation, conversation, and the co-creation of content,” says Duprès. The apps deliver live digital streaming with direct access to podcast channels, in-app messaging, in-studio message boards, and social media integration. The consolidated Fabrik platform also delivers proof of play and analytic data where existing content can be seamlessly re-purposed for the apps. The SBC apps currently reach 20% of the adult population of the Seychelles. There is also tangible excitement in reaching the Seychellois diaspora globally, to engage with them in real-time as a truly modern broadcaster. Duprès believes the digital transformation has been game-changing in keeping the public broadcaster at the forefront of positive public opinion. “Not only does Fabrik ensure a direct and immediate connection with our audience, it allows our audience to become co-creators of our broadcasts with us, bringing them into the very heart of our broadcast personality,” he says. The radio programmes are also saved into a cloud archive that serves as a record to all citizens of the Seychelles of their audio cultural heritage. “South Africa can offer game-changing tech innovation for public broadcasters, as proven by the SBC, which broadcasts to a population with a high level of technology adoption. Fabrik has enabled the SBC to realise its imperative for digital transformation to not only compete commercially in a digital era, but also establish itself as the fabric that binds the culture of the Seychelles,” concludes Lumley.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown us just how much humans crave positive, social connection. Throughout various stages of lockdown, we have seen that when people feel connected, they become happier, more engaged and highly loyal. Read more

As you become more comfortable with incorporating Fabrik into your daily workflows, you may have realised the importance of strategic planning around how you're engaging your audience using your app. Your app audience is more often than not your most engaged, most loyal audience and therefore may require an approach to engagement that's different to your other channels! Your app is also packed with unique features and functionality you can leverage to create a memorable experience for your app community and value for your advertisers. As such, we recommend implementing a two-pronged approach to your app engagement that keeps your app top-of-mind, by incorporating events, campaigns or special programming as well as ongoing inclusion in daily programming. Implementing a successful app engagement strategy requires collaboration across all teams within your organisation, so here are some steps on how to ensure you are doing so in the most effective way. step 1: consider your overall audience engagement objectives When creating your app engagement strategy, it's important to keep your overall audience engagement strategy across all your channels in mind. These may be broad directives informed by your overall business strategy such as expanding your reach across all channels, measuring and increasing audience engagement based on specific metrics or building your audience to position and support your advertising offering in a certain way. In terms of formulating that overall audience engagement strategy, we generally recommend considering the following aspects: Growth - what are the ways you're consistently growing your audience by connecting with individuals on different channels who were not aware you existed before? Engagement - once someone has connected with you on one or more of your channels, how are you adding ongoing value to them to ensure you retain them as a loyal follower? Monetisation - once you've grown your audience and are adding ongoing value to them, how are you positioning your audience in a way that it is attractive to advertisers? (If you're uncertain about how to create an engagement strategy, get in touch with us - we can help!) Step 2: Prepare your App Experience to support your Audience Engagement initiatives Once your overall audience engagement strategy is in place, the next step is to configure the engagement aspects of your app to enable the app engagement you'd like to encourage. Conversations and Channels are the two types of messaging groups available within your app that can be configured to different types of engagement, as follows: Conversations are true engagement groups, interactive message groups where anyone who is a part of that conversation can post content. Channels are read-only message groups in which only 'Trusted' individuals (members who you assign the 'Trusted' status, such as administrators or moderators) can post content. Decide what types of groups you need according to key initiatives in your business, and configure them according to the level of interaction you would like. Remember that Contact Us is a Direct Messaging conversation where each app member can connect directly with you via your Smashboard application, or centralised messaging dashboard. When you send a message to all or individual members via Smashboard, your message will appear in that direct conversation only for the individual/s receiving that message. Find out more about how Conversations and Channels work and how you can create and configure them yourself using the Community Centre community management dashboard. Step 3: Consider specific engagement tactics Now that your app environment is ready for engagement, leveraging your app to support your business strategy becomes easier. When thinking about how to effectively engage your audience, consider how to promote what is coming up in your on-air broadcast and what would entice your app audience to keep coming back. There are a number of different tactics you can use that are related to a two-pronged approach of using both events like campaigns, and ongoing engagement initiatives. Ongoing Engagement Regular Features - use your direct Messaging group to let your audience know about upcoming shows or interviews to ensure engagement on your Fabrik-powered live stream, and capitalise on your most popular features by throwing forward to them in the app. Shows - consider adding show-specific conversations or channels for your most popular shows and invite your presenters/DJs to post in them. You could also get listeners involved by asking them to send you their messages or voice notes before the show, to be played out on air. Community Chat - institute a general Community Chat where your community can come together to talk about topics they're interested in! Campaigns Exclusive Content and/or Special Offers - use your app to share content your audience won't be able to find anywhere else, and/or partner with advertisers to offer exclusive deals only available via the app. Competitions - use fun competitions, quizzes and games to give your audience multiple opportunities to re-enter your app. To truly leverage the app experience in ways that your other digital channels might not be able to deliver, consider how to integrate some of these unique features into your execution: 1. Push notifications (or messages that pop up on the home/lock screen of an individual's device) are a great way to invite engagement into the app, and you can configure each of your Messaging groups to either Notify by Default or not. 2. Podcasts - record on-air moments (competition segments, interviews or recurring features) as a podcast, and send a message or push notification to let your audience know there's a new podcast that's been published. 3. Billboards - add app billboards for an additional awareness component around your ongoing programme initiatives and campaigns. 4. Pop-up message group - easily add topical messaging groups into your app around specific events or topics to stimulate engagement amongst your audience. Step 4: Identify & empower key role-players from other departments To ensure the success of your new app engagement strategy, it's important to consider how it impacts your colleagues in other departments. Ask, how does this addition to the overall digital strategy impact other teams and, just as important, how does your app engagement strategy translate into ways that other teams can contribute and win? These initiatives may include training and education on how the app impacts on other departments, and how their own business strategy can benefit from this. Key to this is the continual promotion of the app via the below channels. Programming/On-air - ensure the on-air team are informed as to how they should be inviting listeners to your app, and empower them with scripts and live-reads that can be easily incorporated into their shows. Marketing - empower your colleagues in the Marketing team with information about the app they can share on your social platforms i.e. highlighting app functionality, topical Messaging groups or exclusive content. Promotions - ensure the team/s working on campaigns within your organisation know exactly how to include the app in the execution of campaigns, i.e. using app-based calls-to-action or tracking the impact of the campaign using keywords set up in Smashboard's Campaign Manager. Sales - if you're engaging with the Sales team in your organisation, offer to take them through your new app engagement strategy so they're aware of how to leverage these tactics and benefits in their Sales pitches. Step 5: Report back on your engagement initiatives to obtain buy-in The last step in the implementation of your new app engagement strategy is to let your stakeholders and colleagues know how you're doing! Fabrik makes this easy by visualising all your audience engagement and live-streaming data within the Metrics application, which you can easily access and incorporate into your reporting, to assure stakeholders that what you're doing is having an impact. Further Info Read how to configure Conversations and Channels within your app. Hear from Anice & Jonathan on how to kick-start Digital Transformation in your environment in this Fabrik webinar. In this webinar, Kelly, Bevan & Darren demonstrate the metrics and insights available within the Fabrik platform.