We’ve been a bit behind with our blogging as we’ve recently had a flurry of queries from clients, family and friends on how to make the most of online tools and applications for work and play. So we thought we’d treat you to a longer blog than normal blog post packed with our favourite communication tools.
Here’s our top ten social media apps and tools:
#1 Skype
Do you need to talk to clients whilst keeping costs low? Or do you have family overseas that you’d love to talk to for longer without being stung with a huge mobile bill afterwards? Then Skype is for you! No doubt many of you have heard of Skype by now. Just in case you haven’t the best way to describe it is as a free piece of software that allows you to make Skype to Skype calls worldwide for free. Plus it also provides screen sharing facilities and video chat. Both are great for team or client conference calls especially if you want to reduce your travel Carbon footprint!
#2 Evernote
Do you find you’re overloaded with information? Notebook, emails, tweets etc? Isn’t it always tricky to find that interesting stat or insight when you really need it? Much of our online lives are actually about managing information flow and storing information in the right ‘buckets’ for recall later. We’ve found Evernote can be a very handy tool. The beauty of Evernote is that it allows you to capture key information from receipts to notes and tag and collate it as you need to. Plus you can access the app from multiple platforms from Blackberry to the web. A great resource to drop down your notes and inspirational ideas on the go so you don’t forget them by the time you’re back in the office. Maybe their tag line should be ‘Remember Everything, Everywhere’?
#3 UberSocial
Not all Twitter apps are the same. Although we love the standard Twitter App UberSocial packs a few more features including ability to post pictures easily and editing retweets before posting. Also handy if you want to have two twitter accounts on your phone. Choose one app for personal tweets and UberSocial for business. Very handy to avoiding tweeting your business followers about how good the latest episode of Dr Who was!
Don’t worry about being unable to engage your customers through social media channels while on holiday. With this cool app, you can still update and manage your Twitter and Facebook accounts from anywhere and keep tabs on what your followers and friends are saying about your business.
Note: UberSocial was formerly called UberTwitter.
#4 LinkedIn
Think LinkedIn is too stuffy? Think again. In the past couple of years the business network has really improved the functionality and look and feel of the site. If you’re business is not already on LinkedIn ask yourself why. From a personal point of view it’s like an online CV and allows you to demonstrate your skills and showcase recommendations from clients and colleagues. One of the key strengths of LinkedIn was that people on it were personally recommended by other people with peer to peer trusted recommendations for people. Over time that has now been diluted slightly. However, our top tip is to retain that trust and only link to people you have worked with so that the personal recommendations mean something.
Plus like Facebook LinkedIn enables you to recreate business pages. So it’s also useful for business to business contacts (B2B) and leads. After all won’t many of your B2B customers will be be on there instead of Facebook? Of course one channel doesn’t fit all businesses. Yet at the very least we recommend that you have a presence on Linkedin. Especiallu as it will enable other potential customers to find you and help boost your SEO rankings.
#5 Google Docs
Never used these? You are in for a treat. Great for anyone working cross functionally on projects. All you need is a gmail account and you can create and share documents for input or edits. Great for projects where cross collaboration is required. Plus if you’re travelling or off to a meeting there’s no need to worry about remembering to take your USB stick. Just create a doc in GoogleDocs and as if you’ve got internet access you can open, edit your files.
#6 Yousendit.com
Need to share or receive large documents? Fed up of large files clogging up your inbox? Then sign up for the free version of Yousendit.com. You can simply log into yousendit.com attach the file you want to mail and Voila! Your large files are send to your contact without clogging up your email. Peace of mind and a tidy inbox.
#7 PDF maker
Need to PDF a document but don’t have Adobe? Then try Nitro PDF. Easy, simple and free to use.
#8 Voucher Cloud
Work hard, play hard. If you’re looking to socialise with friends or colleagues why not take advantage of the Voucher Cloud App? Available on Android and iPhone you can spot great offers on a number of restaurants so give the washing up a miss and treat yourself and a friend instead.
#9 Teux Deux
Misplaced your to-do list again? Worry not, for Teux Deux makes such events a thing of the past. As their website says it is a ‘simple, designy to-do app and the first collaboration between studiomates swissmiss and Fictive Kin. If you like making to-do lists, you will love TeuxDeux. The idea was to build a bare-bones, but visually compelling and highly usable to-do app: Use the free browser-based TeuxDeux at work/home and then take your to-dos on the road with the iPhone app. Yay for checking things off!’ Not bad eh? Give it a whirl and let us know what you think.
Note: Do check out the link to Fictive Kin, a great example of how to make a website holding page, well – funny, engaging and showcase your brand voice. Great example of good copy writing too. Be warned you may laugh out loud in the office…just saying.
#10 Hootsuite
Bambozled by Twitter? Worried you’re missing Retweets and mentions? Amazed at how your competitors can push out and engage so many followers?
Well here’s the thing they’re probably using TweetDeck or Hootsuite. Confused? Don’t be. It’s not another nice to have twitter tool. It’s actually more of a necessity in the fast paced world of social media. Simply put both are software tools that allow you to synch to your twitter or facebook accounts and manage them from a central dashboard to make your twitter work a breeze. For example with HootSuite ‘you can monitor keywords, manage multiple Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Ping.fm and WordPress profiles, schedule messages’. Plus you can link up to 5 accounts for free so you’ll never need to log into multiple accounts again, very handy for online #tweetchats! It also helps you spot trends, listen to what your competitors are saying online and engage your audience via tweets easily and speedily. Now imagine how much time that will save you!
Note: There’s also Seeismic too..but don’t feel overwhelmed by the choices! Have a play with them and see which features and layout you prefer. Many do the same job yet some offer more accounts to be linked for free.
Advice
Of course if you’d like more tailored advice on how to make an integrated marketing or social media campaign which utilises many of these tools then drop us an email, tweet or message on Facebook today! Don’t forget social media isn’t just PR or stand alone piece of your marketing toolkit. It needs to be integrated into your offline and online marketing channels to be successful. So contact us today and we’d be happy to discuss how we can make it work for you.
Have we missed some? What are your favourite tips on useful tools and applications which make work or play on the go?
