The modern marketer can reap massive benefits from the mobile app revolution. Useful marketing software is becoming increasingly available in app form, making tools and data readily available on the go. From uploading blog posts to tracking campaign metrics, apps allow marketers to access information at their fingertips quickly and conveniently.
But of all the apps available, which are the best for the marketer, and particularly the digital marketer? I’ve put together a list of the apps I find most useful, both to keep up-to-date personally, but also to manage company social network activity.
Founded back in 2008, Hootsuite is a popular social media dashboard that enables you to post, monitor and measure your social media sites. Hootsuite gives you instant and convenient access to all of your social media channels as well as providing analytics to help you best increase your following and traffic.
Hootsuite is available to download on iOS and Android devices.
Hot on the heels of Hootsuite, Buffer allows you to manage and monitor your main social media accounts at once. Instantly schedule content for your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts and analyse statistics on how your posts perform. Set your own updating schedule for each account and create buffering patterns for different times throughout the week according to audience.
Recently rated one of the top CRM platforms on G2 Crowd, Nimble was created to help professionals build better online relationships amid all the multi-channel noise that can deafen consumers. Nimble allows users to track and engage relationships by unifying contact information, social media profiles of important connections and online conversations in one location, simplifying digital communication.
Nimble is currently available to download on iOS from Apple App Store.
Feedly: Blogs, RSS News Reader is a website aggregator that enables you to access information from all of your favourite sites and blogs in one place. All tailored content is delivered directly to your smartphone or tablet allowing you to catch up with a wealth of websites quickly and conveniently.
Feedly offers a variety of helpful features, including a ‘Popular’ section at the top of each feed to ensure that certain content isn’t overlooked as well as a Custom Sharing preference which allows pro members to send articles straight to their chosen clipper.
Other useful RSS apps include Reeder and The Early Edition 2.
The official Facebook app is the long reigning, most downloaded social networking app on both Android and iOS. Geared toward giving users the same experience of using Facebook on their mobile devices as on the website, the Facebook app makes it easy to stay connected and share information with colleagues on portable devices. This is a handy app if you’re using Facebook as one of your main social media channels for your business as you can share status updates and content with your followers on the move.
The Facebook app is available to download on both iOS and Android.
WordPress is the most popular blogging tool for personal and business use. With its easy to use apps, you can update your blog via smartphone or tablet, upload and edit posts as well as manage user comments on the move. Wordpress can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
Blogger, one of the original blogging tools, but less in vogue today makes blogging on the go simple. Update your blog from your smartphone or tablet, upload and edit posts as well as manage user comments on the move. Uploading photos from your device is easy and location services allow geo tags to share your location. Blogger can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
The LinkedIn app gives you a useful communication tool that will keep you up to speed with your professional network. Stay up to date with your LinkedIn connections; follow industry influencers to receive regular insights and professional content and search for fellow LinkedIn users, companies and groups and access your LinkedIn messages.
LinkedIn is an effective platform for maintaining professional relationships and posting content, such as recent blog posts, that draws attention towards your business or service. The app is available to download on both iOS and Android.
Mashable delivers the latest news on technology, apps, mobile information, social networking and general internet-related news. Multiple tabs allow you to see a complete breakdown of channels that you can search by category, tag or by author.
The app alerts users to the most read pieces and works across smartphones and tablets, adapting the content to the size of the device. The articles have a simple, clean layout and are easy to read and navigate. If you click on an external link within a selected article, the link will open in the app’s own browser, allowing you to go right back to your original article without leaving the app.
Mashable is a must-have for those who want in on the industry news before it breaks, to stay ahead of developments and never be left in the dark. It is available for download from Google Play and the Apple App Store.
The TED app presents talks from some of the world’s most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. There are more than 1,700 TEDTalk videos that are updated on a weekly basis and delivered in high or low res formats based on your network connectivity. You can set up your own playlist to watch later, even when you don’t have data or WiFi access. The entire TEDTalks library is at your fingertips that you can sort by recent or popular. Find something by tags, themes, or related talks.
With this free app, videos are optimised for viewing on your iPhone or iPad and are categorised to make searching for your next inspirational presentation that much easier. As an added feature you have the option to share your favourite talks with friends.
TED is available for download from Google Play and Apple App Store.
Quora is a great platform for marketers looking for information from reliable sources. Users can ask a question and get real answers from people in the know as well as the option to post blogs. The app invites users to aid each other by contributing and sharing their own knowledge.
Quick Win Digital Marketing Lite is a useful app that provides answers to the top 100 digital marketing questions. Based on the book by Annmarie Hanlon and Joanna Atkins, the app is designed in five sections so you can dip in and out seeking answers to questions as they arise:
Quick Win Digital Marketing Lite is available for download from Apple App Store.
DropBox allows you to store, sync and share folders online on a straightforward interface. Use the DropBox app to store photos, videos and documents and access them anytime and anywhere with an internet connection.
You have the option to share DropBox files with colleagues and other contacts, allowing file sharing for remote marketing teams. DropBox is available for download on both Google Play and Apple App Store.
Many digital marketing agencies now use Google Drive in place of DropBox. Like DropBox, you can sync Google Drive with your phone and you can share documents with colleagues. The app gives you access to all your files on any mobile device as well as being able to invite others to view, edits or comment on any of your stored files.
DropBox and Google Drive are available to download from both Google Play and Apple App Store.
Evernote is a digital notebook with a difference. Not only can you instantly capture notes, they immediately sync with all of your devices making sure no matter which one you pick up you’re immediately accessing the latest version. Use Evernote to write notes, capture photos and documents and share notes and notebooks across a variety of devices. A very useful tool for keeping your To Do list close to hand and for sharing notes with your team without having to repeatedly save and share updated versions. You can download Evernote on both Android and iOS.
AnalyticsPro 2 allows you to view 61 reports organised into eight sections: Summary, Visitors, Traffic Sources, Content, Goals, E-Commerce, App Tracking and Social. Optimized for the iPhone and iPad, you can authenticate the app to access more than one Google account and effortlessly switch between them. Reports can then be emailed as a PDF file and the app allows you to export data to a Text file. Use AnalyticsPro 2 to identify trends and get the most out of Google Analytics on the go.
AnalyticsPro 2 is available to download for £4.99 on iOS from Apple App Store.
Earlier this year Google launched the official Google Analytics app, allowing you to access all web and app data on the move. The app is now available to download from both Google Play and App Store.
This list of apps is not conclusive and we would love to hear which apps you find useful when it comes to running your day-to-day digital life. Please post any apps or links below and make sure to take part in our poll!
By Imran Farooq
Imran Farooq is our Smart Insights expert commentator on the use of rich media/video in Digital Marketing campaigns. Imran is MD of MMC Learning, a successful JV company with MMU Business School and a Senior Examiner for the Diploma in Digital Marketing awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Imran is experienced in the rapid development of rich digital learning content which is being used to educate business professionals in over 50 countries. You can connect with Imran on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and download the iMarketer iPhone App.
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