Base Simply is a company that helps content creators and business owners with their Airtable needs.
Some common Airtable use-cases are blogging, project management, event planning, freelancing, startups, accounting, and product management. Specific ideas include using Airtable as a content calendar, task manager, CRM, expense tracker, or KPI dashboard.
Now, let's start with some ground rules. This list is going to get pretty long. But you're not allowed to get overwhelmed! Need a simple use case for your newfound Airtable passion? Just pick one of the examples we explain below and get started! The cool part is that Airtable is easy to dive in but can also eventually grow to become the backbone of your business.
We use Airtable because it is a tool with a great track record that is easy enough to use for simple things like task management, but powerful enough to run your entire business as it grows.
The best way to know if it's right for you? Read through our blog post on the top 10 ways people are using Airtable in their professional life!
Let’s dive in!
1. CRM Uses (relationships)
CRM is a business term that stands for Customer Relationship Management. The purpose of CRM is to manage relationships strategically to maximize the value they provide to the company and its customers.
But that textbook definition misses the mark on the true value of a CRM because it puts too much focus on the word "customer". Other great uses for CRM's are partnership management and even personal relationship management!
Whatever the capacity, CRM's are a crucial tool for any business. By using Airtable, companies can create customized CRM systems that work perfectly for their needs.
It's important to know who your customers are and what they want. That way you can provide the best service possible. CRM systems can be expensive, but luckily there are alternatives like Airtable that you can use to track customer data.
A few specific CRM use cases are outbound leads, sales, and outreach.
Here's a simple CRM workflow that can be easily tracked and streamlined in Airtable:
1. Collect contact information
2. Record interactions
3. Schedule follow-ups
2. Blogging
We here at Base Simply have a lot of experience in content marketing and love helping entrepreneurs with their blogging.
We've found that the easiest way to keep up with our blog posts is by using Airtable.
I've been blogging for years now, and I've seen the world of blogging go through a lot of changes. But one thing has remained constant: the need to stay organized in order to be successful.
Airtable can help you do just that! It allows you to manage templates ahead of time so they are ready when it comes time for your next blog post or article. You can also easily collaborate with others on these processes by adding them as members too!
We've written a longer article on how to use Airtable for a travel blog content calendar. Some of those ideas can be great inspiration for bloggers in any niche.
A few specific ideas for ways bloggers can take advantage of Airtable are use cases in SEO, Content/Editorial Calendars, Idea Collection, Keyword research planning, and more!
Here's a great SEO workflow that we use in Airtable for blogging:
1. Collect Keywords
2. Record Metrics
3. Track Article Production
3. Marketing
Airtable is a powerful tool for social media marketers. It can be used to keep track of all your posts, hashtags, and analytics in one place. The mobile app makes it easy to update on the go so you never miss out on an opportunity for engagement. But even more powerful is its use of automation to do things like posting directly to Twitter.
The social media landscape is rapidly changing. Gone are the days of one-way broadcasting and a passive audience sitting on the sidelines. It's now an interactive, two-way conversation that can't be ignored if you want to be truly effective in driving engagement with your content, boosting visibility, and gaining new followers.
All of that takes a lot of work and even more organization.
One of the best Airtable ideas that help solve this problem is social media calendars.
Social media has become an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy. Creating and sharing content on social media is a great way to grow your audience, increase customer engagement, and drive traffic back to your site. However, the sheer volume of posts across all platforms can make it difficult for you or your team to stay on top of things. That's where a social media calendar comes in handy!
Here's a simple workflow for managing a social media calendar for Twitter in Airtable:
1. Write Tweet Copy
2. Get approval
3. Schedule automated post
4. Project Management
I did engineering project management work for over 4 years and wish I had found Airtable sooner!
Now, I manage a ton of projects at Base Simply, and I've been using Airtable every step of the way. It's so easy to use that it has made my job easier than ever before.
Project managers need an efficient way to keep track of all their tasks, meetings, deadlines, and deliverables in one single place without having to switch back-and-forth between different tools.
Whether you focus on the Agile philosophy and the SCRUM methodology or are a certified PMP, Airtable is the solution you need to help identify potential problems and address issues as they arise.
Here is a simple project management use case, but remember Airtable has capabilities for Agile frameworks and anything else your company uses:
1. Assign tasks
2. Group tasks by team member
3. Follow up on outstanding items
5. Event Planning
We're all about event planning. Or maybe we're all about event attending. I don't know. But what I do know is that Airtable has a ton of uses for event specialists.
With Airtable, you can import your entire guest list as well as enter data about everyone who will be attending your event - including their dietary restrictions or allergies.
It can be a challenge to keep your event planning organized and on schedule. From the time it takes to plan an event, to the resources needed to make it happen, many things can get in the way of success.
Companies can use Airtable to create event lists, send email invites, assign tasks to team members, upload proposals and contracts with clients, track expenses from vendors or sponsorships from brands, and more.
6. Freelancers
Okay, as a freelancer, you probably recognize some inspiration in every section of this article on how to use Airtable. But that's honestly why Airtable would be perfect for you!
Airtable is an all-in-one business management solution that can be used by freelancers to streamline the entire process. It has features like CRM, project management, time tracking, and invoicing which come as a blessing for freelancers who are often juggling multiple projects at once.
Here's a nice example of how a freelance could use the Kanban view in Airtable for lead tracking:
1. Document notes on incoming leads
2. Track lead progress through
3. Send automated emails for reviews from past clients
7. Inventory Management
How many times have you been frustrated by running out of inventory? It's a problem every retailer faces and it can be even more complicated in the e-commerce world. You need to make sure that your inventory is always stocked, but without spending too much time managing it.
The inventory management process is more than just a numbers game. Companies need to keep tabs on how much they have in-store, and at the same time, make sure that customers can purchase what they want when they come into the store. But with so many products coming in from different suppliers and manufacturers, it can be difficult to stay on top of inventory.
That's where an online database like Airtable can be such a valuable tool for companies looking to streamline their operations and improve customer satisfaction.
Here is an example of inventory tracking data inside of Airtable:
1. Pull inventory pricing data
2. Scroll through the product galley to find a specific item
3. Report on latest pricing when needed
8. Small Business Accounting
Okay, so Airtable isn't QuickBooks. But that could be a good thing for Small Businesses!
With a smaller price tag and more personalization, the accounting use case that Airtable provides is just another great example of its diverse capabilities.
Many small businesses are burdened with the time-consuming task of managing their finances. They need to make sure that they're keeping track of all their accounting records and transactions to avoid any discrepancies or errors. It can be a tedious process, especially for those without any background in accounting.
What if you could use one platform that manages your financial data alongside your other business information? That's what Airtable does - by seamlessly integrating into your business for things like invoice automation, expense tracking, and even timesheets if that's something you need. And because it's cloud-based, no installation is necessary and you could even easily enter expenses on your phone!
Financial Tracking is another way to use Airtable and here's an example workflow:
1. Document Account Balances
2. Upload transactions
3. Plot Net Worth
9. Startups
In the last year, there has been a surge in data-driven businesses. Entrepreneurs are looking for ways to optimize their processes and stay on top of trends. Airtable is an easy-to-use database that can be used for all aspects of the business.
Whether it's tracking marketing ideas or keeping tabs on exploding topics, Airtable really should be a tool founders use to launch new businesses.
It's free to get started and doesn't require any technical skills or knowledge other than knowing how to create a spreadsheet. But! The software is also powerful enough to be used as the backbones of your new app so there are a ton of use cases here.
Airtable really has such a wide range of applications that startups can choose from that it shouldn't be hard to think one up and get started. OKR? KPI? Just think of an acronym really and create an Airtable process for it!
10. Product Management
Product management is a tough job. You need to keep your team focused on the product, maintain momentum, and make sure you’re always delivering what customers want. If that sounds like an impossible task- it's not!
Part of being a good Product Manager is knowing when to outsource tasks to tools like Airtable.
Airtable is a great solution to build company-specific solutions for managing products from ideation to launch and everything in between. With so many moving pieces it's not always clear how to get the best results for your business.
One of the most important things product managers do is create user stories, which describe what users can accomplish with their products. User stories help teams think about who they're designing for and ensure that everyone on the team knows what they're trying to achieve with each new feature release. That way, nobody gets surprised when it comes time to launch!
Use Airtable to keep track of all those user stories with pretty galleries and custom categories for better management of all those feature launches.
What exactly is Airtable anyway?
Airtable is a web app that makes it easy to capture, organize and share data. With simple drag-and-drop functionality, you can create tables with related fields or columns of information, which are then automatically connected in meaningful ways.
The problem with typical spreadsheet software like Excel is that the connections between different cells make the formulas difficult to follow and understand. In contrast, Airtable organizes all your content simply so you can easily see how one record relates to another.
As an entrepreneur, I use this tool for SEO research on keywords for blog post ideas as well as content calendar planning and even just general project management. Plus, the free version got me really far! I still help people create powerful tools on the free version of Airtable today!
Conclusion
You want to level up your business with Airtable use cases but don't know where to start.
Airtable is a powerful, flexible tool for organizing everything you do. It’s great to use on its own but it also works well with other applications and services. However, getting up and running can be challenging without the right resources or guidance.
Base Simply is a team of experienced content marketers and project managers who have run hundreds of projects and grown their businesses to new heights and we're here to help you, too! We've created templates for Airtable that will make it easy for you to get started with CRM, blogging, marketing, or project management. Just follow the steps in our guides and you'll be on your way to success!
Airtable is powerful enough for enterprise companies like Salesforce and Google, yet easy enough to use that anyone can start using it right away.
While there are plenty of resources out there to help learn how to get started with Airtable, most focus on general uses or have outdated information that doesn’t apply directly to you.
Base Simply creates templates designed specifically for bloggers, marketers, managers, and more who want to start using Airtable quickly while taking advantage of all its free features. We keep our templates updated so you always have access to the latest best practices in your industry as well as new features that come along with every update from Airtable!
Follow the step-by-step instructions in our guides and build an Airtable base using one of our premium templates. Once you've built out your new system using Airtable. Our templates manage all the mundane aspects of content creation so that you can focus on growing your business instead of worrying about whether or not your business systems are working.
