5 Online Processes Small Businesses Should be Automating

For small businesses, every second counts. Whatever drains time or energy away from your most important responsibilities represents a problem that needs to be fixed; luckily, there are a whole host of automation options that can take care of those smaller jobs while you concentrate on what really matters.

1. Social Media Monitoring

Most businesses have come to appreciate the importance of being active on social media, whether that means contributing to industry thought by posting on LinkedIn or connecting with customers through Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, monitoring traffic and creating posts can take up a lot of time, so use a social media tool to stay on top of updates and automate monitoring. They can identify when you are mentioned, parcel your updates so they are quicker, and generally save you time and effort.

2. Marketing Emails

If you have an online presence, you need to be building an email list and sending out messages on a regular basis. You’ll want to do that smartly, but getting into the details can take time. Use an email automation platform to assemble subscribers, process any opt-outs from your mailing list, send out emails at a certain time instead of doing so manually, and even sort subscribers into different groups based on their previous responses.

3. Invoicing

There’s nothing like getting paid, but even sending out invoices can eat into your time. Once again, automation platforms can help. At the very least, you can automate any recurring invoices, as well as any recurring bills. You can also use platforms that track issue dates and then send reminders if the due date passes, and many online bookkeeping services will automatically link with your bank account to make tax returns easier to complete.

4. Backing up data

Small businesses are particularly at risk from the damage that can be caused by a data loss or breach. Make sure that your systems stay protected and your data records remain up to date by employing a backup support solution. Managed IT service providers can help to ensure your business stays safe without you having to worry.

5. Analysing Online Traffic

You probably already know about Google Analytics, which lets you know just how web users are interacting with your website. However, you might not be aware of the wide range of automation platforms that can make analysing that information a lot faster, easier, and ultimately more effective. You can use add-ons to provide automatic reports and supply exactly the kind of data that you’re after.