5 FREE online tools you should be using for your business

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Most small business owners are in the same boat – short on funds, hands and time. Here are 5 FREE online applications that I use to get organised, save time and save money.

1. Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

How many times have you sent an e-mail that is returned or undelivered because the file size is too big? Sick of waiting ages for your mail client to send/receive that 2MB e-mail? Worried that if your laptop is stolen, you’ll lose all that work?

Download Dropbox to your PC and the app will create a new folder where you can store all the files you want to share including documents, photos and videos (there is an option for private folders.) Instead of e-mailing files, you can simply ask client or employee to download the application and all your shared files will be available to them almost immediately. You can install Dropbox to your laptop, mobile phone and desktop computer and files will all be synchronised – make a change to one file version and it will make the change to the others. My personal favourite is the fact that I can access these files anywhere, at anytime, on any PC - simply by logging into Dropboxes website.

Take a video tour of Dropbox here.

2. Skype

www.skype.com

Every penny counts, so I love businesses that allow me to call them using a Skype profile – imagine what you’re saving in phone bills being able to talk for free. Conference call other Skype profiles for nothing or add a phone or mobile at a reasonable cost. Out of the office? Never fear, Skype is available for mobiles. The share screen function is fantastic for online meetings – but if I do need to e-mail a file, I can do that through Skype too. SMS, video conferencing and instant messaging. Skype has it all.

3. Surveymonkey

www.surveymonkey.com

Big business uses Surveymonkey and so can you. Create an online survey of up to 10 questions and with 100 responses for free before you have to start a new one. There are 30 survey templates to choose from or you can create your own. Answers can be multiple choice, one word answers or full comments/suggestions. You can share your survey through various social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter or by e-mail or even via a webpage pop-up. What amazes me is that upgrading to an account allowing unlimited questions, up to 1 000 responses and downloadable results only costs R200.00 per month.

Take a tour here.

4. Hootsuite

www.hootsuite.com

The biggest excuse I hear from people NOT using social networking for business is that they don’t have the time. There are so many Facebook business pages that were created with great intentions, but hardly have any posts or owner engagement. Posting consistency is vital to any social network marketing campaign. Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts on a variety of SN channels including Facebook and Twitter. You can spend an hour or two on a Sunday evening creating posts for the week and scheduling them for posting at optimal times. The free version allows for up to 5 SN channels per user and you can upload links, pictures and video for posting as well as track click stats and retweets. Don’t become completely reliant on it though – a few real time posts during the week (when you have the time) is a good idea.

Check out all its features here.

5. MailChimp

www.mailchimp.com

This little monkey is a powerful tool used to design e-mail campaigns and manage your mailing lists. The choice of features is initially mind boggling, but take the time to read through their series of bootcamp e-mail tips and you’ll be designing sending out professional looking campaigns in no time. I find their support and FAQ topics extremely interesting and helpful in understanding things like spam filters, ect. plus there are about 10 MailChimp guides in their resources section to help get you on your way.

Want to see more? Then visit my blog at www.firebirdash.blogspot.com and view Another 5 FREE online tools you should be using for your business.

Do you have any tools that you'd like to share?  Tell us about them in the comments area.

Don't miss watching this one! A webinar (a free online seminar) TONIGHT by Social Media Today on "Social Media as a Small Business Tool". Book your seat now at bit.ly/…

Comments

  • Otto Schmid
    Otto Schmid Monday, 14 November 2011

    Hi Shelley

    Very good article! I think most people know about skype and the other tools (including those on your blog) are also very useful. The one thing I just wonder about is putting ones confidential data in the public domain. Any thoughts about that?

    Bye
    Otto

  • Shelley Finch
    Shelley Finch Tuesday, 15 November 2011

    Hi Otto,

    Wow, that's a tough one. I like my clients and business associates to know that they're talking to a real person - not one of those faceless brands. I want them to find me easily approachable and supportive. The only way to do that is to put myself out there personally - I am essentially my brand. Sharing some of my personal data online is necessary, but I'm selective about what I share and I always keep track of where I'm sharing it. My e-mail addresses, phone numbers, ect. can all be changed if I ever ran into real problems. I try to keep my personal and business profiles as separate as possible - you'll never find me adding a client as a Facebook friend.

    It's really up to how much you feel your customers need to know about you and whether knowing that information will build their trust in you. As small businesses, trust is one of my biggest assets.

    I must admit, I'm more concerned about the information I DON'T KNOW I'm sharing - like websites and social networking sites that track my interests, what I read, what I eat, who my friends are. It's a battle keeping tracking of new ways businesses find to collect your private information without knowing it. My advice is too be cautious and keep your educated on how your information is collected and shared.

  • Otto Schmid
    Otto Schmid Wednesday, 16 November 2011

    Hi Shelley,

    Actually now that you mention it, there are 2 aspects of confidential data. The one is personal data which as you say one needs to be careful of in terms of not knowing what one inadvertently shares. Some people are very surprised when they find out how much information can be gathered about them in a simple excercise. I'd like to also think I'm cautious but one never knows. My theory is - as soon as you put info on the web no matter what the confidentiality promises it can and probably will eventually become public knowledge. It's just a matter of time. Then Google's motto kicks in - "do no evil" So one can only hope....

    The other aspect I was thinking of was Intellectual Property. When you put your work into the cloud on the web, people might steal your ideas / work etc. I was wondering if that could maybe become an issue? Especially when it comes to graphic design

  • Shelley Finch
    Shelley Finch Monday, 21 November 2011

    Hi Otto - apologies for the delay in replying - hectic week! :)

    Apart from digitally watermarking your work or using setting up your website to prevent people from downloading images, there is very little you can do to prevent it being downloaded and copied. Unless you don't upload it at all. It's unfortunately the nature of the internet.

    You have got me thinking about the intellectual property issue though - I'm going to do a bit of research into that and maybe do a blog post about it.

    Great question!

  • Dylan Phelan
    Dylan Phelan Monday, 21 November 2011

    Personally I use Tweetdeck as opposed to Hootsuite - I have not tried the latter. Mailchimp, I do find rather expensive - especially once your mailing list grows quite big. Most small business's mailing lists are fairly small and your normal hosting setup will be able to handle the bulk emails; in this scenario it's ideal to have a newsletter system integrated into your website.

    I have not yet tried Dropbox, but will def take a look at it!

  • Shelley Finch
    Shelley Finch Tuesday, 22 November 2011

    Thanks for your feedback on this Dylan - always interesting to know what other people find easier and better to use. I have seen a lot of Twitterers using Tweetdeck - will go and check it out too. I chose Hootsuite simply because of the dashboard layout - I deal with up to 30 social networking accounts and it just made sense to me.

    Re: MailChimp - definitely can get pricey when your database gets big and I agree that newsletters should be integrated into your webpage. I'm using it until my webpage is completed and I can fly solo :)

  • Dylan Phelan
    Dylan Phelan Tuesday, 22 November 2011

    I had another look at Mailchimp yesterday and saw that with up to 2000 subscribers it's free?! - any catches or limitations there?

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