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Apps and tools make things easier when you’re working on marketing tactics. Here are a few tools that I’ve used to make preparing marketing easier over the past few weeks.

NOTES: I like to dictate into “notes” on my phone and then later send it to myself as an email. I especially use this following a client meeting. I head out the car and take a few minutes before leaving to give myself a quick to do list. I review the notes from the meeting and use the voice app to let the iPhone type the notes.

Later when I get back to the office, it is a matter of editing the “auto corrects” and rearranging the top of mind notes. I have found that it saves time and I don’t forget a detail that previously I may have missed. This is especially helpful if I have several different client meetings back to back. For an Android phone, you may have to install a separate app. This article has 10 note apps that could also work on iPhone - each has unique features.

HIGHTAIL: When there are numerous people on a committee and everyone needs to review and proofread, it is time-consuming to have it happen in parallel (one person, then the next, then the next, in bottom up order.) It is especially annoying when one person disagrees with another person, or misinterprets their revisions. It can waste a lot of graphic design and editing hours.  Using Hightail allows everyone to log in  to view the PDF when they have a moment. Easy-to-use sticky notes allow people to review by marking where the change is and asking a question or making a statement. All others can see revisions so it speeds the process along. Hefty monthly fee if you are a casual user, but great for a small business. Shout out to Cecilia Sveda and Brad Hain.

MAGISTO - Have a series of photos or a short video that you’d like to pull together with free music for a memorable social media video? Want to add music to video copyright free? I tried this recently and had good success with a short video (under a minute), but it edited out half of my slides for a longer (2 minute) video. The cool thing was the music I could add without worrying about copyright infringement or paying a royalty. The paid account ($10/a month) takes the water mark off the video at the end and lets you embed into email. Shout out to Angela Dash.

Last Day of the Leaves

What programs and apps do you use to make things easier, faster and more effective? Leave a comment below.

Tools for Making Marketing Tactics Easier