Businesses run on technology and apps. From winning new customers to working with colleagues, clients and freelancers around the country and abroad, it’s difficult to imagine a professional environment without tech and apps playing a key role.
Social media is integral to that, especially when it comes to generating new inbound web traffic, sales leads and customers. Instagram, owned by Facebook is one of the most successful social networks in the world. It has over 1 billion active users, with businesses generating a lot more organic traffic through that platform than its parent network.
When it comes to using Instagram for business, there are apps and strategies that will make your brand more successful at generating inbound traffic and leads. For B2C brands, Instagram is a direct channel to customers and therefore revenue. Beyond image-based social networks, there are thousands of apps that are useful to business owners and busy professionals that are well worth downloading.
We have surveyed macOS Setapp business users, and reviewed dozens of apps with large user-bases, to find the most useful apps when working on a Mac. In this article, we cover the 7 most useful Mac apps to download in 2019.
7 Mac apps for business
#1: Instagram
With over 1 billion monthly active user (MAU), this Facebook-owned app is a valuable source of traffic and potential customers for B2C and B2B brands. Consumers love Instagram for posting and scrolling pictures of everything from food to clothes and holiday’s, making it ideal for brands with a consumer audience.
Although many B2B brands have found equal success, generating new traffic and inbound sales leads. According to Sprout Social research, 8 out of 10 Instagram users follow more than one business account and 200 million people actively visit business Instagram profiles every day.
When it comes to using Instagram, there are several iOS apps that improve the experience and quality of the edited images on an iPhone. Until recently, there aren’t many apps that support and improve the user-experience on a macOS device, with Flume being the exception. Flume is one of the best Mac apps that brings the Instagram experience to a desktop, making it easier to edit and publish high-quality content that will get your business noticed.
#2: Evernote
Evernote is a hugely popular and useful Mac app and iOS app for businesses and professionals. With over 225 million users worldwide, Evernote makes it easy to take notes quickly, save information for future reference and collaborate with team members and clients. You can save everything from audio notes, videos, upload files, and it comes with the same powerful functionality on every device.
#3: Dropbox
Any busy entrepreneur and co-founder with clients, colleagues or freelance co-workers elsewhere in the country or world often needs to transfer large files, or collaborate on the same documents with someone who’s not in the office.
File sharing apps, such as Dropbox, are invaluable collaboration tools. Especially when you can integrate them with other popular useful apps, such as Evernote and Google Drive or Office 365. Despite fierce competition, Forbes describes Dropbox as “very useful to have and may offer the perfect package for teams or businesses that share and collaborate on files across various devices and operating systems.”
#4: Slack
Over 10 million people and 85,000 organizations – including CNN, The New York Times and Oracle – are using Slack for everyday communications. It was and still is the fastest growing startup in history, with “77% of the Fortune 100” using it shortly after it launched.
If you aren’t already using it for messaging, file sharing, screen sharing and collaboration, your business is missing a productivity trick without one of the best Mac apps for working with colleagues. It is easier and more effective – and less cluttered – than email, which is why so many organizations love using Slack.
#5: 1Password
Far too many people, including business owners and entrepreneurs, still use simple and weak passwords. With cyber crime on the rise, there are more risks now than ever online. Professionals often need to remember dozens of passwords, making themselves more vulnerable if they are weak and the same password is repeated across dozens of accounts.
Password managers, such as 1Password, offer a better, more secure solution. It includes a random password generator, it remembers every password you save to it, and you can download iOS and Android app versions, to keep your mobile devices secure.
#6: Daylite
Daylite is a CRM for Mac users who run small businesses. For small business owners, CRMs are what you need to start using when client relationships start to feel chaotic, or you’ve got too many clients and sales leads to keep track of within an Excel or Numbers spreadsheet. Daylite is a business Mac app that takes the stress out of staying in contact and being aware of every detail in your client relationships.
#7: Billings Pro
Something else that businesses need to keep a close eye on: invoices and cashflow. With Billings Pro, you can create proposals, turn them into invoices and make sure your clients are paying on time. It includes a quick estimate creator and time tracker, making it ideal for small businesses and freelancers who bill on an hourly or project-based business model.
With the right apps, you can do anything in business. Well, anything that involves a computer or smartphone. Apps are essential for the smooth running of every business. Make your work easier when you find apps that solve productivity challenges that trip us up and slow us down. We hope you find the apps mentioned in this article useful when growing your business.
About the author:
James Dorian is a technical copywriter at Setapp. He is a tech geek who knows a lot about modern apps that will make your work more productive. James reads tons of online blogs on technology, business, and ways to become a real pro in our modern world of innovations. Follow him on Twitter.
