Social Media – Social media and networking websites (think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) have several advantages for small to medium-sized businesses (remember this post?) but there are perhaps two that far outweigh the others: its ability to improve branding and it’s low-cost yet yields high returns.  First and foremost, social media provides you with the power to enhance your brand and raise awareness.  Blogging, creating social media profiles, and interacting with others can help you spread the word about your company and products/services and significantly boost brand recognition and awareness.  Second, social media is extremely low-cost; in fact, most social media sites offer free registration and all you’re out is the time spent doing it but the return can be significant and quickly proffer a large number of visitors to your website.

QuickBooks – The quintessential finance tool for small businesses, QuickBooks allows you to easily manage bookkeeping through a simple, user-friendly interface.  Track sales and expenses, create invoices, and organize your finances.  Plus, there’s an assortment of QuickBooks products from the SimpleStart to Pro edition to ensure you find one that’s apt for your business financial needs.

VoIP – Known as Voice over Internet Protocol, a VoIP for business system allows you to make calls using an Internet connection.  So what benefit does it have over your conventional landline?  Not only is VoIP easy to install (don’t want to purchase a specialized VoIP phone?  All you need is the adapter that lets you use your regular phone), it’s typically less expensive than regular telephone service.  Most VoIP providers charge a flat monthly fee, cheaper long distance rates, and you’ll save money from the get-go since you won’t have to pay for both a broadband connection and a landline.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.