Projections are that the note-taking app industry will achieve an 18.5% compound annual growth rate, increasing from $7.04 billion to $8.34 billion from 2022 to 2023, demonstrating the continued movement to digital task management tools.
The allure of these apps is undeniable. They promise organization and efficiency, and many tout simplicity, intuitiveness, and collaboration capabilities.
Source: MMR
However, it might be time to rethink your team’s dedication to a note-taking app. They could make your team’s job harder, not easier.
We’re not suggesting you ditch technology and return to the archaic and decidedly less efficient pen-and-paper approach. Still, there is more effective technology for note-taking, collaborating, brainstorming, and planning, especially when it comes to managing a content process. Let’s look at why even the best apps aren’t right for your content, marketing, or comms teams and what to use in its place.
Reasons To Ditch Your Note-Taking App
Technology is supposed to make life easier, yet all too often it does the opposite. The trouble in today’s digitally connected environment is that we depend on technology to help us get our jobs done.
However, when technology falls short of delivering a simple, time-saving method for accomplishing tasks we used to do manually, it is counterproductive. Here are a few reasons you may want to rethink the app your team uses to take notes.
Your Notes Get Lost in a Vacuum
How often have you researched content trends or come up with a brilliant idea for a new topic, dutifully jotted it down in your note-taking app and promptly forgot it exists the moment you closed it? We’re willing to bet you just took a break from reading to see how many long-forgotten nuggets of information reside in the digital vacuum on your mobile device.
Unfortunately, much like pen-and-paper notes, abandoning digital notes is easy, no matter how important the content is. The adage “out of sight, out of mind” is as true in the electronic age as ever before.
Collaboration Is a Challenge
Many digital tools for taking notes claim to have a collaborative capacity. While collaboration is technically possible for apps that allow multiple users access, that doesn’t mean it’s effective. Your average note-taking app doesn’t provide a streamlined and well-organized platform for team members to contribute jointly to a project.
Even the ability to create separate workspaces or folders can become unwieldy. Keeping track of what occurs within them often requires scrolling through an ever-lengthening list of folders and subfolders. Projects and private communications get lost in a jumble of “notes to self” and interactions.
Collaboration within DivvyHQ
The User Interface Is Clunky
The user experience is a foundational component of any technological tool. An intuitive interface that is easy to learn and navigate can distinguish between a useful tool and one you rarely use after downloading.
A note-taking app with a clunky interface design does not improve your team’s efficiency. Unfortunately, many apps are not intuitive and require time to learn and acclimate to the design, features, and functionality.
What’s more, these tools often have far more features than are desirable or functional, increasing the clunkiness of the UI. They can also feel cramped, with too much “stuff” in a small visible space.
The Process Is Slow
Navigating the features of these tools can be a painfully slow process. Many challenges we’ve mentioned so far contribute to an inefficient design. One of the appeals of using a note-taking app is the idea that technology makes taking notes, communications, and collaboration faster.
However, a bogged-down process counters the benefits you seek from digital tools. Another possible side effect of this sluggish nature is that it might inhibit creativity because your team gets too caught up in navigating the technology that they lose focus and flow. You need your team to flow if you want to crank out content that knocks it out of the ballpark and wows your audience.
You Have To Work Between Tools
Many apps dedicated to taking notes exist in a silo, requiring team members to work between tools and introducing another level of inefficiency. The disjoint is most limiting when the app is for a single user, requiring note-takers to take an additional step when they want to share their notes.
Sometimes a note-taking app integrates with other software, such as project management platforms, allowing you to consolidate task management tools. These integrations certainly improve streamlining, but you might lose functionality when incorporating your project or customer relationship management tools into your digital app for taking notes.
Your Data Might Not Be Secure
Data privacy and security is a significant concern for content operations teams and the businesses they operate within. Sadly, apps are notoriously weak on security and privacy. Server security deficiencies exist on 40% of the servers, and 43% of mobile app developers don’t prioritize secure data storage. Other potential issues with a note-taking app include:
- Data exposure through inadequate transport layer protection
- Prolonged threat after breach from insufficient auditing and logging
- User-side errors, such as a failure to implement security measures
- Malware vulnerabilities in newer device models
The lack of data protection introduces vulnerabilities that can have severe repercussions for your business, especially if an attack exposes customer data at a company-wide level.
Cybercriminals have multiple entry points within the app environment. Once inside, they target personal and cardholder data, user credentials, and device access. Exposures and breaches can lead to fines and penalties, loss of credibility and reputation, and customer abandonment.
Source: IBM
What To Use Instead of a Note-Taking App
Using a content operations platform that incorporates native features for taking notes, collaborating, planning, and brainstorming removes the barriers to efficiency and effectiveness. And when the platform provides state-of-the-art security, you mitigate one of the most critical weaknesses of digital apps.
DivvyHQ’s platform has you covered in both areas. We streamline all aspects of your content operation. Our platform’s Sandbox gives your team space for everything they need for every asset.
Each time an asset enters the production process, it’s given a dedicated space where team members can take notes, message each other, work collaboratively on the same task or individually assigned ones, and upload documents associated with the asset. Our interface is the most intuitive you’ll find.
We also take security very seriously. If you’re ready to ditch your note-taking app, request a demo to find out why Divvy is the best choice.
