Your smartphone is the key to your marketing efforts. It is more important than the computer on your desk, or even the one you carry in your laptop bag. For some professionals, the smartphone is the only computer they use all day. And they really do use it all day.

There are good reasons why this is the case for so many people. If you are always on the go, you can’t be limited to a desktop computer that spends its life in one location. While it may be more powerful, more ergonomic, more usable with all its accessories, and more readable with its bigger screen, it is not any good to you if you can’t be there to use it.

A laptop can go with you. But it is hard to use while on the move. It is a bit unwieldy to hold and use while standing. It can be somewhat challenging to use in cramped spaces like airplanes and crowded subway trains. It may be a while before you can get to a proper table and set things up properly. Tablets are only slightly better in this regard.

The smartphone is not so much the ideal solution. It is just what remains. Here’s how professional marketers use theirs, and how you can do the same.

Constantly

One of the biggest reasons the smartphone is a marketer’s best friend is that it can be used in almost any situation at any time. There are no restrictions other than social. And those are rapidly fading. But one of the drawbacks of using a smartphone so much is that you greatly increase your chances of dropping and breaking your device.

That’s why iPhone 8 cases can be a lifesaver when you pick up your new iPhone. With glass on both sides, there is more to break. And drop tests show that the stronger glass on these devices does nothing to keep them from severe damage when dropped.

The best laptop in the world does not help if you can’t use it when you need it. You can type notes and memos just fine on a phone while you are standing in line with a cup of coffee in one hand. You can’t do that with anything else. Checking your messages is a matter of looking at your phones lock screen. If you can hold the phone, you can use it for business. A marketer needs to be able to get things done no matter the circumstances.

Socially

Professional marketers use their smartphones socially. A marketer’s social media use could be mistaken for addiction. Marketers live on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and every other place where masses of people digitally mill about. These are social, not casual pursuits.

Some of it is direct messaging. Some of it is product announcing. Some is customer service. A lot of what a marketer does is drum up excitement about a product or service. The best place to do that is where people already are. When it comes to marketing, social means business.

Productively

Marketers use apps for productivity. There are very few productivity apps not available to smartphones. Microsoft Office 365 is available, and free to use on phones. The same is true for the Google productivity suite. Note-taking apps abound, including those that can record and accept handwritten doodles at the same time.

Productivity also includes time-tracking, team meetings, group chats, travel arrangements, invoicing, presentations, phone calls, and so much more. It used to be that all this productivity required a powerful computer and the help of a personal assistant. Come to think about it, a smartphone is a powerful computer and a helpful personal assistant. And that is why it is so indispensable to marketers all over the world.

To use your smartphone like a marketer, you will use it constantly, socially, and productively. Beyond the price of the smartphone, the apps to do all the things mentioned in this article are inexpensive or free. Take care of your phone with a good case and feed it a good data plan. It will pay you back in years of productivity.