Best Apps for Beautypreneurs

As an Esthetician and lover of beauty, I gain inspiration from everything around me, including social media. I also want to be an inspiration by sharing the beauty in life and on social. Therefore, knowing what apps are out there is an important factor to sharing in a way that works for you. Even more so, knowing what works best for you is key to really making it happen instead of saying you’re going to make it happen and I’m sure you feel the same. If it doesn’t work for you, you’ll rarely use it, if you use it at all. In the recent weeks of #stayingathome through quarantine, I’ve learned about more apps from friends and from being online more often than before. As a Virtual Assistant that creates content for others, I want to share the knowledge that can keep you up on what you can use to seamlessly share your work online. Play with apps and choose those that work best for the way that you use social media. Some apps you can use both on your phone and laptop, some are better for one or the other or possibly both. Maybe you create posts on the laptop then do some edits on your phone or vice versa. Versatility of using both is great for spur of the moment ideas and for tailored planning.

My picks for best apps for Beautypreneurs are:

Graphic Design

CANVA – My fave is Canva.com is very user friendly and is my fave because of that. I’ve been using it since the beginning of my blogging days. It provides stock images, uploads your personal images and provides ability to curate images with graphics for a professionally cohesive look. Canva has a 30 day free trial for their Pro account, app and desktop use.
PicMonkey – I find that PicMonkey.com is similar to Canva but looks more feminine in my opinion and I really love their selection of stock images. PicMonkey provides stock images, uploads your personal images and provides ability to curate images with graphics for a professionally cohesive look. PicMonkey has a one week free trial, app and desktop use.

Social Media Planner

Planoly – For use on both your computer and phone, Planoly.com can plan your Pinterest Pins and Instragram (IG) posts and stories in real time or for future scheduling. When Scheduling, see the layout of exactly how it will look on your IG page in order to stay consistent with your overall brand vibe. It also allows you to see how many likes, engagements and best timing to schedule your posts for optimized viewing and interaction. You can also use Planoly to post on Pinterest and Facebook, although extra fees apply. Once you get going and develop your system, it’s worth it but I’d start just playing with it to get a feel and go from there.

Stock Photos

Pexels – Get, store and upload stock images for free at Pexels.com for your social media, website and blog.
Social Squares – Be in the know with SocialSquares.com for stock images, social media curation and training on personal branding strategies for IG, Pinterest and email marketing at a monthly or yearly fee.

Scheduling Clients

Acuity Scheduling – A popular and very user friendly, Acuity Scheduling is for scheduling clients in a way that works for you and you can start free then upgrade as you build your business.
Pocketsuite – I started off with Pocketsuite because it seems ahead of it’s time, is also very user friendly for you and your clients, makes you look like a boss because of the text scheduling and reminders plus an in app billing if clients choose to save their credit card information. There are various other upscale features but you must pay to upgrade. I know Style Seat is a similar version yet to me, Pocketsuite is a not so normal version that all other Beautypreneurs are using so it can set you apart. I think its a great way to start and grow your business. Start free and upgrade if you find that this is the app for you.

File Saving/Sharing

Dropbox – at dropbox.com you can share pictures, videos and documents. It’s an awesome way to not have to save it to your computer but you will pay a monthly or yearly fee. Most apps will allow you to upload from Dropbox so it’s probably needed sooner than later to get an organized system going.
Google Drive – You are most likely already familiar with Google which has Google Drive and Google Docs associated with your Google user account. So whether you use it a lot or not you see it around. The ability to pull it up with your Gmail account makes it all seamless and user friendly kind of like if you are an Apple user and can go back and forth between your phone, computer and or iPad. File, upload, edit and share your documents with others virtually or use the app versions without using up your computer space. You can organize it all in a way that is quickly identifiable.

Photo and Video Editing

PhotoEditor – is strictly and app for editing your photos. Download in the App Store.
Adobe Photoshop Express – is an app for editing your photos. Download in the App Store.
Retouch -is an app to retouch and blur out imperfections. Love at first sight once you work that magic! Download in the App Store.
Facetune – It is for just that, tuning the face. Make edits on photos that feature work on brows, lashes, makeup, hairstyles, etc. Download in the App Store.
Inshot – This is for editing videos that will post to your IG stories. I really love and enjoy this one! Make your stories look professional, thoughtful and social view worthy. Download in the App Store.
Unfold – create a professional look for your IG stories, then add them to your IG or schedule them in Planoly for a later date. Download in the App Store.

So there you have it, my picks for best apps for Beautypreneurs! Know your apps and get your social accounts, website and blogs on point. You should be intentional in curating your online presence as a representation of you, treat it as if you are decorating your favorite, most used and seen room in your home that will be photographed for a global magazine.

If you have any issues, questions or need assistance improving or establishing your online presence on your Facebook, IG and/or Pinterest business accounts AND you are a service based beauty/wellness industry entrepreneur or beauty influencer, contact me to schedule a consultation or leave a comment below. I’d love to help!

Love, Peace and Beauty!

XO, Lysandra Joy