This is a big opportunity for businesses to embrace new models of work, but it is also a huge challenge as only the most flexible and agile teams will be able to grow and outperform competitors. It’s a matter of survival – those who keep learning and incorporating new technologies into their business processes will always stay head and shoulders above the rest.

But this is easier said than done, so you will have to work hard in order to make your organization better and follow the pace of technological changes. In this article, we will show you the fundamentals of new technologies and explain six practical tips for improving your team’s digital skills.

The Background of Digital IQ

Before we begin explaining how to strengthen the digital skills of your team, we want to discuss the background of another concept and show what makes it so influential. Of course, we are talking about digital IQ, a phrase designed with the purpose of assessing the technological prowess of an individual or organization.

By definition, digital IQ is how well a good company understands the value of digital technology and weaves it into the fabric of its organization. Naturally, businesses with higher digital IQ tend to perform much better than their less prepared counterparts.

It is, however, important to mention that digital skills have gone a long way. If you think that your employees are skilled just because they use emails, social media, and MS Office, you are so terribly wrong. Today, digital skills encompass a wide range of functions:

• Online
  communication with all of its tools and platforms.
• Content
  administration and website management.
• Data
  exchanges and transactions.
• Problem-solving
  skills.
• Legal
  affairs and online security.

As you can see, it is a broad portfolio of topics that require a fair share of learning and preparation. But if your team is ready to cope with all these functions, the entire organization will gain some substantial benefits such as:

• Business efficiency: Your company becomes
  more agile and productive.
• Communication: Digital skills
  guarantee faster and safer online communication.
• Automation: You can automate many
  processes and focus on business essentials.
• Cost reduction: Digital skills help
  you cut costs and build a more profitable company.

6 Tactics to Boost the Digital Skills of Your Employees

You’ve seen enough about digital IQ, so now it is time to focus on the most important segment of our post. Without further ado, let’s check out six tactics you can use to boost the digital skills of your employees.

1. It all begins from the top

Introducing new technologies and forcing your employees to adapt is not the kind of process which happens naturally. On the contrary, it begins from the top and so it’s up to the management to be a genuine driver of the change.

A report shows that only 55% of business leaders are digitally savvy and it is a big problem because being digitally fit starts at the top before it filters down. As a senior-level manager, you should give your colleagues an example and be the first ones to embrace new tools, apps, and platforms.

But this is not even your main task. First of all, you need to assess the current state of affairs and figure out what needs to be changed. Get acquainted with the latest technologies, identify your company’s pros and cons, and figure out which tools can make it better.

2. Create a thorough analysis of your team

The next thing you need to do is to analyze the situation in your team and understand the level of digital literacy among employees.

Jake Gardner, a human resource manager at Aussie Writings Writing, says most managers tend to discuss this topic with their workers directly: “This is the easiest way to cover a wide range of topics. You can learn more about their opinions, identify obsolete tools, and figure out which aspects of the business require immediate improvements.”

As soon as you notice that some tools are slowing down your team, you can start thinking about alternatives. However, you should also think about the ultimate goal, understand the purpose of the change, and define it very clearly. After all, objectives may vary and cover pretty much anything:

• Improve
  service and customer satisfaction.
• Speed
  up product delivery.
• Enhance
  internal communication processes.
• Reduce
  operational costs.

3. Find the right tools

Now that you understand the advantages and the pain points of your business, you can search for the best tools to upgrade your company as a whole. The Internet is packed with all sorts of professional platforms, so the biggest challenge is to make the right decision.

Generally speaking, you should always stick to well-known brands with a full set of customer support features. This means you should be looking for providers willing to give you a free trial, multichannel customer service, transparent pricing plans, and similar.

Besides that, you also need to check out users’ reviews. This is critical because you can discover a lot of interesting details coming from end-users who used to be in the same position as you. It’s just a word-of-mouth analysis that works well in all niches.

A nice example comes from the content writing universe. Namely, students looking for math homework help will always check out college paper writing service reviews such as Ultius reviews or EduBirdie reviews. They want a provider who guarantees quality, which is exactly what you should do when choosing the right platforms for your team.

4. Organize a meeting to present your plans

Another important step in this process is to organize a meeting with your employees and explain the reasons for introducing new technologies. Why is it so important?

Well, no matter how amazing or productive a new tool might be, there are always individuals who will raise their eyebrows and call your decision into question. You need to prepare for negative reactions and patiently answer all of their questions.

In such circumstances, it is not a good idea to send a circular email and stop thinking about it. You must organize a face-to-face session instead to present your plans and explain the purpose of the change. Don’t forget to mention the benefits (no manual entries, less administration, etc.) your employees receive from it because it’s their biggest motive to embrace new tools.

5. Prepare for onboarding

A meeting with your colleagues to explain the novelty is just the beginning. Now you need to prepare for onboarding and organize quality training sessions. There are several ways to do it properly:

• In
  case you are using a complex new platform, make sure to organize one-on-one
  lessons with experienced mentors.
• Prepare
  video tutorials for less demanding tools.
• Organize
  webinars where employees can ask questions and discuss new programs in-depth.

6. Prepare for lifelong learning

The last piece of advice on our list is to prepare your employees for lifelong learning. As new technologies keep emerging, you can hardly stay on track by centralizing the learning experience. Instead, you should encourage a lifelong learning environment and inspire your workers to keep learning on their own.

Think about it for a while and you will realize that the company needs a long-term strategy. What is new today will be old tomorrow, so give your team members a general overview of your plans and let them research individually.

After that, you can schedule periodical meetings to debate the latest hi-tech trends and see how your staff is doing. And last but not least, you can offer incentives for agile employees who are eager to embrace the latest tools and programs.

Conclusion

Technology is changing the way we live and do business, but it is evolving so quickly that it’s getting harder to keep pace and follow the planned learning rhythm. This is why you need to create a brand new learning strategy and make your organization more productive in the long run. In this article, you can find out more about:

• The
  issue of digital IQ and its practical benefits.
• The
  basic types of digital skills.
• Six
  ways to improve your team’s digital proficiency.

Following our recommendations, you can turn employees into digital masters and boost business performance long-term. Don’t hesitate to use our tips and feel free to write a comment if you have other interesting thoughts to share with us – we would be glad to see your opinion about this topic.

The post 6 Practical Tips For Improving Your Team’s Digital Skills appeared first on Tricky Enough.

To prevent this from happening and to grow your blog, you need to automate as many tasks as you can. Automation doesn’t make things easier – it gives you time to focus on the tasks that are really important in today’s blogosphere.

Instead of manually posting or estimating the performance of a certain post, you can have access to analytics and the best post-programming tools.

To help you become an exceptional blogger, we’ve decided to compile a list of the 23 free blogging tools that will turn your blogging career around. All you need is creativity, determination and a willingness to learn.

Here is the list of Free blogging tools:

1. 
   

   WordPress

   
   

WordPress is by far the most popular and most useful content management system (CMS). Its advantages lie in the fact that it’s entirely customizable and easy to operate, even if you have no knowledge about web design or coding. You can use it as a platform to post custom content outsourced from any custom essay writing service or write your content.

2. 
   

   Gmail

   
   

Chances are that you will receive most of your notifications via email. You need to know what’s going on at all times. Gmail is the best option for an email client because it allows you to sync multiple accounts and to always be in touch with important matters concerning your blog.

3. 
   

   BuzzSumo

   
   

Have you ever had an idea, but weren’t sure about how popular it is? Use BuzzSumo to determine whether a topic is trending or not. If you’ve found a popular topic, you can seize the opportunity by ordering custom content from affordable proofreading services. Doing research before you post will allow you to amass popularity.

4. 
   

   Google Analytics

   
   

To improve your blog, first, you need to know the performance of each and every blog post. Google Analytics gives you a clear overview of the clicks, overall readability and general engagement with your audience. With statistical backing, you can improve on what works and change what doesn’t. It’s the key to successful blogging.

5. 
   

   Google Optimize

   
   

Sometimes, you won’t be sure about which blog is the optimal solution for a certain time. You can’t rely on estimates because you can lose valuable traffic if you make the wrong choice. With Google Optimize, you can measure the individual success of each blog via split testing. It’s the only way to be sure.

6. 
   

   Essay writing services

   
   

There will be situations where you won’t be able to complete your blogging schedule all by yourself. This is no reason to despair. Use an online writing service and order custom content. The very best tools can deliver you your blog in a matter of hours. Be resourceful before giving up.

7. 
   

   Grammarly

   
   

If you’re in a hurry to publish your latest post, you won’t have time for proofreading. Use Grammarly to check your grammar and syntax as you’re typing. You will be surprised how many little mistakes go unnoticed. With Grammarly, all your blogs will be spotless from now on, regardless if you’re in a hurry or not. There are also a few other grammar-checking tools you can try.

8. 
   

   Hemingway App

   
   

It’s easy to lose track of your thoughts while blogging. This can end up in long, unreadable sentences that might drive your audience away. It’s not something you want to happen, so you’d best come prepared. Hemingway App uses special AI technology to recognize long sentences, excess words and expressions.

9. 
   

   MailChimp

   
   

With MailChimp, email marketing is alive and well. With MailChimp, you can track your email subscribers and their responses rates. Getting a real insight about your audience is invaluable, as it helps you plan your next big email marketing campaign. There is no better feeling than knowing you’re making a move that’s backed up by real, tangible data.

10. 
    

    Evernote

    
    

As a blogger, your main occupation should be researched. Also, it’s possible that you will come across a lot of interesting things and you won’t want to lose them. Use Evernote to capture everything you come across online and save it in the format of your desire. Evernote also has a cool search feature within the app itself.

11. 
    

    Todoist

    
    

A good blogger is completely devoted to his or her craft. When you’re so deeply involved in something, it’s easy to lose track of time and space. Use Todoist to get reminders for tasks related to blogging or other activities in your life. There are numerous alert options that will keep you up-to-date and always organized.

12. 
    

    Google Drive

    
    

Remember the days where everyone had to carry a flash drive or CD? Those days are long gone because the cloud is an integral part of our future. Use Google Drive to store all your files and always have access to them, as long as you have an internet connection. Never lose an important file ever again.

13. 
    

    Google Docs

    
    

Writing on desktop software is becoming outdated. Use Google Docs because everything you write will be saved to your Google Drive account, where you can access it from anywhere. The software also includes automatic save options which register every change in the file in millisecond intervals.

14. 
    

    Google Keyword Planner

    
    

With the keyword suggestions Google Keyword Planner provides, you can effectively and efficiently plan blog posts that are SEO-friendly. If you make the use of this app a daily habit, you will soon see your organic ranking rise and overall popularity along with it. You can track competition, search volume and cost-per-click.

15. 
    

    Google Trends

    
    

One of the most versatile tools on this list, Google trends gives you a chart listing all the top trends and search queries in a certain time period. This tool is best used when combined with other tools like Google Keyword Planner and content outsourcing service. The key is to combine.

16. 
    

    Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer

    
    

Readers and customers respond to emotion more than anything, according to Psychology Today. You need to captivate them with an emotional vibe from the title itself. This tool calculates your EMV (Emotional Marketing Value) score by analyzing the semantics and the syntax all at once.

17. 
    

    Pixabay

    
    

You shouldn’t rely solely on text to be a successful blogger. Pixabay is a tool with hundreds of thousands of royalty-free images that you can download at any time. Browse the categories you need for your blog and you will create more engaging posts with the right visual enhancement.

18. 
    

    Canva

    
    

Not every photo you receive/download will be perfect. Use Canva to quickly edit it and make the entire experience more customized. It’s super easy to use it and you can even learn some more advanced tricks.

19. 
    

    Buffer

    
    

If you want to make it big, you need to pay attention to the performance of your blogs on social media. Buffer lets you do just that, with metrics relating to potential, clicks and even mentions in comments. Use it wisely.

20. 
    

    Hootsuite

    
    

When you’re sharing blog posts on social media, it’s impossible to manually share them and save time. Hootsuite lets you integrate all your platforms into one and make posting much easier. It has multi-channel support.

21. 
    

    Egg Timer

    
    

Writing can be a painstaking activity. You need to take breaks and Egg Timer will effectively remind you when it’s time to abandon the keyboard and get some fresh air. This tool is known for increasing productivity.

22. 
    

    Google Calendar

    
    

Track important meetings, scheduled posts and everything else with yet another excellent Google program. You will receive alerts, reminders, and support across all Google apps, with event integration.

23. 
    

    PayPal

    
    

If you’re making money from blogging, there is no need to dabble with banks and a million different bank accounts. Receive and send money via PayPal because it’s the easiest and safest way to transfer funds, for whatever reason.

Concluding thoughts

Regardless of your expertise level, these tools can give you the edge you need to take your blogging to the next level. There is a tool for everything, which means that you can focus only on creation and design. If you choose to enhance your blog with these 23 best blogging tools, you will be one step closer to the future. Automation is everything and the whole process will get much easier once you get used to using so many tools. Good luck!

The post 23 Free Blogging Tools That Will Make You a Better Blogger appeared first on Tricky Enough.