By Kerry Gorgone, {grow} Contributing Columnist
Back in 2014, I wrote a post on essential mobile apps for marketers. It’s been a while, and since apps change more often than Kim Kardashian’s phone number, I thought it was time for an update.
These days I have 144 apps on my phone. That sounds like an insane number of apps, but I have them neatly grouped into categories, so I have just a few screens of icons.
Here are the seven I find most valuable:
IFTTT: https://ifttt.com
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free
Use “recipes” to connect apps like Twitter, Dropbox, Instagram, Gmail, and more. I automatically save links from tweets I favorite to Pocket for later reference, but IFTTT is capable of much more.
For example, you can automatically save the stats from your MailChimp campaign to a Google spreadsheet, or automatically add an event to your Google Calendar when you create a new Trello card. (More on Trello in a minute!)
Pocket: https://getpocket.com
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free
Pocket replaced my old RSS readers. I use this app to manage a reading list of articles. You can tag assets by topic or keyword for ease of reference. Combined with IFTTT, this is a one-two punch for saving research for upcoming interviews and articles.
Word Swag: http://wordswag.co/
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: $4.99
Word Swag lets you turn words and images into slick graphics for social sharing and blog posts. No design skills necessary: the app comes pre-populated with templates that make creating professional looking graphics easy.
Buffer: http://www.bufferapp.com
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free (but you can upgrade to the Awesome plan for $10/month)
Buffer is a powerful social media management app that enables you to share content across your social channels. You can cross-post between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest—even Google+.
With Buffer, you can schedule posts and review analytics to see which drew the most engagement from your audience. (Bonus: the Buffer blog is chock full of helpful, detailed posts!)
Trello: https://trello.com/
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free
Trello’s like the pinboard in your office where you track projects on index cards, only it’s all digital. You can create boards for each project, cards for each task, you can assign team members and due dates, and even attach documents.
I use Trello to plan and track projects, keep track of the production status of podcast episodes, hold ideas for blog posts, and more. You might say I’m a heavy Trello user.
Google Analytics: https://www.google.com/analytics/
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free
This one’s a carryover from my first post! Marketers need insights in their pocket, and this app does the job. Monitor your key metrics in real time, build and view reports, etc.
Android users beware, there are some poor reviews for the latest version, but if you use Google Analytics (and who doesn’t), this app’s worth a try.
Tripit PRO: https://www.tripit.com/
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: $49/year (but there is a free version)
If you travel for work (or heck, just travel), you want Tripit PRO. There is a free version of Tripit, but the PRO version keeps track of flight pricing and has paid for itself many times over by alerting me when airfare’s gone down on an itinerary I’ve booked. (You can rebook and get the cheaper fare).
TripIt imports your travel details (air itinerary, lodging info, car rentals, etc.) from your email and organizes them into a handy dashboard. You can connect with your network through TripIt or share individual trips with specific contacts. You can even plan trips for other people if that’s part of your job. There’s also a “Teams” calendar that shows you when other people at your organization are on the road. Love this app!
Those are some of my new favorite mobile apps for marketers. To see my old favorites, check out the original post. Which mobile apps do you keep on the first screen?
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is a writer, lawyer, speaker and educator. She’s also Senior Program Manager, Enterprise Learning, at MarketingProfs. Kerry hosts the weekly Marketing Smarts podcast. Find Kerry on Twitter.
Illustration courtesy Flickr CC and filmleri korku
