Do you ever feel like you’re always on our phone throughout the day? I sure think so. Like many of you reading this is, I’m usually not doing anything but business-related! Especially those who own their own business, you don’t have time to think about much else during the day.
Here are 5 apps that I use on a daily basis that seriously changed the way I run my business for the better.
Let’s start with the obvious one. Insta! I’m always on and off this app throughout the day... (probably more often than we all should be, am I right?!). I use this social media channel most often for business. I schedule my posts and use hashtags strategically. If you’re a business, I encourage you to switch your business handle profile from a personal account to a business account. When using your new business account, you’ll have access to insights not available for personal accounts. This way you’ll know your audience even better than you do now: their age, location, gender, and even what time they’re online a/k/a when the best time for you to post. The key to instagram for business is photo quality, which leads me to my next app below.
I love this photo-editing app. It’s by Google and it’s like a mini Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. It takes a little while to get the hang of if you’re not familiar with the Adobe photo editing systems, but to me it’s been the best photo editor. You can concentrate on a particular area to brighten, erase a part of a photo (i.e- an addresses on an envelope you don’t want to share), and even use portrait modes to highlight faces. I have heard of bloggers using other apps, such as Color Theory, VSCO, and After Light, which gives a predetermined filter of your choice to use so your photos and in turn your feed looks consistent every time; however, in my industry I’m constantly getting photos from professional wedding photographers who do not like it when their photos are edited for social media, so I only edit photos of my own.
I feel like I was late in the game with Google Sheets. It took my younger team members to really educate me on what Google Sheets is, but oh my goodness I’m glad I know! Now I don’t know what I would do without. Google Sheets is similar to Microsoft Excel and lets you update the spreadsheet in real time and other members of your team can also view the same spreadsheet without having to email back and forth. We use our client list in Google Sheets, so we all know the status of each and every client. I can also view the spreadsheet anytime, anywhere via the app so if I need to open or edit a spreadsheet, I don’t have to wait until I get back to my studio… I have it on my phone! This is the same for Google Docs (similar to Microsoft Word) and Google Slides (similar to Microsoft PowerPoint).
This app is automatically downloaded on your iPhones and Mac computers. I’m always writing in my notes app. I have my hashtags I copy/paste to instagram when I post, my to-do lists for business and personal life, random thoughts I have for media, bible verses I want to remember, etc. I use this app every day and have so many notes. I encourage you to take advantage of this one!
If you’ve read our previous business and marketing posts, then you know how much I love our calendars. I check it every morning and every evening so I know my upcoming schedule. I schedule meetings, personal appointments, workout times, and client deadlines. Everything is color-coded so I know my schedule at a glance. I personally use iCal, which is automatically on your iPhones and Mac computers, but Google calendar is also a great choice I’ve heard and it also has the color-coded feature. These calendars are also free. Who doesn’t love free?!
Bonus: Later or Planoly
I wanted to give you these bonus apps I recommend for social media. These scheduling apps are the best, yall! Do you find yourself saying "hang on, I have to post" way too often? That was me! Anywhere I was, I would pause my life to post when I thought the time was right according to my Instagram Insights. No more! It takes the pressure of figuring out a photo and caption to post every day when the time comes. I schedule all my posts about a month out. At the beginning of each month, I lay on my couch in the most comfortable of clothes, turn on Friends or a favorite show, and take a couple of hours scheduling out which photos to post, when to post them, and what to write for each caption.
These apps let you preview your scheduled posts so you can easily drag/drop the order of photos to see what looks best for your feed. In both Later and Planoly, you can plan out majority of social media apps: Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. I primarily use it for Instagram, but encourage you to explore the other options, too to see what works best for you and your schedule.
