There’s now an abundance of tech available to make day to day life easier – Uber, Airbnb and Deliveroo to name just a few. Technology like this extends to the marketing world, though many business owners aren’t familiar with it all. Read on to learn about technology to make marketing your business easier.
DIY website
If you’d like to build your own website, I’d recommend WordPress given that it’s intuitive, quick and offers plenty of guidance along the way. Depending on which package you opt for, you can also access plenty of extra features including analytics – though I’d actually recommend connecting to Google Analytics – which will show you how many people visit your site, and what they do once they’re there. Fun for data-nerds like me and pretty useful for business owners looking to understand how to optimise their website to gain more customers.
I prefer to buy a domain via 123-Reg or GoDaddy in case you want to use another website builder in future, as it’s easier to take your domain with you.
Manage social media
If you’re busy and can’t stop work at regular intervals to post on social media, don’t worry – you don’t need to. Hootsuite is respected by social media experts around the world as it allows you to schedule posts across social media channels in advance, as well as paying to promote posts and monitoring competitor activity, to name just a few positives.
According to Techipedia, consistent brands are worth 20% more than inconsistent brands. Being consistent in your social media activity – including regularity of posts, tone of voice and branding strengthens the relationship you have with existing customers as well as attracting new ones.
There are both free and paid versions of Hootsuite – for smaller businesses the free version will suffice, though the additional features of the paid version makes it worthwhile if you want multiple users to manage your posts, for example. See the full list of plans on the Hootsuite website.
Create eye-catching designs without hiring a designer
Canva makes it possible to easily create your own images for blog posts, social media, and website. You can also create print materials like flyers, business cards and posters on this site although most designers wouldn’t agree it’s a good idea because the colour isn’t formatted for print (you’d need to use Adobe Photoshop or similar to ensure colours are CMYK rather than RGB or Hex).
Another intuitive site, Canva will automatically set up a canvas in the correct dimensions for social media, logos, banners and a variety of other artwork sizes. It also presents users with a number of download options, depending on how the artwork will be used.
Again, the free version is very good but if you’d like to resize designs, create a brand kit or have multiple users you’ll need a paid account.
Promote your business in print
Instantprint is a great business for printing flyers, banners, stickers — really most things you could think to print. Not only are their prices competitive but they offer a variety of finishes (from budget to pretty fancy, and everything in between).
They also have on hand designers to check your artwork before you commit to print, and you can even use their new graphic design service to put a full design together if you wish – you’ll just need to provide a brief.
Of course, you could always outsource these areas if you don’t have time for the above! If you’d like help with anything mentioned here, book a free discovery call with us to ask your burning questions!