Okay, this always make me laugh. (At myself.)

I travel the country, teaching folks about social media and so, I put a lot of effort into my presentations. I scour books and websites making sure I always put together exceptionally helpful – and hopefully entertaining – stuff.

So it always makes me laugh that the question I seem to get after my talks is often one that has nothing to do with the presentation I had so carefully crafted. It’s one that basically goes like this:

“Yeah, yeah, yeah Don…just give me a list of the online tools you use and save the fancy talk.”

So okay!

Here are 5 tools I use all the time. (I’ll list more in future blog posts)

Google Analytics – Google Analytics tracks just about everything you need to know about your site. How much traffic you’re getting, where it’s coming from, even what links are being clicked on within your site. It’s awesome, it’s free, you need it on your site…yesterday.  http://www.google.com/analytics

Word Tracker Free Keyword Tool – If you want traffic (and you do want traffic, right?) you need to know your ideal keywords.  Although Word Tracker does have a paid version, the free tool probably will serve every need you have as a small business owner.   https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Hootsuite – Twitter can be a crazy, chaotic place. Or Twitter can be a streamlined power mode of communication with your customer and colleagues. Hootsuite can turn scenario A into scenario B. Hootsuite is a free tool that allows you to track your mentions and schedule posts into the future. It also lets you do things like integrate your LinkedIn professional profile. I do strongly recommend, though, that you not use their function to schedule posts into the future on Facebook. (More on that later.)  http://www.hootsuite.com

Skype  – This might be my #1 communication tool. I adore Skype for so many reasons. It’s free. It’s got a dead-simple interface. Sending files over Skype has all but replaced my old habit of emailing them. You can video chat, you can click a button and be talking to a contact over your PC speakers and mic. Again – all for free. Again – I love Skype.  http://www.skype.com

Google Chrome -  I know, I know. I can hear it now “But I love Internet Explorer. I’m comfortable with it.” Well, people said the same thing about their favorite horse when the first intimidating motorcar came along. Does that mean you shouldn’t switch? Google Chrome is a fast, safe and offers loads of great plugins. Plus, it’s as fast as all get out! Try it out for 3 days and see if you don’t prefer it.   http://google.com/chrome

Stay tuned for more Tool Recommendations in future blog posts….

What are YOUR favorite tools to build your business? Let me know by leaving a comment below. And don’t forget to Like, Tweet, Pin and Google+ this post while you’re at it!