Top 12 Free Mobile Apps for Business

Mike Hanbery - 1.24.2012 12:00 PM

I've been asked a few times recently what free mobile apps I find most useful for my business. Excluding the calendar, email, text, browser and camera, which have, I believe, become a minimum expectation for anyone carrying a smartphone, here are the tools I use and what I get out of them:

• QR Droid – Admittedly, most of my QR code activity is verifying the QR codes we create are routing and tracking correctly, but I needed to work it in here because a properly packaged QR campaign can be super for creating engagement and excitement around your business, and can provide valuable data about your customers.
• Foursquare - I have become a check-in guy. It brings out the competitiveness in me. I like having more points than Tim and Gregg, but more importantly, it lets me know if someone I know—a client, a prospect, a partner--is at the game or the networking event. I'm also able to track where I go. Not surprisingly, those fall into a limited number of categories: Work, business events, the gym and wherever my kids need to go. Not necessarily in that order. I don't check in at home, though I'm pretty sure I end up there at some point, too. Pretty sure.
• Facebook - For lots of people, this is a personal pleasure. For me, it's also business.
• HootSuite - I read lots of articles and these days I read about 75 percent of them on my phone while waiting for something else. Occasionally I come across stuff that is consistent with my brand and present themselves as information my connections might look to me to recommend. HootSuite allows me to choose the account and the channel, and to customize my message, from my phone. Perhaps more importantly, the HootSuite app lets me know and respond immediately when my client's brand name is mentioned on Twitter.
• Dropbox - Dropbox is a free service that allows me to share large files with clients, partners, friends and family without having to email them back and forth. With the Dropbox app, I can access any of these documents and images anywhere, anytime. I am a Dropbox fanatic and so are about 90 percent of people to whom I’ve introduced it.
• LinkedIn - This is a good looking app with the functionality you would expect from a LinkedIn app. I manage connections and read and respond to messages while I wait. I'm not good at just waiting.
• Latitude & Navigation - Silicon Sally has changed more than a few routes for me since I started letting her tell me where to go. She's not always right but please don't tell her I said that. Save time getting to your appointments and let her worry about how to get there.
• Brightest Flashlight - I thought it was a bit of a joke when I first downloaded it but then, less than 2 days later, I dropped a tiny screw beneath my desk. Guess how I found it.
• The Weather Channel - Does exactly what you want it to do and provides exactly the level of detail you seek. Unless you're a real weather geek, I guess, and maybe even then. How should you dress? Should you plan to take additional time to get to your appointment? Who would you trust more than TWC?
• Tape-a-Talk – Record conversations, on the phone or in person.
• SalesForce - One should never be separated from his CRM system.

How to Use This Information
Your smartphone can be an effective tool for connecting you to your business and managing it for growth. Customize your experience with apps that enhance your life.


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