7 free tools for small businesses to improve online presence

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It’s not always easy to reach clients as a small business owner. If you have a local service business, you might think that local marketing is the way to go. But where are your customers going to look first to find what they need? Most people look for and research local services and products online first (Brightlocal) so to improve online presence is not a question of IF but rather WHEN. 

But what if you’re just starting out or on a tight budget? Here are some of the best tools to get you started:

Logo: Logopony

Having a recognizable image helps your customers to remember your name and business which in turn will result in them coming back again. If you don’t have a logo yet, because you rely on word of mouth for your local business, Logopony will help you create one. Just pick your type of business and favorite styles, and pick from dozens of free logos for your local business.

NOTE: If you want to download a higher quality image of your logo, you’ll pay just $19

Website: Weebly

The most important thing you’ll need for customers to find you is a website. If you’re not very technical and can’t afford for someone to build one for you, take a look at Weebly. With their easy drop and drag builder, anyone can create a beautiful website. You can use all the basic features for free to tell your customers

Booking system: Simplybook.me

If you are offering local services that your customers will want to book, you will want to try Simplybook.me. It’s an easy-to-use appointment scheduling system that you set up in just minutes. With this tool, your customers can book your services online, add it to their calendars, and receive automatic reminders for appointments.

Bonus: It also doubles as a website builder when you use the custom features. If your main business is providing services, you can use Simplybook.me to create a professional website manage appointments AND to showcase your services and other services.

Social media: Hootsuite

After search engines, social media is the most important channel for local customers to find your products or services online. But as a small business owner, besides having a small budget you probably are always short on time. Hootsuite can help you to plan and manage all your social media posts in one place.

Stock Photos: Unsplash

To help you with creating your website and social media posts, you will want to take a look at this collection of literally thousands of beautiful stock photos. Every week, Unsplash adds dozens of new ones so you’ll never run out of fresh content.

Email signature: Newoldstamp

If you are sending emails to customers on a daily basis, you can use every single one of them to promote your small business. Newoldstamp is an email signature generator where you can add your logo or picture, website, and social media profiles to promote your business.

Mobile Apps: Appy Pie App Maker

Looking to create a mobile app for your small business without extensive coding knowledge? Appy Pie’s App Maker is the solution you’ve been searching for. With its user-friendly interface, even those with no programming experience can design and deploy a custom mobile application tailored to their specific needs.