Everyone on this planet is given the same 24 hours in the day. The question is: what do you choose to do with yours?” –unknown
Basecamp: Project Management
We usually have several diverse projects going on at once. Luckily, Basecamp is an online application that makes project management easy through company and client communication and file sharing. With Basecamp we are able to keep multiple projects organized and progress documented for ourselves and our clients. In addition to file storing, file sharing and document collaboration, Basecamp allows us to assign tasks and check due dates in order to stay organized with project execution and deadlines.
Dropbox: Synced File Sharing
We work with a lot of files on a daily basis, which is why Dropbox is absolutely imperative for our work flow needs. The online application makes synced file sharing easy while keeping the team organized. Dropbox provides a one-stop place for all of our work, so our team can focus less on finding files, and more on getting work done. It’s great for sharing large design files with clients since it allows them to sync changes in real time.
Google Apps: Email, Documents & File Sharing
Google Apps is great for a plethora of daily tasks, including email, documents and file sharing. It makes it easy to add new team members and maintain our branded domain. Google Docs, part of Google Apps, is also great for document collaboration, as it allows for multiple users to work on a single document at once with unlimited storage for every file. Google Drive makes it no longer necessary to attach files, because all work files can be stored and shared.
Evernote: File and Memo Syncing
Great ideas don’t always come at convenient times — that’s why there’s Evernote. The application syncs with phones and computers to save all files to a cloud. From short lists to lengthy research, Evernote makes it easy to jot down ideas before they are forgotten; the app can be utilized from original inspiration to project completion. We love being able to write down notes, take pictures of whiteboards, record voice memos and organize everything right on our phone. It’s a perfect app for brainstorming original content, writing down ideas that strike in the middle of the night and keeping active notes on projects.
Moz.com: SEO & Local SEO
Most of what we do revolves around search engine optimization, so naturally Moz is one of our favorite online applications. Moz software makes complicated inbound marketing easy by measuring SEO initiatives through tracking search engine rankings in different places. Moz turns it up a notch by providing a way to submit a client’s local listings in an a very efficient way.
Google Analytics: Site Traffic Tracking
We’re curious about the traffic our own website and the websites we work on receive; therefore, we use Google Analytics to track traffic on those sites. Google Analytics takes site traffic measuring one step further by also tracking what users are actually doing on the site – you can even monitor the stats in real time. Any marketer worth their salt knows that a key to effective marketing is measuring and tracking conversions. With Google Analytics, we are able to easily show a client their ROI within their eCommerce store. Also, you can’t beat FREE.
Buffer – Social Media Management
Social Media is a necessity in today’s web 2.0 world. Not only do we keep up with our own Lion’s Share Digital outlets, but we also manage the social media accounts for many of our clients. Obviously, we can’t always be in front of the computer live posting at the most audience-provoking times, so Buffer is perfect for our busy schedules. Multiple outlets and accounts can be integrated into one master log-in, and we can schedule posts from several different accounts at once using Buffer.
Filezilla – File Transfer Protocol
Filezilla is our preferred file transfer protocol; we use it daily to securely transfer computer files from one host to another over the internet. Filezilla is an FTP solution that is open source software and distributed free of charge under the terms of GNU General Public License. It allows you to easily save websites that we are actively working on making it a breeze to connect to that site in less than a minute.
Rapportive – LinkedIn Data Integration
We work with a lot of people with a lot of different roles, so Rapportive is a great tool for quickly displaying a person’s personal information on emails. Rapportive integrates LinkedIn information into gmail so that you can have a quick glance at whomever you are communicating with’s professional information. We love being able to see a person’s role and past jobs and connect with them via LinkedIn easily within Gmail.
Todoist – Organization
Todoist is a powerful task manager for business (or personal) productivity that has helped us on both an individual and team level. An all-inclusive platform, Todoist lets the user manage tasks from an inbox, browser, desktop or mobile device. We were using Wunderlist before but Todoist’s integration within Chrome, Gmail, the iPhone and Mac is superior to anything else we’ve used.
All of the above listed productivity tools have significantly helped us grow through productivity and organization methods. We hope that reading this list could perhaps help you on a personal and business production level as well.
What tools do you use to streamline your business?
My pick for best productivity tool is proofhub, Helped me to maximized my team productivity.
Not quite the productivity tool, but pozzr.com is great!
Interesting. We’ll take a look.
What do you like about it the most?