With the winter holidays behind us, we turn to weekends and spring break as the next big-ticket items on our to-plan-for list. If you’re a social media professional (like me), an influencer, would-be micro-star or a proud social media addict (again, me), these aren’t just times to chill, they’re times to shine!
For social media marketers in particular, holidays are great opportunities to make some noise about your brand without breaking a sweat! You’re obviously getting up to something fun already, so why not repurpose some of it to make your brand pop on social?
No reason! So where do you start, how do you ensure you’re not putting too much effort in the work that distracts you from the fun?
First thing’s first, and it’s up there in the title – invest in an Android phone. That’s right – THE best thing you can ever pack on a trip that’s equal parts for social media fun and social media work is not an iPhone. While Apple’s smartphone king is touted as the best tool for professionals, social media marketers on the go would be best served by the apps and functionalities available in the Android ecosystem, specifically by the lack of a walled garden which gives app developers the ability to customize everything on and about their phones.
So what does Android bring to the table for the traveling social media marketer?
All-powerful photo and video apps – Without even mentioning the better camera that some Android phones tout against the iPhone’s, you can make your pics and vids pop with all sorts of editing apps that let you circumvent most obstacle posed by a tighter OS.
If, for instance, you’re an iPhone owner aiming to record your screen on the go… good luck! It would require pairing your iPhone with a Mac or jumping through some hoops (jailbreaking your iPhone or sideloading apps), while any of the large array of screen recording apps in the Play Store will get you set up and running in under a minute. Your next how-to video can be up on your brand’s YouTube channel before you can say ‘Another Martini, please, waiter!’
All-speed, no-nonsense keyboard apps – Keyboard apps, the kind that come with Google Docs integration and instant translation, like Redraw Keyboard, shave a whole lot of effort on a trip. When your business caters to users all over the globe, you might want to target a Facebook post to users in the country you’re visiting, let them know how you’re enjoying the sights – and do it all on your phone, in a foreign language, without ever having to leave Facebook. That’s how the instant translation feature works in the third-party keyboards that pack it. It’s also a boon to be able to access your Google Docs account right from the keyboard when you’re pressed for time.
Multi-tasking with side-by-side apps – With the release of Nougat, Android now lets you multi-task like a pro, which is what you want to be doing if you’re strapped for time on a beach waiting on your Mojito. You can get a lot more done in half the time if you have, say, your brand’s Instagram account and official blog visible at once and you can send all the hearts you want to your followers on the ‘Gram while writing a blog post with minimal loss of focus.
All-knowing Google Assistant – When you’re hoofing it across Europe (or wherever your dream destination might be), you’ll often find yourself wondering where the best places to eat, while still keeping up with your brand’s social accounts on free wifi, are. While Siri still ‘doesn’t quite get’ a lot of questions, and Apple’s invitation for app developers to integrate her hasn’t been put to use nearly as comprehensively as it could’ve been, Google’s AI Assistant and search hub are a lot better at coming to your rescue when you’re struggling with weird alphabets. Of course, you can enjoy the functionality on iOS too, but Android’s Pixel launcher lets you do everything with a swipe or an ‘Ok, Google.’
Many-featured lockscreen apps – The fast-moving social media pro will agree that the more widgets you have at the ready, the better. Which is where the many, many lockscreen apps that Android users can avail themselves of come into play. Some of the more popular among these apps have a lot to offer us social media addicts in the way of grouping notifications – which can run in the dozens overnight. Lockscreen apps like Echo and Start will neatly stack your notifications, putting some much-needed order into the life of any social media professional who wants to stay on top of things even on holiday, aka when they’re not in their ‘always on’ mode.
Last but not least, many Android phone OEMs offer phones with way better battery saving options than iPhones, which will serve me well when I’m off gallivanting at a rock festival this summer! Over to you now – what’s your next vacay going to look like and, more importantly, how are you going to dress it up on social?
Author bio: Ioanina is a social media marketer and copywriter for T-Me Studios, maker of Redraw Keyboard.
EDITOR NOTE: This is a promoted post and should not be considered an editorial endorsement
