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5 Tools for Online Success
"Having an effective web presence isn't easy, having one that produces positive results is even harder"

Having an effective web presence isn’t easy, having one that produces positive results is even harder. While every business is different, there are some great tools we use to help keep our business ahead of the pack and I’m here to share them with you today.

SproutSocial

Managing the social aspects of your business is no longer something anyone can ignore. Regardless of if you’re in a sleepy town of a few hundred, or a busy city of millions, social is critical to success.

One of my favorite features is SproutSocial’s ability to differentiate between “Engagement” and “Influence” across all your social streams. Just because you have 10,000 likes on Facebook doesn’t mean you have a good social following. Is your audience listening, and are they re-sharing your content?

MailChimp

If you’re still manually managing your own email lists, life just got better. MailChimp makes it easier than ever before to manage, communicate and report on the email engagements you have with your customer base by allowing you to effectively communicate updates and important announcements.

Online newsletters result in great engagements and are much cheaper than physical mail. MailChimp’s pricing is designed to grow with your business, so when you start out your account supports 2000 subscribers before you have to pay anything. It just makes sense!

Olark

Open up a quick and easy communication channel with visitors by supporting instant chat. Most online experts say you have about 30 seconds from the time someone visits your website to win them over, after 30 seconds the chances of any engagement drops significantly.

If you we’re able to setup Google Analytics on your site, you’ll be able to setup Olark. Elevate your business to the level of Rackspace and Amazon by providing a personal touch and truly communicating with your website visitors.

Dropbox

When you’re starting out managing shared storage between staff is difficult and a low priority. Security, backup and keeping things searchable are just a few of the problems you face and it’s frustrating!

Having been around for a while now, the trusted storage platform always keeps your files in sync. Why do it yourself when a free account comes with up to 18gb storage, and for less than you spend on coffee you can upgrade to 500gb?

Verelo

While I’m biased in this area, my opinion has been hard earned. What’s the point in having a great website if its not online? That’s why I started Verelo.

In order to have a website that works it must be online, loading quickly and malware free. We watch your site and make sure it’s all of these things, and if something goes wrong we’ll send you an email, SMS or phone call. We want you to sleep easy, so jump on over and create a free account today.

There is a lot to having an online presence that works, and while its different for every business, the key is being one step ahead of the rest. Spend your time where it counts by leveraging the tools that exist on the market, and only spend time on things that actually benefit your customers.

________________

Based out of Toronto, Canada (originally from Australia), Andrew McGrath has become known for being a programmer that can communicate. Starting his first business at age 16, he is a serial entrepreneur that loves the challenges that come with business. Currently Andrew is the CEO and co-founder of Verelo.com and part of the first cohort of Extreme Startups technology accelerator.

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