Digital Life Integration
With so many people integrating their smartphones and tablets into their daily lives, here are some tips on the best organization apps available. These apps are downloadable at no cost for most recent Apple or Android devices.
Hootsuite: A Powerhouse App
Hootsuite is a powerhouse of an application for your small business. In short, it is management software for all of your social media networks. This includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Some of the biggest companies in the world are using Hootsuite and you can be using it too! It’s entirely free with the exception of an optional monthly fee that is for users looking to add more than five different social media profiles or utilize in-depth report building. Most small businesses will get by just fine with the basic free version while enjoying an enormous amount of organizational content.
Hootsuite’s Approval Process
One of Hootsuite’s strongest features is its approval process. If you’ve recently hired a social media manager then you can customize Hootsuite to give you veto and approval power over your employee’s work. This means that your employee can work on social media and “pre-post” updates for your company’s social media accounts, and those posts have to go through you (or a different team member) before they go live on the social media site! It’s a great way to make sure the new employee is getting started on the right foot when representing your company online before you set them free to post. This option also lends itself well to building teams that are adept at handling social media.
Effective Scheduling
Another amazing feature is the “auto-schedule” option for posting. When enabled, Hootsuite takes a calculated guess as to when the post you’ve inputted will be most effective. From there, Hootsuite will automatically post your status at a time it shows you in advance. From our experience, the auto-schedule tool is powerful and recommended for most social media posting.
Additionally, Hootsuite’s customer service on Twitter is top-notch! This is one app that has a few others in the same field competing for your time, but as of right now is unrivaled in quality.
One possible complication of Hootsuite is that they don’t let custom shorteners to auto-run in their application without charging you an arm and a leg. This means that if you want to use a shortener besides Owl.ly (Hootsuite’s proprietary shortener) and a few others then you’ll have to pay up or shorten, copy and paste for each post. Additionally, some might find their helpful paid report-building costly for smaller businesses on a budget.
G Suite: Google’s Solution
G Suite is a resource developed by Google that includes cloud computing as well as productivity software and tools. They have a free 14-day trial period followed by payment options ranging from $6-$25 per month. G Suite provides its users with various niche Google applications such as Google Currents, an online intra-business communication platform, and Google Cloud Search, which can be used to search across your company’s various online presences (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, etc).
Flipboard: Custom News Hub
The very best app to keep up with multiple sources of news for a given subject is Flipboard. This wonderfully constructed app lets you choose your subject (for example Health) and then it automatically creates a new mini-magazine that collects the best stories from around the web regarding that subject. Every time you open the app, it will update your personal magazine with new, collected content. The best thing about Flipboard is how you will quickly find it giving you more time by offering you all your valuable news in one hub.
Are there any potential downsides to Flipboard?
On a few devices, you may see a small delay in auto-updating your customized boards, and some users would like to see Flipboard become available on their laptop or desktop. But when those small issues are compared to the levels of information control you’re given, you shouldn’t be deterred from this amazing app.
However, if you’re looking for more sophisticated—let’s say, you need a managerial tool for your business—then look no further than Idea Lab’s products here!
