There is more computing power in your pocket than there was in your desktop PC fifteen years ago. Your smart phone is an astounding tool that not enough people take full advantage of. If you find yourself currently making this mistake, know that it is not a mistake you can afford to keep making. Your smart phone is not only your most accessible business tools, but it is also your most versatile. This blog is here to help clue you in on some common, and not so common, apps that you need to be taking full advantage of. These apps will help you manage your time, customers, social media presence, and daily tasks like a pro, with maximum efficiency.
Buffer
To many small business owners, especially those who didn’t grow up with an abundance of technology, social media can be a beast. The truth is that there is a lot to manage, and sometimes its difficult to find the time to keep up with your social media presence while also knocking out your in-office tasks for the day. Buffer is here to help you by integrating a variety of social media accounts within one hub. You can schedule content, prepare customizable messages, and refine your feeds all from one easy to access hub. Let Buffer speed up your social media management and free you up to focus on making your small business the best that it can be.
Told you there would be some common apps listed here. Many people think of the Facebook app as a personal tool. Perhaps you browse it while eating breakfast or when taking a brain break. However, the app is useful far beyond just browsing baby pictures and saying, “Happy Birthday”. The Facebook App is a powerful tool for business owners. It lets you view your feed, track the success of your ad campaigns, interact with potential leads, and continually engage your existing audience. This app is a powerful way to manage the most popular social media platform in the world and to tap into its potential for bringing new customers to your business.
Instagram may be owned and operated by Facebook, but that does not make them the same. The strategies you use for Facebook can often benefit your Instagram, but they each need their own strategies and attention. However, the Instagram app takes full advantage of the service’s connection to Facebook and provides you with powerful, Facebook worthy tools that can help track, manage, and grow your Instagram audience. Instagram lets you view post reach, engagement, and more with the speed and reliability of Facebook’s analytic programs and services.
Going hand in hand with what I said about Facebook, the Twitter app is an equally important application to have downloaded on your phone. Twitter provides fantastic analytics from their app that allow you to view engagement, impressions, and reactions on individual tweets and ads within seconds. They provide additional advertising and analytical support as well, all from the device in your pocket.
Twitter is also a great place for quick conversations and fast replies, the Twitter app is the best way to quickly interact with your audience, to provide feedback, and to take care of any issues within seconds of their being posted online.
Never underestimate the power of e-mail. Just because it has been around for nearly as long as the personal computer, does not mean that it is outdated. Particularly if you are working with people middle-aged or older, email is how things get done. The only difference is that email now moves at a much faster pace. Your competitors and your clients have the ability to read and respond to an email within seconds, and they’ll expect you to be able to do the same. This doesn’t mean that you’ll need to be married to your phone, but it does mean that you need to make sure you’re taking advantage of the ease of access to your email that a smartphone provides. So, whether you use Gmail, Outlook, or a departmental email server, make sure that you are keeping up with your emails even when on the go.
Bitly
Have you ever tried to memorize a long website link? Doesn’t work very well, does it? Bitly is here to save you and your customers from this annoying problem. This app lets you take your long links and shorten them, as well as brand them, to decrease space, increase appeal, and grow your click-rate. Best of all, Bitly works directly from your cell phone. Bitly also lets you track data, read metrics, and discover how best to engage your audience. Best of all, Bitly connects with most social media platforms and lets you work from one main hub. This app is a gamechanger for adapting your marketing strategy on the go.
Google Analytics
When it comes to search engine rankings, Google is your greatest chance of success. As the world’s largest and most popular search engine, there isn’t much web traffic that doesn’t go through them. Your rankings on the Google search page matter a great deal to the success of your business online presence. The Google Analytics app lets you view search engine rankings, key data, and advertising options for the largest search engine service, all from one easy-to-use app. The Google Analytics app provides real-time data and real-time feedback. See how you perform against your competitors and against your previous results, and get practical tips and tools meant to help you boost your rankings and generate leads like a professional.
Yelp
Yelp isn’t just for posting restaurant reviews. Yelp is for businesses just as much as it is a platform for customers. The Yelp for Business App lets you manage your Yelp page with inside data and analytics. Yelp lets the rest of the world know what real customers think of your business, but it also gives you the tools to reach larger audiences that may not even be looking for you. It also lets you hold your reputation, one rated and commented on by real customers, out in front of you. Yelp for Business lets you track what customers are saying about you, how they’re engaging, and what aspects of your business are standing out to them. Get the inside scoop and put that information to work in your favor by using the Yelp for Business app.
LinkedIn is the personal-branding and marketing Nexus of the Business World of the 21st Century. The LinkedIn app is a terrific space to market not only your business, but yourself as well. LinkedIn lets you socialize, network, and connect with professionals both within your industry and without. Make new connections and grow yourself alongside your business. You never know which LinkedIn friends may be able to assist you down the road, or which friends your business may be a need for as well.
Canva
Social Media is a content driven service, and there is a constant need for high-quality visuals. Images, videos, and custom graphics are in constant demand by nearly every business. Many small business owners find themselves overwhelmed. They don’t have the money for a staff photographer or expensive photo packages, but grainy images and low-resolution graphics just don’t cut it. Canva provides you with the creative tools you need to sell your business and stand out visually. With thousands of pictures, design options, and editing tools, Canva prepares even the most novice of graphic designers to release unique, high quality content on their social media pages.
Mention
Not sure if your social media followers or customers are talking about you? Mention is here to help. This app, as its name suggests, lets you know when your business has been mentioned on social media. If someone has something to say about your business, good or bad, Mention will let you know. It keeps you up to date on what’s being said without requiring you to spend hours browsing your social media feed. Respond to questions, engage with criticisms, and solve problems quickly and effectively with this powerful app.
Clover
Remember when you’d go to your local sub shop and pull out a punch card right before you made your purchase? You kept going back because they incentivized you with something for free. Clover works to help bring that punch card concept into the digital age. Clover helps your customers to earn rewards by using your business. It provides them with tracking features to show them how close they are to your goal, and it easily allows you to incentivize your business.
QuickBooks
If you are self-employed, you’re probably looking for any and every way to deduct from your taxes and keep money in your pocket where it belongs. QuickBooks has you covered, with automatic expense and mileage tracking options, QuickBooks Mobile can let you deduct money on the go, and to manage your business expenses on your own time. Best of all, QuickBooks offers real-time support in a variety of options, allowing you to get expert advice without having to pay the expert price. Keep your business’ hard-earned profits where they belong and start tracking with QuickBooks today.
Wave
QuickBooks is a phenomenal tool for anyone self-employed, but it may not be the only accounting tool you need. The larger your team is, and the more employees you have, the larger and more difficult your accounting will seem. Wave is here to help small businesses manage their small teams. It lets you track sales and expenses, draft accounting reports, and manage your finances in fiscally responsible ways. Wave helps you keep on top of your team without having to dole out for professional accountants and services.
Slack
Tired of having to sift through dozens of text chains? Forget to include an employee’s new number in the conversation? Slack helps you organize, manage, and communicate with your entire team. The messaging app lets you create private and public channels that people can easily be added to or removed from. It also makes it easy to share files en masse without having to rely on an outside service. The best part is, you can add and organize your team with no limit to your business’ plan.
Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
In the Post-Covid world, the importance of virtual methods of mass communication and conferencing have become extremely pressing. Odds are, you’ve already had to find new ways to communicate with your team and engage in meaningful discussion without being able to meet face-to-face. No doubt, you’ve already used some of the services listed above on your computer. However, they are just as easy to use, and much more accessible, from your phone as well. In these uncertain times, it’s important to be able to effectively communicate on the go. Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams are all fantastic audio and video conferencing apps that will help you engage with your team, both inside and outside the workplace, as easily and effectively as possible.
Omnifocus
Ever feel overwhelmed by your to-do list for the day? Sometimes the pressures of being a small business owner can seem insurmountable. It can be difficult to keep track of projects and tasks on your own, and sometimes some tasks may get pushed off too long or simply forgotten. Omnifocus is here to help keep you organized, on-task, and getting things done. It lets you create project and task lists that are easily organized into practical to-do lists for you to track and complete. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Get focused and knock your daily work out of the park.
Conclusion
Your smartphone is an extremely powerful tool. Make sure you are getting the most out of it by keeping up to date with new apps that can help organize your business tools and get the most out of your resources. Save time and money by taking advantage of these services, many of which are already at your disposal. Take your small business to new heights with the device you’re already using wherever you go.
Featured Image:
Image by Manish Dhawan from Pixabay
