Is your phone feeling weighed down?
Perhaps all those shopping sprees at the App Store are taking their toll. It may be time for you to pare down and get back to basics when it comes to your apps.
A recent purge of my own apps made me realize that it’s valuable to take a hard look at your phone and re-evaluate the strategy behind those you have downloaded.
Here’s the bottom line: will they benefit your business? If not, you might consider getting rid of them unless you find them helpful for personal use.
Try organizing your apps in folders – if your phone lets you do this – to make them easy to find. Then, work on limiting the number of apps in folders to one or two screens, maximum. There comes a point in many peoples’ technological lives when they have so many apps that they simply cannot find what they’re seeking!
You don’t want to be lost at sea when it comes to your own phone, do you?
With all that said, here are the top five apps that made the cut on my phone. I use these almost every day!
1) Dropbox. This free service lets you take your documents, photos and videos mobile by storing them in the cloud. You can share them easily, too. Every photo on my phone syncs straight to Dropbox for peace of mind, and I know I can always access any necessary documents at the click of a button. It doesn’t get more convenient than that.
2) Evernote. This note-taking app has the goal of helping you remember everything, communicate effectively and get things done. Evernote keeps me organized on the go, whether I need to take critical notes for my business or jot down articles that I want to read later. Evernote Hello makes remembering people easy with a richly browsable history of people, meetings and shared experiences. If you’re looking to get better organized, here’s your one-stop shop.
3) Facebook Pages. This extension of the uber-popular social media network allows you to build your brand and connect with others. I can’t imagine running a Facebook Business Page – or multiple ones – and not having this app. You can also schedule posts and monitor your analytics through this app, making life that much easier. Simple to use, Facebook Pages streamline monitoring your activity and engaging with your audience. It’s a great way to spread your social-media wings.
4) HootSuite. This social media management dashboard lets you manage several networks all at once. For example, real estate agents can really harness the power of this app to monitor conversations around their brand, providing a multitude of professional opportunities. Say there’s a conversation about house-hunting in San Francisco. That’s a great chance to jump in and become better known. You can use this app to monitor your Facebook newsfeed, page and groups as well as Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of other networks. Talk about saving time and effort!
5) Voxer. This walkie-talkie system offers access to live voice chat, text and photos. This is by far one of my favorite apps for keeping in touch with those closest to me. It’s a great communication tool!
Many more apps also made the cut. These include DocuSign (disclosure: this is a client of mine), Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive and QuickBooks. Which phone apps would make your cut?
Let me know your thoughts and tell me about your own must-have apps!
