As an entrepreneur, navigating the digital landscape can be challenging without the right tools. In this article, we’ll explore five powerful online tools that should have to build your business successfully.
1) Social media
Social media remains one of the best ways to elevate your brand presence and online identity, as well as to help you gain more visibility or generate sales leads or potential customers.
Some of the popular social media platforms include:
• Facebook: According to research, Facebook stands as the world’s most popular social media platform, boasting over 3 billion monthly active users (MAU) as of January 2024, as reported by Stancy Jo Dixon. It serves as a valuable platform for acquiring buyers through group or page postings. It’s essential to establish a page for your brand and consistently share content relevant to your products. Maintaining engagement with your audience by responding to comments fosters a sense of community and provides insights into customer pain points. Facebook offers a range of features vital for business promotion like marketplace, running ads, and switching to professional mode. Additionally, joining groups related to your business niche can further expand your reach and connections.
• Instagram: It is also one of the best platforms for building your brand and connecting with potential buyers. Consistency in posting content related to your product can help generate organic traffic, even without running ads, thereby generating leads for your business. Additionally, ensure you maintain a consistent brand image and communicate your brand message clearly. Consider creating content that educates users on how to use your product or learn more about the service you are offering. It’s crucial to build a professional profile to enhance credibility, reassuring potential buyers that they can trust your brand when making purchasing decisions.
• WhatsApp: WhatsApp is excellent for establishing credibility for your business since most of your contacts already know you personally or are familiar with your identity. This familiarity facilitates trust-building, and your contacts may even refer potential customers to you. That’s why they often say ‘your network is your net worth.’ I highly recommend using WhatsApp Business, as it offers numerous features for business promotion compared to regular WhatsApp. It includes features like the WhatsApp catalog, where you can upload pictures of your products, their prices, and descriptions that your customers might need. This catalog serves as a virtual shelf to showcase your products.
2. Contact Management tools
Recently, we have become accustomed to entrepreneurs lamenting the loss of their social media accounts, especially their WhatsApp accounts, due to bans or hacks. Imagine finding yourself in this situation – would you be able to retrieve your customers’ contacts? – If not, there is a solution. Enter contact management tools. These tools are essential for managing your social media accounts and safeguarding your customer contacts, even in the event of phone loss or account compromise.
Here are some contact management tools that can address these concerns:
• HubSpot: HubSpot is a contact management tool designed to help businesses manage their sales and marketing efforts. It enables you to store customer contact information such as phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles. In addition to contact management. HubSpot offers other functionalities like lead management, sales reporting and analytics, and sales automation. It can be conveniently accessed on your smartphone, you don’t necessarily need a personal computer. Simply download the application to your phone to access its features.
• Zoho CRM is a tool used to record business interaction history and manage relationships with customers. You can store customer data by uploading contacts, creating accounts, and uploading relevant information. In addition to contact management, Zoho CRM offers other functionalities for customer relationship management. It is primarily a customer relationship management system that can also be accessed on your smartphone. You can download it from the Play Store for Android or the App Store for iPhone.
3. Graphic Design tools
So, if you’re still an entrepreneur who doesn’t see the importance of designing for your business, it’s time to change your perception. Elevating your online presence and effectively communicating your brand message and identity require compelling content. Consistency in brand and community management is also crucial. Additionally, having a logo and brand colors that your business will be recognized for is essential. Creating attractive designs can significantly increase engagement on your posts, resulting in increased organic traffic and lead generation.
Some of the graphic design tools that you can use as an entrepreneur include:
• Canva: Canva is a graphic design tool that offers ready-to-use templates and is incredibly user-friendly, eliminating the need to design from scratch. With just a basic understanding of how elements are used, you can start creating. There are also tutorials available on YouTube to help you learn how to design on Canva. It offers both free and premium accounts while the free version provides access to numerous templates, upgrading to the premium account unlocks even more options. You can use Canva for various purposes, including pitch deck presentations, generating receipts and certificates, designing brand logos, social media posts, banners, mock-up designs, and more. Additionally, it can be used to edit documents and PDFs.
• PixelApp: PixelApp is another design tool that is can be used for content creation. While it doesn’t offer readymade templates like Canva, PixelApp is still user-friendly and easy to navigate. With a bit of practice and basic knowledge of its features, you can create stunning designs. Additionally, there are tutorials available on YouTube to guide you through designing in simple ways using PixelApp.
• PhotoLab: PhotoLab is another graphic design tool that offers templates for creating compelling designs for your business. It also provides various features such as background removal, picture editing, and background editing.
4. Video Editing Tools
These are tools used for creating and editing video content like reels, pitch deck presentation, product display, behind-the-scenes videos, and more. If you’re considering editing videos for your brand, here are some of the tools that can be used for video editing:
•CapCut: CapCut is a versatile video editing tool suitable for creating and editing videos. It also offers additional features like the AI Picture Generator, allowing you to generate pictures for your brand by providing detailed prompts. CapCut provides templates for TikTok videos and offers a wide range of transitions for you to explore. You can access the application on smartphone, free of charge, premium accounts also available for purchase.
• Canva: Canva’s functionality extends beyond graphic design; it can also be utilized for video editing. The platform provides a diverse range of templates that you can easily incorporate into your videos. Additionally, you have the option to edit your video from scratch. With a variety of templates available, you can effortlessly find the tools you need to create captivating videos on Canva.
5. Content Editing Tools
One of the crucial steps in content creation is editing. You might not have access to a professional editor, perhaps due to financial constraints or other reasons. In such cases, you can easily use these tools to edit your content for grammatical errors, eliminate fluffy words, and improve its readability. Some of the applications or content editing tools you can use include:
• ChatGPT: ChatGPT is a popular software that you can utilize to edit your content and optimize your SEO keywords. It’s user-friendly – simply paste your content into the chat box, provide a prompt and ChatGPT will do the rest. Additionally, ChatGPT can generate blog post ideas or topics in your business line. You can even request recommendations for business books, applications, and more. To achieve satisfying results, ensure your prompts are detailed.
Grammarly: Grammarly is another tool used for editing content.
• With Grammarly, you can check for errors, eliminate unnecessary words, and correct any grammatical mistakes or jargon in your content. It thoroughly assists in proofreading your content.
By leveraging these essential online tools, you can make your brand stronger and build a successful business in today’s digital world. They help you confidently navigate the online landscape, setting you up for long-term success in a competitive market.
