As a small business owner in a digital world, I’m sure you realize the importance of becoming more efficient and highly productive – especially as clients, employees and contractors are more and more likely to prefer working remotely. That said, like most small business owners, you probably don’t want to break the bank. Below are 3 online tools we use virtually every day to increase productivity while lowering costs!
- Social Media Management: Buffer: www.bufferapp.com
- We’ve done our research. We’ve scanned the web, asked colleagues, tested out over 20 platforms, and read reviews from users all over the world. When it comes to managing multiple social media profiles for your business, scheduling posts, finding great content, getting usable analytics, and integrating with a host of other apps, Buffer can’t be beat – especially for the price! With the Awesome Plan coming in at just $10/month and the Business Plan coming in at $50/month, you have two great options to ensure you’re social media efforts are working for you – not the other way around! PLUS – Buffer just came out with a free image creation tool called Pablo! Definitely worth a look!
- Client Engagement, Management and Online Scheduling: vCita: www.vcita.com
- We all want a more engaging, lead-producing website. We spend thousands of dollars on SEO to ensure we have just the right keywords to show up in a Google Search. But what happens once that perfect client arrives at your website? Do they see your phone number and call right away? Or do they go somewhere else leaving you with nothing more than the knowledge that someone was there…and left? With a tool like vCita, those perfect (and even less than perfect) clients will be instantly engaged even while you sleep. They have a suite of apps that integrate easily into your website that ‘pop up’ as soon as someone gets to your front page. Instantly they can see your availability and schedule a meeting with you or even make an online payment. And much like Buffer, its extremely affordable from the Free plan to the top tier at just $39.90/month.
- “Cloud-based” File Sync and Sharing: CloudShare: https://eversafe-it.com/cloudshare/
- We all know about the ‘free’ tools on the market ideal for sharing non-secure, non-private files, pictures, documents, etc. with family and friends. However, what if you’re trying to share highly confidential business documents where things like privacy, data theft, data loss and compliance are major concerns for your business? This is where CloudShare excels! You can access files from anywhere, collaborate with ease, share files securely, and control your data. For as little as $10/month with no max on users (compared to $15/month for 5 users from Dropbox for Business), you have virtually all the same benefits and then some including customized branding, an Outlook plugin and more!
What tools do you use in your business to ensure a more productive, more efficient workforce? We’d love to hear your thoughts!