With such a large selection of apps, it can be hard to find the right social media tool to manage your business on the go.
As a busy mom and entrepreneur flexibility is often the key to success as I rarely get endless hours in my office. Instead, I turn small moments into mini productivity wins with quick tasks like responding to DMs or designing graphics for social media posts from my phone, and you can to! Embrace those 5-minute gaps so that life + business can fit together harmoniously!
Hi, I'm Brittany, a mom, mystery buff, bookworm, and DIY home decor enthusiast. I love nothing more than finding sustainable strategies to help your business grow into what you've dreamed of. Whether you're ready to invest or just want to chat, send me a DM on IG. I'd love to connect!
Here I'm sharing the exact apps I use to manage social media, build community, and make money online to empower ambitious entrepreneurs (that's you!) to crush their online efforts.
Table of Contents
Here's a quick summary of the apps I use and what I use them for. You can find additional details about how and why I use them below the chart.
Social Media Platforms
Two of the most user-friendly networks you can start on are Facebook and Instagram. No need for a laptop - their apps make crafting content and sharing it on both platforms an absolute breeze! From video editing to posting and engaging with your followers you can do it all with their mobile apps.
There are many, many more social media platforms out there, like Pinterest, TikTok, Threads, LinkedIn etc., and as much as we want to reach as many people as possible, we have to be realistic and not overwhelm ourselves right from the start.
All social media platforms have their pros and cons, and different content strategies to go with them, but trying to master them all at once is overwhelming and unnecessary. Why? Because your target audience isn’t on all platforms, so you need to pick platforms that align with your target audience. If you need help figuring out who your target audience is or which platforms they are on, you can check out Go Get Great Ep. 4 - Should I Use TikTok? to nail down your marketing strategy.
Once you've identified the best platform(s) for your target audience, go and download those apps if you don't have them on your phone already.
Canva
Canva is your new BFF for all things social media, from customizable brand kits to creating reels and resizing social media posts and more, Canva really does it all!
While Canva does have a free version I highly recommend upgrading to Canva Pro - it unlocks access to a Brand Kit, to store all of your business branding essentials to make every post and reel on brand for your business. This is a must to ensure your your followers recognize your content when it lands in their feed.
Canva pro also includes a massive library of done-for-you templates as well as background remover tools and stock photos that'll help you make beautiful content in no time. Even if you only use Canva on your computer, having the app allows you to easily download your designs to your phone if you need to post on the go.
Video Editing Apps
Inshot offers powerful video editing capabilities for free — no paid version needed. With just a few clicks, you can easily crop, trim, speed up or slow down video clips with ease. Inshot also have options to add cool text boxes and transitions, custom font and music to make your content shine and reflect your brand.
CapCut is a close second for video editing, its auto transcript and animation for captions really spice up your reels to capture your followers attention and get them hitting like, comment, save and share. I use both depending on my editing needs and if I'm on an Android or Apple phone.
Edit videos right from your phone with Inshot or CapCut
Hashtag Apps
Hashtag are an important part of your content strategy. Combining small-, medium-, and large-use relevant hashtags that target your dream clients is a great way to get results because hashtags help your content get in front of new people to grow your following. Get creative by combining relevant keywords together to help bring your dream clients right to you today. However, all this hashtag research can be time consuming and tedious.
Hashtag apps make adding a variety of hashtags quick and easy. In Tags is an awesome free app, offering search capabilities with minimal ad interruptions. Flick Hashtags offers more features if you’re willing to pay subscription fees.
When it comes down to hashtag success on Instagram though – knowing which ones are banned (and shouldn't be used) is crucial to reach and engagement and the only way to tell is to check on Instagram so be sure to run your newfound hashtags from Flick or In Tags through Instagram to make sure none of them are banned.
Scheduling Apps
Take the pressure off and make your life easier by scheduling your content and stories in advance to stay present on your even your busiest days. You can easily set up posts, reels and stories to post for you, using tools like Meta Suites (which is free!). Note that not all features are available during the scheduling process such as inviting collaborators, adding topics or adding music to static posts so scheduling likely won't work for all your content but it can offload a large portion of the pressure to be on the app creating content everyday.
Later is another excellent platform, especially for those regularly using additional social media platforms such as TikTok. Later lets you easily schedule content on all your accounts in advance. With its helpful features like hashtag saving, and the ability to post a first comment with every upload - Later takes convenience up another notch! To access these fancy extras however you'll need a paid subscription, but don't forget that this investment can be claimed as part of your business tax deduction at tax time.
Canva’s also has content scheduling features, you can plan your posts and stories in advance right from within Canva. Plus, it integrates with all major social media sites for maximum reach with your designs.
If you're an active Pinterest user, you can schedule Pins right in Pinterest to check out third-party apps like Tailwind is highly recommend.
There are so many options, choose on that you're most comfortable with, I've used all of these options but my go-to is Meta. Enjoy more time offline by scheduling your content in advance so you can be present with your friends and family sans phone..
Milkshake
My milkshake brings all the... followers to my website. Gotcha there didn't I 😉. Milkshake is a savvy link-in-bio app that I used for a long time. Instagram now offers the option to add multiple links in your bio BUT it can't make it look as beautiful and on brand as milkshake does or offer as many link options.
With Milkshake, you can customize your own links page in just 10 minutes! Choose from multiple card options and templates to show off who you are, share the links that matter most, whether that's promoting yourself on YouTube, driving registrations for a masterclass or generating sales from your social Milkshake can make adding valuable information about your business on-brand and effortless
With Milkshake, your followers can find the resources they need all in one spot. Go ahead - check out what Milkshake my link in bio use to look like and take your link in bio up a notch! P.S. Milkshake is free to use and very user friendly.
Bonus Apps
The above apps are an absolute must for me, there are a few more apps that I use periodically which I'll mention here once you've mastered the basics and are ready to level up your content.
Facebook Music - Music selection can be a challenge for content creators who have Business Instagram accounts. Find new audio with ease by accessing Facebook's Sound Collection. Access the music by searching “Facebook Sound Collection” directly on Facebook.
You'll get access to licensed music that is similar to what's available on Instagram and even better: Once downloaded, the files are ready for your Reels or any other video project and can be added to your reels right in the Facebook app before scheduling.
Facebook Messenger - Staying on top of new messages and inquiries can be an all day project, but luckily setting up messenger for your business page makes it easier. With the app already installed on many people's devices, responding to queries is just one tap away - meaning you're able to reply promptly while staying organized! It might not seem essential at first glance, but this small step could make all the difference for your growing business and providing the prompt, high-touch customer service small businesses are known for.
Lightroom - Get ready to wave goodbye to your late-night lighting mishaps! When it comes time for content creation after the kiddos have gone off to sleep, you don't need a filter or an editing degree - Lightroom has got you covered with their pre-set feature. It's perfect if even the best of authentic efforts still require just that extra bit of help and can really bring those details and professional aesthetic across in optimal quality when regular picture settings aren't enough.
Lightroom can be an incredible asset because it goes beyond the basic phone editor, a particularly useful feature is 'straighten', which automatically adjusts wonky angles so that images look great every time - perfect if, like me, lining-up shots isn't one of your strengths.
UNUM - I used this app at a time when Instagram wasn't talking about adding this feature and it wasn't available with Later. Currently it's collecting virtual dust on my phone but, if you're an influencer or just like posting pretty photos, having control over the look of your feed is important then this app will help.
UNUM will let you preview what posts look like in different positions in feed before you post them - think back to the checkerboard feed days where people alternated with light/dark pictures. Not as useful anymore with followers appreciating a more "real" and less curated esthetic in content but if you're worried about bad lighting ruining your branding aesthetic you can always check to see what the photo or video will like like in this app before hitting post on Instagram.
With the right apps on your phone, you are ready to start creating content that will make an impact on your target audience. Once you're familiar with these apps and you're ready to be consistent with your content creation check out the Social Success Planner which will align your content strategy with your goals and transform your social media efforts into tangible income and growth.
Why struggle to find consistency and clarity in your social media strategy when you can have a user-friendly tool that simplifies the process? This downloadable planner empowers you to make confident decisions about your content, ensuring that every post contributes meaningfully to your business's success.
