As a technology and communications company, we embrace software in our everyday workflow. With a myriad of available software for everything from digital to do lists to social media management, we have selected some of our favorites to share with you.
Asana
Looking to improve productivity for your small or large team – stat? Sign up for a free Asana account and you’ll be up and running in no time. We reviewed so many different project management software before committing to Asana and tried out several on free demos. But none compared to the ease of use and cost (free for the basic version which is all you need to start with). Asana will help you see what everyone else has on their to do list, while also keeping project communication in one area. No more emails to sort through to find the last comment on a project! Although Asana integrates with email we have turned that feature off altogether. Emails are reserved for client interaction, all project management communication stays in asana. It’s that good. Asana also offers integration with other software and has a user friendly app so that you can stay on top of project communication when you’re on the go.
Mailchimp
Hail to the queen of email marketing! For several years we were loyal Constant Contact users before finally taking the leap to Mailchimp, and we have never looked back. Their interface is user friendly but their backend system is incredibly robust. Mailchimp will work for you if you’re just looking to do simple email marketing (and hey, it’s free up to 500 subscribers!) and is just as good for advanced email marketing. List management, segmentation and groups allow you to drill down into your email lists and segment to granular levels and automating your email marketing so you can hone in on your customer superstars. Conversion tracking, list building, website integration – mailchimp has it all and does it the best.
Dropbox for Business
As a marketing agency we have two very specific needs for file management: we must be able to access the files from virtually anywhere and we need a TON of storage space. At the very basic level, dropbox for business gives you 2 TeraBytes of space. To put that in perspective, after 6 years in business we still haven’t filled 1 TeraByte (although we’re getting close). Dropbox also has a user friendly app which makes it easy for our social media managers to download graphics and upload photos to our shared folders on the go.
Jive
When you need to be professional but don’t want a fulltime receptionist, Jive is the perfect phone software solution. Low cost and easy to set up, Jive allows you to map out extensions to each employee’s cell phone so clients can reach them directly regardless if they’re in the office or not. Have a phone system and a part-time receptionist? No problem, Jive can be turned on and off as you need it and can integrate with what you already have.
Zoom Conference Software
At Leap, we work with clients all over Southern California and we prefer to meet with our clients face to face at least once a month if not more frequently. Enter Zoom, a modern day conference software that allows you to schedule meetings, view files together and screen share. You can also record meetings, which we frequently do if we’re teaching a client to make their own website updates. The video is a handy tool to go back and refer to technical details.
Skype
Although Skype can also be used for conferencing we prefer this tool for internal communication. With two of our employees working remotely at all times, skype messaging gives us the ability to “pop in” with quick questions just as if they were right down the hallway. Our team updates our status every morning with our daily schedule so the entire team knows exactly where everyone is at any given time. Skype iphone/android is super user friendly as well – a requirement for us for any software we use.
Sucuri
Lastly, we’ve included Sucuri which is technically not a productivity but without it ALL productivity may cease to exist. Why? Sucuri is a website security software that protects your website from being hacked. We’ve firsthand received emergency calls from business owners whose websites have disappeared or been redirected to other websites. Sucuri will not only rescue and clean your website but also protect you from it happening ever again. Think of it as website insurance for a measly $199/year. It’s worth it.
Full disclaimer: The Sucuri link is an affiliate link but none of the other software programs or apps mentioned in this blog post have affiliate links. We’re just sharing cause we’re caring.
