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Tag Archive: mobile_apps

6 Great Apps for Small Businesses

6 Great Apps for Small Businesses

The rise of mobile has certainly changed the face of business as we know it, and mostly for the better. Now that pretty much everyone has a smartphone, it is important that those phones are equipped with the right tools to keep up with the hectic life of a business professional. Having to put something off until you can get back to the office or hotel room could cost time, money, and even sales. That makes having everything you need in one mobile package a smart choice.

 

Take a look at these five apps that will add functionality to your phone – and life – with ease:

 

Audio Memos

 

Audio Memos is a great app that lets you record audio quickly and easily, whether you’re leaving yourself a reminder or recording a meeting or lecture.Lifehacker called it “the best voice recording app,” and it’s easy to see why – it’s simple, easy to use, and incredibly useful.

 

The app can even be set to start recording when it hears voices, so you can avoid long silences at the beginning of your recordings. Use the various extensions to trim your recordings, compress them for email, and upload everything to Dropbox, Box, Evernote, Google Drive, or simply send messages via email.

 

CardMunch

 

What do you do with those 20 or 50-odd, assorted business cards you’ve collected after you leave the conference? Most of us do a quick sort, and even then, the ones we keep often just get tucked away. Is there a better way to organize them? You bet.

 

With CardMunch, you just snap a picture of a business card and the app does the rest. It automatically converts the text on the business card into an address book contact using your mobile phone’s contact system. Snap a picture, ditch the card. Additionally, since CardMunch is owned by LinkedIn, you can take that contact information and add the person as a connection on LinkedIn, making it easy to view even more info through their profile right away.

 

 

MightyMeeting

 

MightyMeeting is a powerful tool that ensures you are never unprepared for a meeting. You can:

 

  • Store PowerPoint presentations and PDF files and share them any way you want to.
  • Set up online meetings that anyone can connect to using their phone, tablet, or computer.
  • Download documents to your device before you head out to a spot where you know that you are going to be without an internet connection, and use Nearcast to share them over Bluetooth between any iOS devices in the room.
  • You can even create an interactive whiteboard that everyone can use to share ideas.

 

TripIt

 

I travel a lot, giving speeches and what not, and TripIt is my go-to travel app. Here’s how it works: with each travel reservation you make – car rental, flight, hotel, etc– you simply forward the confirmation to TripIt and the site combines them all and sends you back a master calendar/confirmation/itinerary. The elegant itinerary then syncs with Apple and Google Calendars. It also contains weather info for where you are going, as well as maps and directions for each stop on your travels. TripIt Pro adds real-time flight information, a flight finder, and more to an already robust app.

Hightail

 

This is another of my favorite business apps. Hightail is a great way to share large files that might otherwise be practically impossible to send. The app lets you send files up to 2GB instantly from your computer or mobile device, and store an unlimited amount of files online. Such large attachments usually upset regular email servers.

 

At Hightail.com (formerly YouSendIt), you can see who has downloaded your files, and even control who can and can’t make changes to those files. Finally, you can also sign documents through Hightail and return them immediately, making sure that contracts, mocks, and other documents take as little time as possible to get approved.

 

These apps help make your phone or tablet the only device you need to get everything done. Do you have an app you can’t live without? Share it with us.

More apps for business http://www.businessinsider.com/50-best-business-apps-2013-8?op=1

April 10, 2014 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Read more >

5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

by Phil Simon

5 Ways to Embrace Big Data. Here’s a handful of useful tools to collect the kind of data you need to make better business decisions.

I’ve spent most of the last four months finishing the manuscript for my fifth book, Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data. In this post, I’ll share some data collection methods that may help your business make better decisions.  What if there’s existing data on the Web that you’d like to easily gather and view? You could cut and paste, but there has to be a better way, right? Check out Mozenda, a data extraction service. Its software can “scrape” data from a wide variety of sources on the Web. 5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

That’s fine if there’s existing data you’d like to grab, but what if you need to generate your own data? Two sites here are very useful. The first, Mechanical Turk, is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace that matches buyers and sellers. Want to submit the title of your book for a vote? Mechanical Turk is a little-known part of Amazon that incentivizes people to provide data. “Requesters” set up Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) and offer small rewards for voting. In a nutshell, Amazon uses human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are currently unable to do. 5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

Not sure if the design of your homepage is working? Run an experiment–Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google all do this. (There’s a high degree of science behind everything on these company’s pages, up to and including the color of fonts.) Optimizely allows users to perform their own A/B testing. Over the course of a few weeks, generate metrics on which version of your homepage generates more traffic, lowers bounce rates, and the like. Author Eric Ries of The Lean Startup actually used this to convince his publisher that some of its covers and titles just didn’t work. (Of course, Google AdWords is still also capable of performing de facto A/B testing on a wide variety of things.) 5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

And let’s not forget surveys. There are many online tools like SurveyMonkey, PollDaddy, and others. I’m a big fan of Wufoo. This über-easy site lets you create powerful forms, online surveys, and event registrations. Without getting all statsy, though, understand that online surveys typically need to be taken with a 20-lb. bag of salt. Use them as a guide, not gospel. 5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

Simon Says

Some say that data is the new oil. You’ll get no argument from me. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and other companies are extremely valuable and successful in no small part from their exceptional data management, collection, and analysis methods. All else being equal, in 2013 and beyond, companies that understand and take advantage of Big Data will do better than those that don’t. 5 Ways to Embrace Big Data

January 14, 2013 Today's Business, , , , , 0 Read more >

4 Ways to Embrace Big Data

4 Ways to Embrace Big Data

by Phil Simon

4 Ways to Embrace Big Data. Here’s a handful of useful tools to collect the kind of data you need to make better business decisions.

I’ve spent most of the last four months finishing the manuscript for my fifth book, Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data. In this post, I’ll share some data collection methods that may help your business make better decisions.

 

What if there’s existing data on the Web that you’d like to easily gather and view? You could cut and paste, but there has to be a better way, right?

 

Check out Mozenda, a data extraction service. Its software can “scrape” data from a wide variety of sources on the Web. 4 Ways to Embrace Big Data

 

That’s fine if there’s existing data you’d like to grab, but what if you need to generate your own data? Two sites here are very useful. The first, Mechanical Turk, is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace that matches buyers and sellers. Want to submit the title of your book for a vote? Mechanical Turk is a little-known part of Amazon that incentivizes people to provide data. “Requesters” set up Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) and offer small rewards for voting. In a nutshell, Amazon uses human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are currently unable to do.

 

Not sure if the design of your homepage is working? Run an experiment–Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google all do this. (There’s a high degree of science behind everything on these company’s pages, up to and including the color of fonts.) Optimizely allows users to perform their own A/B testing. Over the course of a few weeks, generate metrics on which version of your homepage generates more traffic, lowers bounce rates, and the like. Author Eric Ries of The Lean Startup actually used this to convince his publisher that some of its covers and titles just didn’t work. (Of course, Google AdWords is still also capable of performing de facto A/B testing on a wide variety of things.)

 

And let’s not forget surveys. There are many online tools like SurveyMonkey, PollDaddy, and others. I’m a big fan of Wufoo. This über-easy site lets you create powerful forms, online surveys, and event registrations. Without getting all statsy, though, understand that online surveys typically need to be taken with a 20-lb. bag of salt. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

 

Simon Says

 

Some say that data is the new oil. You’ll get no argument from me. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and other companies are extremely valuable and successful in no small part from their exceptional data management, collection, and analysis methods. All else being equal, in 2013 and beyond, companies that understand and take advantage of Big Data will do better than those that don’t. 4 Ways to Embrace Big Data

 

What say you?

 

Article provided by Inc.com. ©Inc.

January 12, 2013 Today's Business, , , , , 0 Read more >

3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

Mobile Marketing3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

by Aaron Aders

 

3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels. Whether you have a mobile app or a mobile website, these channels can help your target audience find your mobile presence.

 

Estimates from eMarketer indicate that the population of mobile social network users will reach 79 million by 2015, which would result in mobile adoption rates that crush other technological adoption rates of the past. As with any new tech platform, organizations need to understand how to participate in and be found via mobile channels. Whether you have a mobile application or a mobile webpage, here are the top three channels that can help your target audience find your mobile presence:

 

Mobile Organic Search

 

A recent study by Google found that a smartphone was the most common starting point for online activities. It’s crucial to show up at the top of organic search on mobile devices, because 65 percent of the study participants started with a mobile device when searching for information, as well as shopping, online.

 

The best way to optimize your website for a mobile device is to create what is known as a responsive website. A responsive website will auto-detect the visitor’s device prior to serving up the website content. Upon detection, CSS will then tailor the website content to the specific device. Responsive websites will reduce clutter and avoid duplicate content issues that may arise from duplicating website content on a mobile subdomain such as m.yourdomain.com. 3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

 

Marketers can also monitor performance using the mobile search data segment in Google Webmaster Tools. Use this tool to monitor the results of your mobile search optimization.

 

Mobile Content Marketing

 

The goal of content marketing is to create target-market-oriented content that informs, entertains, provides value, and inspires sharing. It’s important to consider context when creating content for different devices. The same Google study mentioned earlier found that smartphone use is primarily motivated by communication and entertainment activities. By contrast, PCs are the most common starting point for more complex activities like planning a trip or managing finances. 3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

 

It’s important to serve the needs of your target market within this large mobile user group with content crafted with a mobile context in mind. For example, launching complex content such as a research paper or interactive survey wouldn’t be valuable in a mobile context. Focus on content ideas that support communication, fact references, or entertainment. Be sure to always post mobile-friendly content using HTML and CSS rather than Flash or JavaScript.

 

The Google Keyword Tool also allows for mobile device segmentation, which can provide keyword research insights for targeting mobile users. Combine the most popular mobile search trends with top-performing activities in mobile such as social networking, informational search, and shopping online. This kind of focus will start you down the path to content built for success on mobile devices. 3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

 

Mobile App Stores

 

According to Nielsen, mobile users are spending 10% more time on mobile applications than the mobile Web. There are tremendous opportunities in mobile application development for organizations that want to extend marketing reach through this highly interactive channel. However, deep reach in this channel requires great app content and a solid strategy to make sure your app is found on platforms such as the Apple App Store. 3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

 

A new start-up promises to add some Ooomf to your mobile app marketing strategy by using a platform that mixes mobile app developers with users to enhance and promote their mobile applications. Founder Mikael Cho recognizes that building a great app is a challenge, but getting people to care about it is even more difficult. Ooomf will employ a promotional strategy that offers a curated list of mobile apps. The company also hopes to develop relationships with mobile journalists and mobile influencers to help them discover apps on the Ooomf website. 3 Most Important Mobile Marketing Channels

January 12, 2013 Today's Business, , , , , , , , , 0 Read more >