Modern technology lets you automate lots of social media and email tasks you do during the course of your work day, saving you time and money in the process. These apps have the advantage of working across multiple social media platforms and email programs, giving you more time to communicate meaningfully with your customer base. Are you looking for ways to make the time you spend working more productive? You can find some key automation apps that boost your efficiency and help you work smarter instead of harder.

Edgar for Social Media Posting and Scheduling

A social media management tool and much more, Edgar is a writer’s little notebook on steroids. Essentially, you jot down ideas or share links, and Edgar handles the rest. When you read an article, find an interesting stat, write a blog, take a photo, or come up with a funny quip, you share the information with Edgar and select a category. Edgar uses that information to post on your social media channels. Additionally, Edgar lets you post expiring content, which means you can use it to advertise limited-time promotions and sales.

To guide Edgar, you create a schedule — for example, you tell the app to post tweets from one category twice a week and Facebook posts from another category once a week. This automation relieves you from the task of updating multiple accounts, and it ensures you never ignore your social media accounts. By constantly keeping your accounts busy, Edgar helps to draw continuous traffic to your website. When the app runs out of content, Edgar recycles your old material.

IFTTT for “If This, Then That” Automation

IFTTT , which once stood for “if this, then that,” creates applets, or small applications, that tie your favourite services together. Essentially, this app lets you create if-then formulas, and the app followed your instructions. For example, you want to post all your Instagram photos as Facebook posts or tweets, you can use IFTTT to do that. You’re creating an applet that uses the formula: If I post something on Instagram, then post it for me on Facebook or Twitter as well.

You can also create applets for more complicated applications. If you use services such as VisualPing.io to monitor traffic on your competitor’s website, they tend to automatically send lots of emails. But by using IFTTT in conjunction with the monitoring program and your email account, you can create an if-then applet that suppresses most emails but lets the significant ones through.

Though previous versions of IFTTT limited you to two-step applet creation, the app now provides additional functionality. It lets you run applets on-demand via the widgets, and it also lets you use applets with filters that only run when the function meets certain conditions. This sort of functionality has potential to save time and boost efficiency in your personal and professional life. As you use it, you’re likely to find a lot of ways it can help you get more done in a day.

Zapier for Multi-Step Automation

Zapier , an automation program similar to IFTTT, lets you create zaps instead of setting up if-then scenarios. Zaps consist of a trigger and a series of actions to follow it. Though IFTTT is free, proves easier to use than Zapier, and gives you access to formulas or recipes created by other users, Zapier has its place.

Zapier lets you incorporate several steps into each zap, building work flows with fill-in-the-blank fields. Additionally, Zapier has more processes for businesses – it’s compatible with niche corporate apps. You can use the basic tools, one-to-one app connections, and a certain number of zaps for free each month, but if you want the full program that lets you build more workflow steps, you must pay a subscription fee.

Automation can help you post on social media at optimal times and master everyday emails tasks. This gives you more time to focus on your core business and client projects. The QuickBooks Self-Employed app helps freelancers, contractors, and sole proprietors track and manage their businesses on the go. Download the app today.