A solid marketing strategy is what sets apart an abandoned storefront from a thriving business. But when your manual marketing efforts come up short, there are many marketing apps you can rely on to streamline the promotion of your business.
Keep reading for ten of the best marketing apps for small business owners.
Microsoft Planner
Some of the greatest business ideas ever conceived started on a humble whiteboard. The Microsoft Planner task management software and companion app (Android, iOS) work as a digital whiteboard.
Each board represents a project plan and each sticky note on the board serves as a task you can assign to a member of a team. A couple of simple actions allows you to create new plans, teams or tasks, or modify existing functions.
Hootsuite
Manually maintaining your business social media profiles across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can consume valuable resources and time. Hootsuite (Android, iOS) provides a consolidated dashboard that lets you view and manage profiles, schedule posts and gauge the efficacy of campaigns on every social platform where your business maintains a presence.
Facebook pages
Two out of three American adults use Facebook, according to Pew Research, which makes creating a business Facebook page integral to attracting your target audience. The Facebook Pages app (Android, iOS) gives you a convenient way to post photos and text updates to your page, respond to customer comments and view notifications. You'll also be able to track the success of posts through metrics about post reach, engagement and likes.
Yelp
Yelp receives an average of 32 million unique monthly app users. Not surprising since few review sites have managed to compile millions of business reviews on a single platform as neatly or efficiently. Having the Yelp app (Android, iOS) on your smartphone allows you to fill out or modify your business profile, view your business rating in real-time, read reviews and respond to customers on the go with a few taps.
Fiverr
Need a last-minute graphic for your website before it goes live? How about conversion of a blog post into a PowerPoint presentation you need to deliver to a client in a few hours? The Fiver app (Android, iOS) is one of the best marketing apps for small business owners in need of an extra hand.
It allows you to outsource everyday tasks at a reasonable cost to a chosen member of Fiver's global freelance pool. Having an economical resource to call upon can be a leading convenience for cash-starved business owners.
Canva
Need a need an infographic or a sketch of a product prototype? Canva allows you to create stunning still graphics, animations or videos directly from your smartphone. Better yet, the app (Android, iOS) lets you upload the created images directly to the social media platform of choice for pictures that require immediate viewing.
Clover
Physical punch cards disappear from customers' wallets every day, which makes them a poor method of building customer loyalty. The Clover app (iOS) revolutionizes old-fashioned punch cards by digitizing them. With a tap, you can mark a virtual punch card on a customer's phone, then extend a reward upon fulfillment. The app even supports hands-free payment and tipping so you can do without card readers when dealing with Clover users.
Mention
Defending the online reputation of your business is one of the outstanding challenges of today. Only, because the sheer number of digital outlets make it near impossible to gauge how people view your brand. The Mention app (Android, iOS) scours over one million sources around the web, including blogs, social media and website forums, to alert you to where and when you were mentioned and in what regard so that you can take steps to improve your online reputation if needed.
Scoop.it
Content marketing should be a component of every small business owner's overall marketing strategy. But regularly identifying trending ideas to develop content around can be a challenge even for the creative-minded. The Scoop.it app (iOS) allows you to search for topics and identify third-party content pieces that performed well in the searched domain. You can develop value-added content related to these favored pieces. In addition to, sharing the content with your audience to complement your original content.
