Small business owners juggle all kinds of different web-based projects, from managing online marketing to connecting with customers over social media. It’s safe to say that things can get a little complicated, especially if you’re running your business alone. Thankfully, small business owners have a wealth of tech tools and services available to them which can make these web-based projects a little more manageable. Here are some smart tech solutions to help ramp up your productivity and take your business to the top.
Hire a Freelancer to Upgrade Your Website
Whether your website serves as an e-commerce store or an informational landing page for local search queries, it needs to be beautiful, fast, and highly user-friendly. According to Inc.com, up to 80 percent of people will search for small businesses online before visiting or making a purchase, but 38 percent will leave a site if they find the website unattractive. If your website could use an upgrade, it’s best to hire a professional. Learning to write code yourself is just too time-consuming! Professional web developers know how to create full-featured, dynamic websites complete with a contact form, embedded videos, and user-friendly navigation. According to Upwork, a good web developer should be fully versed in HTML5 to ensure your website is fast, responsive, and remains consistent across all platforms and browsers. Be sure to interview your top candidates and pick someone with the expertise your business needs.
Engage Your Audience with Quality Content
According to Neil Patel, content marketing is more than blogs and articles. He describes content marketing as a long-term strategy involving the production of diverse forms of content — including videos, podcasts, and social media posts — to boost customer engagement and nurture strong relationships with your audience. Producing quality content will position your business as an authority in your industry and help your customers develop trust in your brand.
You can save a lot of time on your content production by taking advantage of certain tech services. For example, online voice recording software will allow you to record audio for videos and podcasts as easily as possible. Some voice recording services, like Rev, can also transcribe your recordings for a fee, so you can caption your videos or publish a text version of your podcast for your readers to gobble up.
Streamline Marketing and Social Media
Managing your digital marketing channels and maintaining a presence on social media can eat up a lot of your time. Take advantage of automation tools to boost your marketing efficiency and improve your ROI. For example, numerous business owners use HubSpot to develop email campaigns, publish blog content, and track the success of their marketing strategies. Social media automation apps like Hootsuite and Buffer can also come in useful, especially for monitoring your competitors and responding to customer comments.
Manage Your Customers in One Place
Great customer service is the backbone of every small business—and one of the best ways to compete with major brands. But busy business owners don’t have a lot of time to forge strong relationships, respond to customer concerns, upsell products, or nurture leads. If you could use a little help managing your customers, customer relationship management (CRM) software will come in very handy. This software will allow you to collect and analyze customer data, personalize your customer interactions, and ensure your customer needs are met quickly.
Running a business in the modern-day means balancing a wide variety of web-based projects and tech tasks. Fortunately, you have access to several online tools, services, and apps that will help you stay in control. Hire freelancers, take advantage of different automation tools, and try online services that are designed to solve your most pressing tech problems. Without being tied up with these web-based projects, you’ll finally have some time to focus on your business.
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