There’s an App for That!

Before there was Mac and IBM, or even the MITS Altair if you’re THAT kind of nerd, marketing was a whole different ball game. There was no Later app to schedule your marketing content, there was nothing like Canva which has allowed even Joe Schmo to say that he is a graphic designer on his resume, and there most DEFINITELY was nothing like Motion Stills to create beautiful moving photos like we live in the world of Harry Potter (who also was not around, by the way).

Today’s marketers have it way easier, at least in the variety of applications to help them get their job done. Don’t take this the wrong way, marketing is still HARD solely because the sheer number of influencers and customers in your target market is GIGANTIC at times, but apps like the ones we are about to give you the 411 on make marketing slightly easier.

1. Basecamp: Basecamp doesn’t only apply to marketing, but it definitely makes your job easier. In Basecamp you can keep all your clients organized, and keep all of their documents and files stored in basecamp’s cloud. We haven’t reached a limit on how much we can store on Basecamp (yet… and we have a LOT of stored media), but we will let you know when we do. The great thing is that you can also create a ‘to do’ list that reminds you when things need to be completed, so you never miss a deadline.
2. Later: Formerly known as Latergramme, you can hardly be surprised that we have this app on our list. Later is a scheduling and re-posting tool where you are able to schedule your content weeks in advance. Yes, we know there are TONNES of apps like this out there, including Hootsuite and Planoly, but we prefer Later due to its ease of use, as well as other capabilities.
3. Canva: Because who doesn’t love designing graphics? Even if you’re that type of person who doesn’t have a creative bone in their body (wait, why are you interested in marketing then?), Canva has you covered. With their pre-set layouts all you need to do is find one that is relevant, pop some text in, and voila! You’re now a full fledged (well, not really) graphic designer.
4. Unfold: Probably our most favourite new toy, Unfold lets you create beautiful stories and editable feed templates from your photos and text. A great way to tell your brand’s story how you want.
5. Lightroom: One of the best photo editing, managing, and sharing apps out there; we cannot rave enough about Lightroom. We definitely recommend having this app on your phone, but if you are familiar and don’t like it, your other options are Quickshot or Snapseed.
6. For video, the jury is out on this one, so we are going to graciously give you options: Shakr, Promo, Splice and Inshot are all really great options for video editing.  We will leave the choice up to you, because half the fun in marketing is trying out all the new apps!
7. Analytics: For those of you looking for valuable insights on how your social media marketing is going, apps like Union Metrics and Sprout Social will give you the goods.
8. Grammarly: Grammarly is an online grammar, spell checking, and plagiarism detection platform developed by Grammarly, Inc. If you are someone who writes well, or not well, and needs help with their day-to-day grammar skills, this is the app for you. We use this app for everything!

When it comes down to it, let’s face it, apps are just like anything else and you will have your preference once you test a few out. There are always new apps emerging, because that is the wonderful, fast-paced digital world we live in today, and where would we be without it?

If you have apps that you love to use on a daily basis that you think should have been on this list, and are not, feel free to drop us a line with your favourite app and why. We LOVE testing out new things!

If all of this is just mumbo-jumbo to you and you have absolutely no idea why you read this article, or what an app is, or why your posts are only getting one like, check out our social media coaching sessions. We would love to give you the DL (down low) on what we do and why it works!