By Kerry Gorgone, {grow} Contributing Columnist
I have 87 apps on my iPhone. Some might think that’s too many, but I’ve been through them several times, trying to pare down, and I use them all. Some are especially helpful to me as a marketer: managing my ever growing contact list, or monitoring analytics via mobile.
Here are a few essential mobile apps and tools for my fellow marketers.
Evernote Hello
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: Free
Enter an email address and get a full profile via LinkedIn and Facebook, scan a business card into your contacts, pull names in from your calendar, and more.
Hello even enables you to connect to a group of people at once using audio tones, so taking out your smartphone at a networking event might actually be a good thing.
In my experience, not enough people use Evernote Hello for this function to be of practical use yet, but I would personally love if more people used it. Everyone could get their smartphones out and connect, then put them away and actually talk for a while. To dream, to dream…
Google Analytics
Platforms: Mobile Site, Android
Pricing: Free
Digital nomads need portable insight, and this app provides it. The Google Analytics native Android app delivers the quality you’d expect from Google, with an excellent user interface and a good overview of your data. It’s not as versatile as the web version, but it’s incredibly helpful when you need to access your analytics data from the road.
Lead Converter
Pricing: Starts at $5/month for a single site.
Platforms: Mobile Site
Valuable audience insight helps you to customize messages displayed on your site, so you can maximize conversion for different subsets of your audience.
Display pop-ups on the screen, banner images across the top of the screen, boxes that appear on your website, and more, different for each site visitor based on their demographic and psychographic data. Run A/B tests and get real-time analytics. Lead Converter is a powerful tool for any marketer’s arsenal.
Moat
Platforms: Mobile Site
Pricing: Free to search ads. Analytics pricing available by requesting a demo.
Working with designers to create banner ads gets much easier if you have some idea of what you want. Moat offers inspiration by giving you access to free search engine of banner ads by brand. See what the competition’s doing, or shake things up in your industry by taking a cue from companies in a more creative field.
If you’re looking for an agency, checking out banner ads in bulk like this can help you identify a few candidates whose work seems to match your brand personality. (Agencies can request credit for their ads by contacting Moat. )
You can purchase analytics plans, as well, comparing the results of your own banner ads: In-View Impressions (50% or more of the ad is in-view for at least one continuous second); In-View Time (average length of time the ad is in-view); average interaction time and more.
Toggl
Platforms: Web App, iOS and Android
Pricing: Free
Marketers need to earn a living, and this becomes much easier with some powerful apps that make timekeeping a cinch. Toggl enables you to track your time, sync between devices, and generate time sheets, although it stops short of actual accounting functions. For that, check out Xero, below.
Xero
Platforms: iOS and Android
Pricing: Plans start at $9/month
When you’re ready to move past timekeeping and generate invoices, check out Xero. You can monitor cash flow, reconcile bank statements, generate invoices (or gentle reminders), and more, all from your mobile device. Since time is at a premium for busy marketing consultants and strategists, the functionality Xero offers is invaluable.
Userium
Platforms: Mobile Site
Pricing: Free
Userium provides a helpful checklist for marketers who want to make sure their website’s up to snuff in terms of usability and accessibility. Run down the list (ticking off boxes as you complete items), and you’ll have caught an array of common mistakes,
Ideally, you’d run down this list before launching your site, but better late than never.
If you’re interested in productivity more generally, several of my 87 mobile apps help me to save precious time on a daily basis, and would prove useful to all businesspeople: 8 Great Apps to Save You Time Every Day
What did I miss? Which mobile apps and tools do you rely on?
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is a writer, lawyer, speaker and educator. She’s also Instructional Design Manager, Enterprise Training, at MarketingProfs. Kerry hosts the weekly Marketing Smarts podcast. Find Kerry on Google+ and Twitter.
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