The Internet is rife with dedicated tools – many of them free – that make it easier than ever for small businesses to compete in a global marketplace. Whether you need tools to help with social media management, communication or marketing, there’s something out there to make your job easier. Here are a few of my favorites:
Twilert
With Twilert you can be notified by email of Twitter activity for any term (or set of terms) you specify. Similar to Google Alerts, Twilert is especially helpful for keeping track of what’s happening on Twitter without having to spend all day monitoring your feed. The filtering options help keep the results pertinent to your business.
You Send It
You Send It has been a go-to service for years for people who need to exchange large files, like editors and graphic designers, without having to worry about exceeding their server’s file size limit. Free for files of up to 100MB, or choose a “pro” program, for a monthly fee. They’ve also recently expanded their services and now offer cloud-based file sharing, similar to other file-sharing sites like Dropbox and SugarSync.
Animoto
Video accounts for 51 percent of Internet traffic – a number that’s only going to increase in the coming years. It is an essential part of a business company’s media mix, but professional video production can be expensive. If you’re on a shoestring budget, there are a number of easy video editing programs out there. One I like is Animoto, which lets you incorporate photos, video clips and music to easily create videos that you’ll be proud to call your own. Free 30-second videos; prices go up from there.
What are some tools you’ve found to help run your business?