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In this day and age, moving your business online is what can take it to the next level. Having a separate bank account for your business and choosing to bank online can free up your time, make your product more accessible to your customers, and allow you to expand your business.

Why Have a Separate Bank Account for Your Business

Every business owner should have a separate bank account for their business. Separating your bank accounts will make your business banking easier to track, helping out at tax time and ensuring that no payments get missed.
It also keeps your personal funds and spending separate from business profits and expenses. This will allow you to monitor the salary you give yourself and ensure that you always have enough in your business account to cover day to day costs and any unexpected expenses.

The Benefits of Small Business Banking Online

The easiest and most efficient way to do your small business banking is online. Being able to run your business account from your mobile device makes it accessible from wherever you are. This makes online banking especially useful for small business owners that are on the move, such as plumbers and other similar tradespeople operating in the Sunshine Coast area.

With small business banking online you can easily move money between accounts, saving time and money in withdrawal fees. It also allows you to set up time-saving automatic payments so that you never get an overdue bill again.

Online banking also makes things easier come tax time as it automatically keeps accurate records that you can export at any time. This feature is also useful to help track the progress and profits of your business.

Things To Consider When Switching To Online Banking

When choosing to make the move to online banking, there are a few things to consider that could make the process easier.

First, think about what it is you want to achieve from online banking. Do you need to be able to manage your banking on the go? Do you want to be able to quickly move money between accounts without incurring a fee? Do you want to use Bpay, or withdraw cardless cash? Come up with a list of what you need before you start your research.

Next, do some research on the options your current bank offers when it comes to online banking. If they supply everything you need and provide an easy-to-use system, you may not even have to change banks to go online. If your current bank doesn’t offer what you need, have a look at what is on offer from a range of banks and credit unions and do a comparison on what each financial institution has to offer you. Compare account and online banking system accessibility, fees included for service, transaction and monthly account keeping fees and check out if there are any account restrictions, for example limited number of transfers or deposits per month. Also is it compatible with your accounting software?

Bank Feeds

One of the biggest advantages to small business banking online is bank feeds. Bank feeds will automatically import your account transactions into your accounting software. This saves you hours of manual data entry thanks to bank feeds automatically linking up transactions with invoices. This will save both you and your accountant time, which ultimately saves you money.

EFTPOS

Switching to online banking will also allow you to level up by accepting EFTPOS payments from your customers. Many banks offer EFTPOS which can reduce the amount of cash kept on-premises, and portable EFTPOS options are perfect for immediate payment on the go. One thing to consider is the fees. Consider charging extra and make sure using EFTPOS won’t result in a net loss for your business.

Payment Plans

By moving your transactions online, you also can consider setting up automatic payment plans for your customers.

This concept allows your customers who need your product immediately but don’t have the cash on hand to purchase from you to take the item on the day. The options of payment plan providers are constantly increasing but the main providers present in the market are Afterpay and Zip Pay. By having this option available to your customers, allows them to take the item purchased with them on the day and you receive the funds immediately.

The customer enters into an agreement to repay the item as agreed between the payment provider and the payment provider is responsible for all the risk of missed payments.

Online Transactions

Have you ever considered selling your products online? Online banking can make this happen. If you don’t have any of your own products to sell online, you could drop-ship products that are related to your services. For example, a cleaner could sell cleaning products they recommend on their website. You could also sell subscriptions, newsletters, or services online.

Where To Sell Online

Want to start selling things online, but have no idea where to start? There are many tools such as Paypal, Stripe, and Square that let you take payments online through your website. If you’re looking to set up an online store, you can set up eCommerce stores such as Shopify and WooCommerce.

Setting up a separate, online bank account will allow you to level up your small business. Not only will you save time and money by streamlining your small business banking, but you will also be able to expand and grow your business.

To learn more about online banking and eCommerce solutions, check out Module 5 of our free digital upskilling program Level Up. The free course will take you through everything you need to know about online banking and ecommerce solutions for small business and how you can use them to your advantage.

Please note; this information is general in nature and all financial matters relating to your business should be discussed with an accounting or finance professional, allowing you to make an informed decision.

Over 70% of all internet traffic is video, which makes video one of the most prevalent forms of online marketing. Not only do search engines and social platforms love promoting video content, but viewers prefer this format. When it comes to small business marketing, video content can be a valuable tool within your marketing strategy.

How To Use Video Content For Small Business Marketing

Strategy

The first thing to keep in mind when incorporating video into your small business marketing is to approach it strategically. Many businesses create video content for the sake of it as they know it has great reach and influence. However, customers are unlikely to engage with content that is poorly thought through. That is if it’s not strategic and purposeful. Analyse each video and curate content that simply conveys how you can solve your customers pain points, or promote a unique product. 

Different Uses For Video In Business

There are multiple ways you can incorporate video content in your business. 

Promotional Videos and Ad Campaigns

Social media posts including Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Adwords video ads are one of the most popular uses for video content for small business. You can create promotional video about services or  products. Simply sharing it on your social media platforms through posts of live streams will help you develop your brand paid ads on social media or Google sites such as YouTube and can assist you with reaching new customers, and can provide valuable brand exposure.

Webinars and Video Blogs

Video content can also be used to share your expert knowledge with an audience through webinars or video blogs. This can be a great way to connect with your customers and give them useful information. This can be hugely valuable if you’re establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

 One of the best things about video content is that it offers continued value. Once you have created a webinar or video blog, your customers will continue to consume it at no extra cost, essentially becoming a source of income. 

Storytelling

Every business has a story, and telling your story can help to humanise your business, and allow your customers to connect with you on a personal level. Video is an effective way to tell the story of your business and brand. It easily captures the attention of the viewer, giving you the opportunity to share who you are and why you do what you do in a captivating way.

How To Create Video Content

Thanks to smartphones, accessible editing software, and online tutorials it is now easier than ever to create your own video content. Once you have an idea about what you would like to create, you can create it yourself by filming it on your smartphone, or you could hire a professional content creator to film and edit the video for you.

Whatever route you choose, there are a few things to remember when creating video content for small business marketing. The goal is to grab the viewer’s attention, so keep the video short and to the point. Captions and visuals not only add visual interest to the video, but make the content accessible to more potential customers. Make sure you watch your video back before you post it to ensure that the audio and filming is of reasonable quality and that everything within the video aligns with your brand and company values. 

Most importantly, accept that your first video won’t be perfect. Post it anyway and the more you post, the better you will understand what your customers engage with..

Check out these articles below on creating video content

• Hubspot How to Make a Video: a Step-by-Step Guide
• Sunny Lenarduzzi How to create videos for your business

Sharing Video Content

Once you have your video, it’s now time to share it. Be strategic about where and when you share your content to ensure you get the most reach. You can do this by, 

1. leveraging your networks to drum up support, 
2. directing your content to your target audience, 
3. optimising your content for each platform you post it on, and 
4. experimenting with different posts and strategies until you find an effective one.

These local Sunshine Coast businesses are doing some great work with creating video content, go and check them out Stormie D’s here and Miss Monogram here.

Check out Module 4 of our free digital upskilling program Level Up, a free resource to learn more about using video in your business. 

Access the program now