Running a business today is easier than it has ever been before. There is an endless amount of online tools and apps available to you right now. And the best part is that a lot of them are free to use! Whether your business is big or small, this list will give you a few options worth checking out!
Google has a ton of free resources for your business to use. Starting with one of the most widely used tools from Google, Google Drive. Drive is completely free and gives your employees the power to share and create documents, slideshows, spreadsheets, etc. Multiple people can edit at the same time, and leave comments on work. This makes collaboration incredibly easy, and intuitive.
Google Analytics makes it easy to discover more about the people that visit your website. You can keep track of how users interact with your site, and more about the people who visit. Google Analytics is a freemium service, so more advanced features require a monthly subscription.
Google My Business may be something you think you are unfamiliar with, but chances are that you have interacted with a businesses’ page before on Google. Google My Business is exactly what it sounds like; when you Google someone’s business, their business’ profile shows up. This is where customers can leave reviews and photos, and the business can respond to them. Having good reviews and having appealing photos on your page, will make customers want to come to your business. Setting up a Google My Business page for your brick and mortar business is both free and essential!
Communication
Keeping in contact with your team is always important, so you might want to check out Slack if you haven’t already. Slack is free for small to midsize businesses, but can be upgraded. Slack makes it easy to communicate with everyone on the team, a small group of people, or directly to one person. Creating different channels for different types of conversation makes staying in contact effortless. Slack is also integrated with a variety of different apps and websites related to business and productivity, which is a huge plus!
Social Media & Design
Buffer is a budget-friendly option that gives you the power to schedule and plan out your business’ social media posts ahead of time. This is a great time saver, and you won’t have to worry about posting on certain days. If you plan ahead, Buffer will just do it for you! You can schedule up to ten posts at a time on three different social platforms for no charge. However, If you know that you will need more than what the free account offers, you may want to look into the paid version that starts at $15 a month.
Don’t know how to create a visually appealing social media post or advertisement? Canva is a great resource for that, and is free to use! Like always, there also is a premium version, Canva Pro. Paying for the upgrade does unlock more features, but the free version is great for most people. Canva also has extensive templates for you to use or to take inspiration from if you are wary about designing things. They have the right dimensions for any kind of post, ad, story, or banner from most major social media platforms. Super simple and easy to use, Canva is definitely worth checking out.
Networking
Business cards are starting to become a thing of the past, especially with social media. If you have something to promote, you probably have multiple accounts on social media. But how do you promote yourself across all of these platforms? InLink is a free tool that allows you to put all of your social media, phone, email, website, forms of payment, etc. in your bio as one link. When people click on this link, they are taken to a microsite with all of your contact information on it. All they have to do is simply click, and are taken to anything listed on your profile. Use it in your Instagram, Facebook or even TikTok bio! InLink is free to use, but also has a pro version available that has even more features.
Conclusion
There are a ton of resources out there for your business in this digital age. Although not all of them are free, there are some freemium options out there that might work well with your business. Becoming an expert business owner is important today, because there is a lot of competition out there. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and become the best business owner you can be with all of these free resources available for you to use now!