Tech Tips For Your Small Business

Starting and running a small business can be difficult, especially if you don’t have much experience with anything aside from your product or service. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in businesses that you may not even be aware of before you start your own business. If you’re feeling stuck when it comes to the technology you should be using to help run and grow your small business, below are some tips that can help you.

Make Sure You Have a Business Phone

If you want to be able to have a direct line with your customers or clientele, you’ll need to have a phone line that is dedicated to your business. Getting an actual phone line may be difficult because it won’t be as mobile as you’d like, which is why getting a VoIP line is probably the best choice for your business. A VoIP allows you to have a line that is available anywhere that you have access to the internet, so you can bring it with you where you go. There were over 35 million lines installed between 2010 and 2018, so VoIP is definitely a popular option when it comes to business phones.

Make Sure You Have Enough Power

The U.S. has the largest interconnected electrical grid in the world, but that doesn’t mean that you will always have the most stable connection to that grid. If you have problems with your electricity, make sure to get it checked out as quickly as possible. In modern times, having constant issues with power outages and blown fuses is something that shouldn’t be happening. If you tend to blow fuses often with the amount of tech you use, consider getting power strips with surge protectors which will help prevent fuses from blowing.

Use Emails and Texts

If it’s possible for your business, ask your customers to sign up to be on your email and texting lists. Both are an effective way to turn potential customers into actual ones. When you send out an email or text, highlight your products and offer exclusive deals or discounts to encourage people to actually click into their emails or texts to see what they were offered. Texting has been shown to be more effective at getting people to actually click your links, so keep that in mind while designing your outreach program.

Optimize Your Social Media

Social media is a given for any business that you start. Social media has the power to increase the amount of attention that your site and business gets with one viral post, so make sure that you’re using it the best you can. You should aim to create content that locks in on your niche to really appeal to your audience in the best possible way. You can also think about the mission statement and make sure that all of your posts relate back to that.

A Mobile Friendly Website

A lot of people use their smartphones to search for things online, meaning that if your site doesn’t load well on mobile, you’ll be losing potential customers and clients. A lot of website building platforms, like Squarespace and WordPress, have features that will ensure your site is probably working on mobile, so make sure that you’re utilizing them.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to get organic clicks to your company’s website. These types of clicks account for the most high quality leads according to 60% of marketers, meaning it is a worthwhile investment. Here are a few ways to optimize your site:

• Choose Target Keywords. A good target keyword is something that someone would search when they’re looking for your business or a business similar to yours. For example, if you’re running a gardening store, you would want to target keywords such as “gardening center” “flowers near me” or other relevant searches.
• Start a Blog. A blog roll on your site will help you be able to rank for more keywords since you will have more content in which you can put common keywords.
• Use Titles and Meta Descriptions. When you’re posting any content to your site, make sure to include your target keyword for that page in the title, at least one header, the actual page content, and the meta description. This will help Google better understand what’s on the page.

When your site comes up earlier in the search results, you are more likely to get more clicks onto your site and therefore get more people to consider purchasing your products or services. Don’t underestimate the power of good search engine optimization!

Cloud Calendar

Being able to keep track of every single obligation you have as a small business owner can be difficult, and that’s why having some sort of cloud-based calendar is so key to your business’ success. Google calendar is a good free option — you can easily add events and invite others to join the events. This makes it easier to schedule a time to speak with your collaborators, whether it is material suppliers or potential customers that need more information.

Keep Track of Your Money

Finances are an important part of any business and keeping track of what you’re earning and spending can help you notice trends that can help you see small issues before they become big ones. Depending on the size of your business, you can either manually keep track of everything that you’re earning and spending in a google doc, or you can find a program that will automatically keep track of those numbers.

Technology can be intimidating at first, but keep in mind that you’re learning more about the topic to help your business. By ensuring that your website is optimized and your social media accounts have relevant content, you can really make sure that you are making the best possible impact on your online presence.

What technology do you use for your business? How do you make sure that you’re using technology to reach out to your customers and clients? Let everyone know your tips and tricks in the comments below!