As a content marketer, it’s important that you’re able to work on the go.
Why? For the simple reason that the very best content marketing campaigns are built upon amazing ideas and these don’t always come from huddling around a whiteboard as a team, working in isolation, or staring at a screen for hours upon end.
Amazing ideas come as a result of seeking inspiration from somewhere new, collaborating with others, and keeping a close ear to the ground on hot topics both within your (or your client’s) industry and outside of it.
The fact that a successful content marketing campaign rests upon a foundation of great ideas in itself almost suggests that you need to be ready to work anywhere, at any time. No one can control when that moment of inspiration will come, either for that next big content concept, the perfect way to present an idea, or a way to jump onto a trending topic.
If you aren’t mobile-ready as a content marketer, you’re likely either hindering the success of your campaigns or creating excess work for yourself.
Here are 10 essential content marketing apps for your smartphone.
1. Pocket
Get On: App Store | Google Play
If you’re working in content marketing, there’s a good chance that you never stop looking for inspiration for that next big idea in the form of content. Whether that’s a content format you think could work brilliantly for something of your own, an article to schedule to your social feeds, or perhaps you’ve discovered a new influencer who could be instrumental in the promotion of your next campaign.
The problem often is, however, that you discovered these great pieces of content by accident. Perhaps someone shared something on social media or you came across a “hot topic” on LinkedIn while you’re commuting.
If you find yourself in this position regularly; you need to download Pocket. Their very simple tag line reads: “When you find something you want to view later, put it in Pocket.”
Use it for: Producing your own swipe file for content to go back to at a later date.
2. Quora
Get On: App Store | Google Play
If you’re a content marketer and aren’t using Quora; where have you been hiding for the past few years?
Quite simply, Quora is a place to gain and share knowledge and it’s a goldmine for inspiration for that next blog post, infographic, or social discussion.
Use it on the go on your phone to:
- Keep up to date with the hot topics the community is talking about.
- Identify trends in discussion topics.
- Discover the questions that are being asked.
Could your next piece of content help to solve a commonly asked question? Quora can help you to identify these questions. It also gives you a platform to promote your content after it’s been produced in relevant threads.
Use it for: Gaining an insight into “hot topics” within your industry as inspiration for your next piece of content.
3. Reddit
Get On: App Store | Google Play
You’re probably already familiar with Reddit to some extent. But are you using it as part of your content marketing campaign?
To many marketers, Reddit plays two vital roles.
- It’s a fantastic source of both inspiration and research. Have a burning question which you’d love to receive responses for to utilize the data as part of an infographic or another campaign? Reddit’s community can likely help as long as there’s an active subreddit. Simply want an easy-to-follow feed of great content and discussion in an industry? Reddit can likely help you out with that (again, as long as there’s an active subreddit).
- It can be a great place to promote your finished content. Post the link in a subreddit and there’s a good chance you’ll gain some great feedback from the community and (so long as it’s a strong enough concept) the potential for referral traffic as well!
Use it for: Researching content ideas, gathering data and promoting the finished product.
4. Evernote
Get On: App Store | Google Play
Evernote is great for making notes on the go for the simple reason that these can simply sync between your multiple devices, ensuring you’re able to access on your desktop where you left off on your phone.
In addition, Evernote works seamlessly when you’re offline, syncing back to your other devices as soon as you have a connection available.
You can do more than compile text content as notes in Evernote. You can also save and sync links, checklists, tables, images, and even audio recordings.
You’ll also find it easier than ever to collaborate with others through the simple share functionality.
As a content marketer, it’s a simple solution for keeping notes in an easy to access location which you can work on from anywhere, on any device.
Evernote isn’t intended as a tool to write your next vial post in. It’s simply somewhere to begin the ideation and development phases.
Use it for: Making and sharing notes across your multiple devices as well as sharing with other collaborators.
5. Slack
Get On: App Store | Google Play
Content marketing is all about collaboration with others, right?
There are few better ways to communicate with your team and other content collaborators (be that with writers, designers, developers or clients themselves) than through Slack.
It’s a simple but very effective solution to bringing team communication and collaboration into one place, allowing you to chat individually as well as in a group.
Download Slack for your phone and you’ll always be in contact with everyone else involved in the content production process. Set up alerts and you’ll simply be notified anytime anyone pings you a message.
Speed up communication and get more done. Simple.
Use it for: Collaborating as a content team and improving productivity.
6. Grammarly Keyboard
Get On: App Store | Google Play
Ever had to put together a last-minute blog post or send that all-important concept document while away from your desk? Who hasn’t?
On the occasion when you’ve an urgent piece of copy to write when you haven’t got your laptop or desktop to hand, your only choice is typically to use your phone. And anyone who has ever needed to do so will know how even the best of copywriters fill find their mobile-written work riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.
Why?
Because mobile keyboards are damn hard to use!
If you ever find yourself struggling to write on your phone without making embarrassing mistakes, you need to download Grammarly Keyboard.
This simple but useful addition to any app lets you write with ease, picking up your mistakes and suggesting amends.
Grammarly Keyboard will become your most-used app for mobile working; guaranteed!
Use it for: Avoiding embarrassing spelling and grammatical errors when writing from your phone.
7. CoSchedule
Get On: App Store | Google Play
CoSchedule is marketed as “The #1 Marketing Calendar.” Those who use it on desktop will be glad to know that it’s also available on mobile devices. On the other hand, those who aren’t currently using it need to check it out!
Their own material showcases the tool as a solution to “Eliminate endless email threads, disconnected workflows, and a dozen and half moving pieces (in various different tools) and Get everything organized in ONE place, so you (and your team) can focus on the important stuff… getting sh*t done!”
In short, CoSchedule allows teams to collaborate better on content and social campaigns, with one of the key features for content marketing being the impressive calendar; allowing you to plan campaigns and view deadlines for an upcoming period.
Use it for: Managing your content calendar whilst on the go.
8. Boomerang Mail App
Get On: App Store | Google Play
This one is for those content marketers actively involved in the outreach process of content promotion – especially those who either work remotely or pitch to those in different time zones.
Boomerang, the Gmail app which many are likely familiar with, is a great way to schedule emails to send at a specific time.
When doing outreach, something which is difficult enough as it is from your phone, it’s important to target journalists, bloggers, and publishers at the time when they’re likely to be more receptive. That means, if you’re working across multiple time zones, you need to be able to land an email in their inbox at the right time.
Say hello to Boomerang Mail App.
The other great feature is that you’ll be able to see who has opened your emails; at any time, on your phone. Perfect for checking in on campaigns out of hours.
Download the app on Apple or Android devices and you’ll quickly find that mobile outreach gets a little easier.
9. WordPress
Get On: App Store | Google Play
How could we put together a roundup of content marketing apps without mentioning WordPress?
It likely needs no introduction, however it’s far easier to manage your self-hosted WordPress (or WordPress.com) blog from the app than logging in to the admin panel via a mobile browser.
Whether you’re writing posts, proofreading or editing, you can do it all from the app when you need it most.
Perhaps not one you’ll be using as often as some of the others. However, it comes in handy from time to time and the app gets better with every update.
It’s also great for moderating comments while on the go.
Use it for: Managing WordPress pages, posts and moderating comments from your phone.
10. Trello
Get On: App Store | Google Play
Trello remains one of the more popular (simple) project management tools.
Thousands of content teams around the world use it to manage workflows, moving content from ideation, through production and proofreading to a “ready to publish” state.
If you’re responsible for overseeing the content production for a team and you’re currently using Trello as your tool of choice; you need to download the app.
If nothing else, it allows you to easily and quickly keep an eye on progress when you’re away from your desktop and, when combined with Slack (the integration is great) you’re fully in control of everything; being able to change due dates, move cards from one board to another, and attach conversations and feedback.
Use it for: Managing your content team from your phone.
Summary
There are plenty of other fantastic content marketing apps that you can use. However, these 10 are the most useful, at least without going too specific.
Using your smartphone as part of your workflow can help you to remain productive even when out of the office. With the right apps, you’d be amazed at how much you can get done from your mobile devices!
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