Planner Productivity : Mobile Apps

Americans spend more than half of their time online in mobile apps, surely due to their undeniable convenience.  This number is up by nearly 10% just over the last two years, and it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise if it kept climbing.

Putting the binders away for good can certainly be an intimidating concept, but here are some alternatives that might help you at least lighten the load.

Dropbox

There are endless file sharing and storage services out there, but for some reason, the simplicity of Dropbox makes it my preferred option. Effortlessly share and comment on certain documents with colleagues, or keep them private for your own use.

Haystack

Never run out of business cards again. This useful tool is probably more beneficial for networking, but through this app you can create your very own virtual business card, with a photo and all. Email or even text the link, and your contacts are able to easily download your vCard in a single step.  It even prompts them to create their own and send it right back to you.

Mention

Never be out of touch with what your attendees are talking about in regards to your association/company/meeting.  Load your social media platforms and conference hashtags to keep track of any “mentions” about your event or organization.  If you have a talkative social media crowd, this can be even more valuable than a post-event survey.

Pocket Planner

Just like a calculator especially made for planners, this app makes it unbelievably easy to always know the correct ratios for your attendee count.

Planimeter

Perfect for oddly shaped outdoor spaces, get the dimensions with the help of Google Maps.

InitLive

The simplest way to keep track of your volunteers and staff is through this app.  Great for large events with multiple staff “check-ins,” you can create custom alerts and communications depending on the group, date, and time.  The post-event reporting allows you to analyze the data and assess for next year.

Crowd Mics

So much time is lost running microphones out into the audience in a rapid Q&A session. Give everyone in your audience a voice, without causing delay.  More now than ever, in-person meetings are the way colleagues can truly connect.  Through the use of a familiar device, your attendees will be able to anonymously poll, message comments, and above all, use their cell phones as their microphone.