Working with a team can sometimes get a little messy. You know the old adage: communication is everything. When emails and memos and messages and forms are flying every which way, miscommunication (and missed deadlines) become a big risk. By upgrading your teamwork to an online collaboration tool, you minimize those risks for lost conversations and files. Here are my top five tools to boost your team’s productivity:
1. Google Drive
Google Drive is the online platform to use when you require safe storage for your files. It offers 15 GB free storage for documents, photos, and any other digital files. On Google Drive, files are safe and easily accessible to you and your team from any device—moving seamlessly between documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. For that reason, it is relatively very easy to navigate Google drive. If you run out of the 15GB free space that they offer, you can get a supplementary 100GB for $1.99 per month or 1TB for $9.99 per month.
2. Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage facility that allows you to sync your work from any location and any device. What makes it popular is its user-friendly interface and a frictionless experience. The platform is instantly familiar, and it allows you to share files with non-Drop box users through a link. You can also access your files offline by making them available for offline viewing.
While individuals can access Dropbox for free, you have to pay for the business version that comes with more space and additional features. These features include a higher sharing limit and email support. When you edit shared documents, each person in the team gets the latest version. For personal accounts, Dropbox offers 2GB free storage and up to 16 GB if you refer other people. You can also get 1TB for $9.99 per month.
Dropbox Business, which is ideal for teams, offers a 30-day trial option before subscription. The standard subscription costs $12.50 per month, but there are also two more subscription plans that you can opt for, depending on your needs.
3. Slack
Slack is one of the fastest-growing startups. It has numerous bots and powerful integrations that have made it a substantially popular and extremely flexible collaboration tool. Slack operates in channels. A company has the liberty to create channels to track and filter conversations. These conversations remain available for viewing once you go offline.
Moreover, you can divide the channels according to the project, client, team, or any other category relevant to your business. Plus, the team members have the choice of joining or leaving the channels as needed. It also has a search feature that ensures you never lose a conversation around a particular project. The standard package for small to medium-sized businesses costs $6.67 per month.
4. Base Camp
Basecamp is a decent collaboration tool with an instant messaging platform, a universal search feature, and a simple interface. It is ideal for small team collaborations—featuring a great portal that allows clients to manage projects and deliverables in conjunction with the primary project team, without altering any plans. While the tool is still popular, its features are quite basic for modern project management collaboration, especially for large groups. It costs a flat rate of $99 per month, all-inclusive, and you can only use it online.
5. Canva
Canva is an online-only tool for creative designs that features hundreds of fonts and millions of images. Its variety of free images, templates, and a user-friendly interface is what sets it apart. It also allows you to work in the web browser if you do not have the app or software. When you are collaborating with teammates or clients through Canva, you can grant them access to either draft or finished work.
The free Canva version comes with 1GB storage and allows you to collaborate with up to 10 other free users. However, to experience premium features and to be able to collaborate with larger teams, you will need to invest in the paid version of Canva. With the subscription costs of this version ranging from $12.95 for each team member per month.
As a small business owner looking for a collaboration platform, you should consider your budget, team size, and project needs before settling on a tool. While the options are many, the features are different, and each instrument is unique in its own right. Get something that will work seamlessly for you and your team. If you want an expert opinion on ways to transform your digital marketing collaboration, contact me.
