Free Tools for Small Businesses to Increase Online Visibility
As a small business owner, it is never easy to start reaching out to new clients, but you need to do it. It’s also easy to assume that if you cater to a local market, local advertising is all you need. This might have been true, a few decades ago, but now, almost everyone searches the web for local businesses, as well as global ones. Online presence is a must; it’s not a “nice-to-have” or a “maybe-later”, it’s essential for a business to survive, never mind grow.
Ask your friends, family and clients two questions:
“Do you have a SmartPhone?”
“How do you find new businesses?”
The answer to the first question will probably be yes. The answer to the second will either be “internet” or, more likely, “Google.” It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into local marketing; people still search via their phones, tablets or computers first. And also remark that the most growing search term today is some business “near me”. Hairdresser near me, Phone repair near me, beautician near me … you get the point!
However, new and small businesses usually have a tight budget for marketing. With some of the free tools below, we hope you can put that budget to the best possible use, while still making your business more visible online.
Logo: Logogenie
One way to help your customers find you, remember you, and keep coming is back to have a catchy and identifiable logo. A logo can trigger memories of excellent service, or help to locate a business among the fog of competing enterprises. If you don’t have a logo yet, Logogenie will help you create one. Just pick your type of business and favourite styles, and choose from dozens of free logos for your local business.
NOTE: Logogenie is one of the few that will allow you to download your new logo for free, once you have created it.
Website: Weebly
Getting traction on the internet isn’t easy. The most important thing you need is a website. If you’re not very tech-savvy and can’t afford a professional to create one for you, take a look at Weebly. With their easy drag and drop builder, anyone can build a gorgeous website. You can use all the fundamental features for free to tell your customers about your business.
NOTE: For only €5/month you can have a customised domain name, rather than one with Weebly branding.
Booking system: SimplyBook.me
If you offer local services that your clients will need to book, you will want to try an online booking system. SimplyBook.me is an easy-to-use appointment booking system that you can set up in just a few minutes. This tool enables your customers to book your services online, add it to their calendars, and receive automatic reminders for appointments. You can even disable client booking and use it for internal scheduling alone.
BONUS: While scheduling is the core business, the custom features have grown to accommodate the creation of your own website as well. So if your primary business activity is providing services, you can use SimplyBook.me to create an attractive and professional website, manage appointments, AND showcase your services and products. Since SimplyBook.me uses Schema markup for all booking sites, and publishes booking inventory on Google Reserve, you will likely pop-up in the famous Near Me searches if someone is looking for business in your category.
Social media: Hootsuite
Aside from search engines, social media is the most critical channel for nearby clients to find your services and products online. However, as a small business owner, aside from having a meagre budget, you probably have a busy schedule. Hootsuite is an excellent tool for helping you to manage your social media channels all from a single place.
NOTE: The free Hootsuite package only allows you to manage three social profiles, but that is just enough to keep you active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Stock Photos: Unsplash
When a picture says 1000 words, you can’t leave your website, blog, or social posts without them. To help you create exciting and appealing websites and social media posts, you will need images. Stock image vaults tend to be quite pricey for one-off purchases, and populating a website or regular social posts can become expensive. Unsplash has a collection of literally thousands of beautiful stock photos, and every week they add dozens of new ones. You’ll never run out of fresh content.
Email signature: Newoldstamp
If you send regular emails to your customers, you can use every single one of them to shout about your small business. For email signature generators you can’t go wrong with Newoldstamp. This email signature generator lets you add your logo or pictures, website, and social media profiles to promote your business. It has the benefit of giving your emails a fantastic professional polish.
These are a few of our favourite tools for making online presence pop, without having to spend a single penny. Keep your marketing budget for the bits you can’t do without and source the free tools that will improve your online visibility.
