Word Swag
We all keep hearing that we need to create more visual content. Posts with photos get shared 89% more often.
WordSwag is a great way to share your actual message or post, brand it with your logo, and create the type of shareable content our customers are craving. If you aren’t on it yet, get on it! There are a ton of free templates to choose from. Editing is easy and even if you don’t have an eye for all things artsy, this app will make you look like a pro. One of my favorite applications is overlaying our resident reviews on gorgeous photos of our properties.
I don’t know about you, but by the end of a typical day, I have 10-15 tabs open on my laptop. About half of them are articles or blog posts I’m dying to read. When I actually have time to read them, like when I’m waiting at my metro stop or I’m on the bus, my laptop is not exactly in the most accessible spot. Enter Pocket. Pocket is a browser extension that allows you to store all those blogs in one spot. When you have a few minutes, whip out your phone and breeze through a couple posts. It’s awesome. I also find it keeps me from hemming and hawing about whether or not to read something in the morning when I first sit down at my desk. With pocket, I know the article is going to be there later when I have down time!
IFTTT
Some of you are probably pros with this by now and could share some killer recipes with me! For the rest of you, check this out today. If this then that is a great set of social media “recipes” that can save you time and actually make you look like a marketing genius. Some of the simplest recipes make your Instagram pics actually show up as pics in Twitter, not links. Some of the more interesting recipes trigger tweets to go out from you based on the weather or other factors. Imagine if any time it snowed in your city, your account posted a link to your blog post about the best bars with fireplaces or best sledding locations….the options and recipes are limitless. Once you have them set up, it is marketing automation/real time marketing at its optimum. Jay Baer details Corcoran Group’s success using IFTTT in their marketing in his new book Youtility for Real Estate.
Mention App
Mention is an awesome way to stay on top of all chatter about you, your company, and conversation topics you should be involved in. Notifications can be pushed to you in real time, allowing you to react in seconds. Imagine knowing the moment a resident was tweeting about your community or drafting that problematic review online. Or think about the possibility of reaching out to a prospect the minute they are asking for help. Even better, you can share the alerts with your team members and assign tasks to them. We all know the importance of responsiveness. Mention App gives you that head start.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness for meditation … I’m sure you’re wondering what sitting still and not communicating has to do with marketing….pretty much everything. We are bombarded with messages and information everyday. We’re expected to filter through all of it and deliver the most interesting and engaging information to our audiences. Sometimes, with all that noise, it’s difficult to locate and hear your creative voice. Guided meditation is a great way to cut through all of the clamor and re-center. As much as I love meditation, when I really need it {in the middle of the day} I am nowhere near my studio. So Mindfulness has been a real life saver/sanity keeper. Just shut your door, turn off your ringer, make yourself comfortable and take anywhere from 5-40 minutes to quiet your mind. My go-to is the 15-minute session that usually leaves me energized, refocused and ready to conquer the world.
So there you go, there a 5 apps to make you a better you in 2015. I’m always looking for awesome hints, please shoot me a note and share your favorites!