Technology has changed the way people live their everyday lives. It is present in almost everything we do – from how we communicate with others to how we go about performing our day-to-day tasks.

For business owners out there, who are still doing every little thing on your own, stop, pause and think. Why are you not leveraging on technology to solve your problems? Or how does technology improve productivity? Well, fret not! In this article today, we will be introducing 6 application platforms that will help to improve your business productivity.

1. Notion

Whether you are working alone, or with a group of people, Notion provides you with a single space to organize everything that matters using blocks. These blocks are special because they are recursive. Meaning that a block can contain another block. Below is a list of Notion’s basic blocks:

• Text
• Headers
• Images
• Toggle Lists
• To-do Lists
• Tables
• Call-outs
• Embeds (Video, Map)

From shared to-do lists to team calendars, to even providing users with @links for quick referencing of teammates, Notion puts everyone in the team on the same page through these blocks. Notion’s clean and minimalistic interface makes it simple for users to navigate the platform. The best part of Notion? You are able to use it for free forever. The only downside of the free plan is how much you can upload. This means you can explore the platform first, and commit to the paid plan much later when you have decided that you really like Notion!

2. Google Drive

Are you often hit with frequent notifications from your workstation that it is running out of disk space? Yes, we feel you; and we have a lifesaving solution for you. Google Drive – a cloud-based storage solution that allows you to save files online and access them anywhere from any smartphone, tablet, or computer.

It is also easy for team members to edit and collaborate on files all at once. Changes made to the document by any team member will be captured real-time. Not forgetting, Google Drive allows users to share files with users as well. For more control over these files, users can click the drop-down arrow to decide whether these people can edit, comment on, or simply view the file.

If you have a Google account, you already have 15GB of free storage on Google Drive. However, if you do find yourself needing more storage space, you may upgrade to a Google One account, ranging from $1.99 to $9.99 per month depending on how much storage space you need.

3. Sprout Social

In 2020 alone, it was noted that over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide. Hence, it is not surprising that most business owners have turned to social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook for publicity of their services or products. Sprout Social is a marketing management tool targeted at helping individual entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and even full-service and niche agencies integrate and partner with social media platforms. Below are the social media platforms that Sprout Social supports.

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Google+
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest

If you are wondering how you are able to utilize Sprout Social, well, imagine this. Instead of having to update and work with every single one of your company’s social media platform pages, you can use Sprout Social as a one-stop location where you can manage everything associated with your social media marketing, including content curation, publishing, scheduling, and reporting and analytics. 

Have a post where the engagement rate is not so high? No worries, Sprout Social will analyse that for you. On top of that, Sprout Social comes with several automation tools to help you interact with your customers more effectively. One example is the Bot Builder function. This function allows you to create social chatbots that are capable of responding to direct messages on Twitter and Facebook Messenger using pre-determined messages by you. Through Sprout Social, you will be able to save a substantial amount of time through automation.

Even though you have to pay to use the platform, Sprout Social allows a one-month free trial with no credit card required. During the trial, you are able to see how the platform works and if its performance is up to standard. Once the trial has ended, you can then decide whether it’s worth it to commit to a long-term plan with Sprout Social.

4. HubSpot

HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales software that assist businesses in attracting visitors, converting leads, and closing customers. HubSpot’s solutions allows you to host web and landing sites, build blogs and email sequences, and manage interactions with your leads and customers.

This is all done while analyzing campaign success and tracking user behaviour. HubSpot has a large variety of tools for business owners to choose from, and these tools are divided into “Hubs” – hence the name HubSpot. While some hubs are free to use, there are other hubs that can be purchased separately. When combined, these hubs come together seamlessly, giving you a full suite of tools across your marketing, sales, and support teams.

If you are new to HubSpot, you will be glad to know that they take customer training very seriously. Hence, do not be afraid of diving into using the platform, because HubSpot has a remarkable library of webinars that will aid you in understanding the process of inbound marketing. You are also able to participate in live webinars and view past recorded ones as well. If you require any help along the way, you will be pleased to know that HubSpot has its help resources readily available to meet your needs.

5. Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software that helps business owners manage the business’ finances at their fingertips. From functions such as accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll, Xero makes it even more simple for you and I to use through its own mobile app – Xero Touch. Xero also uses real time data to allow for up-to-date accounts management. Do you know that a huge percentage of businesses choose to use Xero because of its beautiful interface? Xero allows users to customize their dashboard based on how they personal preferences, and even you to create your very own custom templates for invoicing and quotation purposes. Similar to Sprout Social, Xero offers its users a one-month free trial.

6. Figma

Figma is a cloud-based graphics editing and user interface design application. You can use it to do all kinds of graphic design work from wireframing websites, designing mobile application interfaces, prototyping designs, crafting social media posts, and almost everything else you can think of! You can even work with other team members at the same time, on the same file! The best part? Figma offers a free version to all users. All you have to do is visit the Figma Website to register for a free account.

If you are worried about the learning curve in using Figma, you will be glad to know that Figma has a very beginner-friendly editor where you can create your designs from scratch or using pre-uploaded templates. Figma also offers its users a plethora of resources to use. Nonetheless, if you do find yourself facing some difficulties with Figma, there are many YouTube tutorials available that can take you through Figma step-by-step. You can start with this video –  Get Started With Figma (YouTube).

Conclusion

Through this article, we hope that you will be able to use apps that are widely available on the Internet to improve productivity of your business. These tips to improve productivity should get you moving! If you haven’t already started, what are you waiting for? Go install and explore one today!

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