Everyone says that team work is essential in order to make a job successful. Does this only apply to the corporate companies where people go to work all day, everyday? Is it really necessary for us bloggers?
The answer is yes, team work should be practiced all the time, especially where online collaboration tools are concerned.
Google Keep
Google also has a note taking tool – Google Keep – that rivals Evernote.
The tool allows you to quickly take and save notes, photos, voice memos, and checklists; and share them with the rest of your team. It seamlessly integrates into the mainstream Google, and lets users set reminders.
Pros
- Has a beautiful colors that enhance the user interface
- Simple and easy to use
- Fast and responsive on both web and mobile
Cons
- Limited way to organize notes
- Has limited features, no bullet points or numbered lists
Otter.ai
Otter automatically transcribes your audio into text. Text notes full of timesaving ways to search, find, and share with your team no matter where they are. Otter has several integrations with apps like Zoom that make collaboration and remote work faster and more efficient.
Price: Starts at $9.99, billed every month. Learn more on Otter.ai Plan’s pricing page.
Free Plan: Yes, with limited usage and features. Get started.
Here are just a few of the things we love about Otter and the one minus we could think of.
Pros
- Otter integrated with Zoom making it quick and easy to add live comments, delegate tasks, and action items in real-time
- Allow Zoom participants to add photos, audio, and highlights in real-time to create collaborative meeting notes
- Get a text summary of your meetings instantly, no waiting for notes to be cleaned up. No delays, no loss in productivity
- Search within and across all your transcribed conversations
Cons
- Love that Otter is available on desktop and mobile we wish more of Otter Premiums were available in the free version
Asana
For project management, few other tools can beat Asana. The tool is designed to let teams organize, track, and manage their work. It is complete with video calls, project tracking, and handy integrations such as to-do lists, reminders and direct requests as its core features. By updating in real time, it helps project managers run a team of remote employees with ease.
One of the most well-known project management tools, Asana allows users to assign tasks to other members, add followers to projects and monitor deadlines. It’s very useful as a to-do list or calendar for strategic planning.
Pros
- Has a free plan
- Has numerous integrations
- Loaded with plugins to let you modify projects
Cons
- Limits the assigning of project tasks to only one person
- Projects can get complex with the many features
HeyOrca
Finally, a collaborative social media management tool designed for agencies.
HeyOrca’s social media calendar allows you to effortlessly schedule and collaborate on social media posts, manage content approvals, and report on your results… all in one place.
It’s a visual platform built for social media managers that need to collaborate and communicate digitally on content – whether it’s with a client or internal team. Here’s how Alicia from Conversion Interactive Agency describes her experience:
I love that our content creation and client approvals all happen in one simple, easy-to-use platform. It really opened the door for more direct collaboration with our clients and empowered our team to build stronger relationships with them. HeyOrca’s support team is unmatched – any questions or suggestions are addressed lightning fast and they’re always friendly and great about following up.
HeyOrca enabled us to make the switch from spreadsheets — a clunky, outdated process, to a completely seamless workflow that enabled our team to work smarter and more efficiently.
Pros
- Rated 4.8/5 stars on G2
- Free 14-day trial
- Very low learning curve
- Unique pricing model – every calendar comes with unlimited users, social posts, media storage, support, and up to 10 connected social accounts
- Calendar format allows you to easily manage scheduled posts & plan future content
- Visual editor shows you exactly how posts will appear on social media while you create
- Easily share scheduled posts with clients or managers for approval or feedback
- Instantly pull social media reports & share them with clients or management
Cons
- No optimal posting times (Coming soon)
- No paid post promotions (Coming soon)
Other incredible tools:
Flowdock
Flowdock is a group and private chat platform. Its most interesting feature is its team inbox which aggregates notifications from other channels, like Twitter, Asana and customer support tools.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is an online video conferencing software that allows users to schedule meetings and share screens. It’s one of the most popular video tools with millions of users.
Slack
Slack is a popular and well-crafted platform offering instant messaging, file transfers and powerful message search. It has many features and dozens of integrations with other tools like Trello and Intercom.
Slack is a powerhouse among company communication tools. Organize messaging into topic-specific threads, invite coworkers to relevant conversations, and share files. It’s the messaging app every business needs.
WebEx
Cisco’s WebEx provides personalized video meeting rooms where users can to host and join meetings. People can use WebEx for team collaboration, webinars, training and customer support.
Tech is the great enabler
Not only is digital transformation top of mind to ensure smoother business operations, it also paves the road ahead for remote work in the post-COVID world according to our new survey.
Dapulse
Dapulse is a collaboration tool that helps you communicate, set objectives and assign tasks. Its big advantage: it has a great visual design so it’s easy to understand and work with.
ProofHub
ProofHub is a work management tool that offers a comprehensive suite of collaboration and project management functions. On this platform, you can organize files, plan and monitor projects and discuss with colleagues and stakeholders. ProofHub also lets you review and approve files through an online proofing tool.
Redbooth
Redbooth is an easy-to-use project management tool. Its platform allows users to plan and collaborate through many functions from video conferencing to creating Gantt charts.
Trello
Trello has an intriguing interface that resembles solitaire (you can even drag task cards across columns, just like you would playing cards). It’s easy to learn and works well for monitoring projects and assigning tasks. Trello also makes using Agile, Scrum and other project management frameworks easy.
Wimi
Wimi offers users their own ‘unified workspaces’ where teams can manage projects and share files and calendars. You can control access in each workspace with a rights-based system. Wimi Drive, their file syncing software, helps you make the most out of cloud technology.
Milanote
Milanote is one of the qualified tools that can be used for serving numerous purposes including blogging. Using this tool, you can organize creative projects and place them into excellent visual boards. It will provide you a feel like you’re working on the wall in a creative studio. Milanote would be a great fit too for designers who work remotely.
G-Suite: One of the earliest and most widely adopted business communication tools, G-suite is the bread and butter of many businesses. Google Docs, Sheets, Presentations, and other apps offer real-time editing and input.
Dropbox Paper: Dropbox Paper is a tie-in to Dropbox’s cloud storage platform. It’s a great way to annotate files, leave collaborative notes, and work together on a document or project with all your resources on-hand.
Evernote: Evernote is one of the simplest collaborative applications, and also one of the most robust. It supports just about any type of media you need to document, with cross-collaboration that’s easily controlled by who you share notes with.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams: Teams is Microsoft’s equivalent to Slack, with seamless tie-in to Microsoft’s full suite of programs. For companies using Outlook and OneDrive, Teams is an alternative to Slack with nearly identical features.
Zoom: Messaging isn’t just a text platform anymore. In the age of remote work, video and audio are equally as important. Zoom’s platform was specifically built for multimedia conferencing, making it easy to video chat or join a call with dozens of individuals at once.
Dropbox: Dropbox is one of the original business cloud file storage platforms. As a result, it has integrations, tie-ins, and support for just about every other piece of software your business might use. It’s simple interface and superb security make Dropbox the favorite enterprise application.
Box: Box offers the same concept as Dropbox, but with more native apps to improve team collaboration within the platform. Box is also less expensive and offers more flexible plans for smaller teams. Permissions sharing in Box also tends to be very robust, making it easy to loop in third-party partners and clients on specific repositories.
Google Drive: If you’re using G-Suite, Google Drive is already an active part of your business computing experience. Google’s cloud storage platform is free with an email address, extremely secure, lightning fast, and very easy to navigate. Permissions can get tricky, but the native file viewer makes Google Drive worth using.
Conclusion
It’s pretty certain that you know what collaboration is. But how effective is it when done online? There are many collaborative platforms and tools that allow companies and teams to work together regardless of their location.