Although technology changes constantly, there’s always a way to use it for the express purpose of communicating with others. Whether it’s introducing understanding and collaboration into the workplace, reaching out to clients/contacts, and casting a wider net for your marketing efforts. Regardless of its purpose, these communication tools are getting better all the time. Explaining company policies, making deals, interacting, and more are essential for business communication and learning to thrive in an ever-changing environment. So, it behooves any organization to find the best ways to do so effectively—with technology leading the way. Here are five amazing, tech-based communication tools to consider using at your business today.
Intranet
Intranets have been around for a long time and are still just as viable for communication as the internet, email, and phone calls. As a private, secure network for the company to use, an intranet is one of the most functional ways to communicate and collaborate with your team. Intranets act as a repository of information while helping to create more privacy in your company’s communication. Sensitive documents and other pertinent information that only the company uses can be stored on the internet. This keeps it away from the prying eyes of attackers while ultimately smoothing out the operation with it the organization itself.
Cloud Collaboration
Leveraging the cloud for collaborative purposes is both pragmatic and essential in modern business. Working on documents and projects collaboratively via a single software hub is efficient and necessary sometimes to complete things in a timely manner. Collaborative software like Google docs makes it easy to keep all of your information in a single place with regular backups available. Cloud collaboration results in higher participation, real time work/updates, and ultimately better communication across all levels of an organization.
Online SMS
Using SMS is one of the most common communication methods we have today. With smartphones and texting being a common denominator for using the service. SMS is a short messaging service that allows you to send up to 160 characters of information to anyone in the world. It’s been around for a while, but sees the most use on smartphones. But, you could actually use an online SMS messaging service to create better communication within your organization and some real help with your marketing campaigns. Having the ability to use SMS from your computer means that you don’t have to worry about punching in letters on a tiny screen and can use your keyboard to have real time conversations with people online. You can have two-way conversations, send and receive SMS from your computer, designate landline, toll-free, or smartphone lines as the number you are texting from, and many other amenities that make online SMS messaging a superb option for better communication within and without an organization.
An Organizational Messaging App
One way to increase communication within an organization is to use an online organizational messaging channel like Slack, Trello, Microsoft services, or one other organizational messaging tool. These tools essentially provide an online forum where assignments can be made, coworkers can discuss things in their own dedicated channels, everyone can talk to each other, and you can keep up with what’s happening in an organization. There are several options from which to choose, so it’ll take some leg work to determine which version of the software will be better for your business. But it’s easier to communicate and collaborate, especially with contractors and freelancers, through a channel such as this. It doesn’t have many marketing benefits, unfortunately, but when it comes to improving communication you just can’t beat having a quick means of talking to everybody at one time.
Video Chat
With everyone carrying a digital video recorder in their pocket these days, it’s not surprising that video chat is becoming a more popular option for communication — especially in business. Ever since the days of science fiction television and the likes of Star Trek, we’ve been on the verge of making video chats a reality. When the technology finally caught up, it was a foregone conclusion that it would become viable. Its sudden explosion in popularity means more people are embracing it and it’s become an excellent communication channel for business operations. Using a combination of video chat via your phone and video conferencing apps like Zoom can help you make more connections from across the world without ever leaving the office. It’s convenient, easy, and ideally suited to our dynamic modern world.
