Marketing Matters: Powered by Technology
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If you’re looking for specific technologies, hopefully you’ve found where the audience party is and which channels they’re using. According to the MIT Technology Review, the average American currently spends 24 hours a week online – that means a lot of time to interact with digital content! Plus, for conscious consumers, the more digital your business is, the less of a resource trail you will leave. In past blogs we’ve discussed basics about channels but this is the time to select the technologies to support your efforts as a small business leader. Finding the right app or software can make your processes more efficient, your services more user friendly and your content more engaging. There are so many technologies to choose from it can be overwhelming so you may be wondering...
Where Should I Begin?
First, like many things on the internet, people are passionate about which technology services are the best and the worst, so do your research, read reviews and compare what each will offer you. Many technologies and tools from email to CMS to surveys offer free trials or base versions. We recommend evaluating platforms from the inside if you have time – explore the features, how the platform works with your current processes and get as many opinions from your team as possible. However, please recognize that it takes time to really learn platforms and using many new and different technologies at once can be overwhelming. If you have current systems in place, try to test free versions on the side. If you have a side hustle or project, use it as a tech guinea pig!
Why is the technology you select so important? The earlier you have integrated technologies that work for you, the more efficient all your work will be. Select technology that makes your life easier. This way, as your team grows, you can also bring new employees and partners up to speed via your seamless processes. You might realize, in all this set-up you’re going through, you’re setting yourself up for success – your internal alignment is critical to serving customers and delivering value (so you might as well start strong).
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Which Tools Should I Use?
Next, we’ll share a few tools we love that help support small businesses. Five of these platforms were introduced by their channel function in our channel management post, but now we are getting into the specifics about different service providers. So, for example, if you want to start email marketing – where do you sign up and what do you need?
Another thing to keep in mind about digital tools for marketing is that you’re reducing your paper trail and carbon footprint by focusing your attention on digital solutions. Share with your fans on social media about the efforts you are undertaking, and continue to look for tools to further integrate your online experience. These sustainable efforts matter to your conscious consumers so make sure to highlight it!
One of the best ways to step up your digital marketing game is to use a formal email marketing service. From saving templates to managing your contacts, there are a wide variety of email platforms you can choose from. Your email service should match your business size – don’t pay for an enterprise system immediately when you’re just starting out. Constant Contact, MailChimp and Flodesk are three great options for small to medium-sized businesses.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
CMS services have risen to prominence with growth in digital marketing. These platforms allow you to create, edit and delete content from your website – everything from blogs to product pages. CMS programs are designed to simplify the content management process, so depending on the platform you select, you may be able to simply select a template, try your hand at developing some basic HTML and CSS coding skills, or hire someone who can help with this.
That said, some platforms might limit you in the level of customization possible and features will vary by service and pricing. Often, CMS will start with free or trial options and offer more expensive accounts with more flexibility for users. Often, content management, web development and digital design go hand in hand. Consider Wordpress, Joomla! and Drupal as you start, but know that CMS design is hot – more tools are always in development!
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Sites and E-Commerce
Beyond your initial CMS, there are always extensions to consider and ways to take your site to the next level. Even if you start with a free web builder, consider purchasing a domain name from a service like GoDaddy. Securing your domain will increase your credibility and can help you to establish brand consistency across your platforms. It might not feel as creative, but use the same name across your social media handles and web url to create a seamless customer experience make it easy for your people to find you!
Also, if you plan on launching e-commerce, consider integrating Shopify or WooCommerce. You can also explore using Square to take credit card payment. These services provide different support so definitely do your research to find the best fit (in-store and online, digital only, etc). Here’s one article that explains some differences along with a few other options.
Portfolios
If you’re a freelancer or individual contractor making a positive impact in the world, we’d love to help you out (or you should probably think about joining our team!). Odds are at this stage you don’t need all of these tools yet, and that’s ok! However, you will need a strong portfolio that sets you apart from the rest and helps you land jobs. Wordpress, Weebly and Wix offer great CMS options, but also, some portfolio-builders are better fit to certain careers. As a creative and writer, I’m biased to recommend Squarespace and Journo Portfolio.
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Surveys
One of the best ways to get feedback on your products, services and content is directly from your customers and fans. Do not simply innovate for the sake of innovation – make meaningful changes that better meet your customers’ needs! There are a range of online survey tools that are especially helpful to reach a geographically diverse customer base. Qualtrics and Survey Monkey are two of the most popular, but you can even use Instagram polls to test the waters. Take what your customers say seriously and use their feedback to create better content, products and relationships.
Team Management
Last, but certainly not least, let’s talk about team management. GSuite by Google is a great starting point for small teams. Align your calendars, create efficient and clear folder organization in Google Drive to manage content while using editing features and comments to collaborate. However, this isn’t a forever solution. With many projects and moving pieces – as soon as your team exceeds two or three people – having more than a group message will help you better stay in touch.
This is especially critical in a world moving to remote global teams. Microsoft Teams, Slack and GroupMe can help you all stay connected across devices. To organize projects, assets and to schedule content, consider adding HeySpace, AirTable or Asana to your mix. You can even use Calendly or Doodle to help align meeting times with one another or with external clients. Do your research to find what platforms best fit your style and look for opportunities to take back-end tool video tours.
What’s Next?
At this point, you’re probably excited to try new platforms to improve your systems and management – yay! I hope this guide has been beneficial and provided a starting point for your business development, but remember that your research into platforms is an important first step. Define what process success looks like for you and your team and innovate from there.
As a team leader, put in the time to understand and master these tools so you can clearly communicate their implementation for your team, and again, the goal of all this set-up is to maximize value for your audience. Technology is your friend and there are so many services to improve the way you work. Best wishes as you explore and align your platforms, and join us next week to discuss content creation!
Have a question? Reach out to us! We’d love to hear from you.
