In 2018, running a remote company is not as difficult as it may seem--and it is quickly becoming a necessity. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, 22 percent of employees work at least partially in a remote environment and the number--as well as the demand for remote positions--continues to increase. As the market shifts to accommodate this new style of work, it is crucial for businesses to understand how to operate successfully in an online environment.

The key is having the right tools... and knowing how to use them. After testing dozens of platforms with my fully-remote company, these are the select few that have stood the test of time.

1. Trello

Trello CEO Michael Pryor uses an analogy to describe what his product does: If you go camping in the forest, you need a map to navigate out of the forest and a walkie-talkie to communicate with your team.

Trello is designed to be your map. It is a project management tool that is simple in its workflow and user interface--it allows you to lay out tasks and clearly document what needs to get done, who is doing it, and what the current status is. Although simple in nature, Trello offers a tremendous amount of flexibility with integrations, Power-Ups, and customization via their API.

2. Slack

Communication is essential when running any company, and without a physical office, communication can be infinitely more difficult. Slack is your walkie-talkie.

I deleted Facebook's app off my phone more than a month ago. 

And reader: I feel free. 

My days of mindlessly scrolling through random updates from my mom's friends and people I haven't spoken to since high school are over. 

And yours could be too. 

You just have to delete the app. 

You probably already market to customers on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. But have you made Messenger -- Facebook's standalone messaging app -- your top marketing priority?

If not, you're already behind. Ten years ago, consumers used email, AIM, and MySpace to chat. Five years ago, it was Facebook and Twitter. But today, that activity has moved to messaging apps. Over 3 billion people use messaging apps on a regular basis to communicate with friends and businesses; and messaging is the most preferred channel for customer service in the U.S.

That's why Messenger marketing has become so hot. It's the art and science of reaching customers at scale using Facebook Messenger, much in the same way marketers have relied on email marketing and newsletters. Messenger marketing often involves using automation software or chatbot builders to send push notifications and targeted conversations to the over 1 billion people who use Messenger. 

Messenger will quickly become one of your most important marketing channels. Consumers simply are moving away from the noise of email. Messenger marketing can yield over 80 percent open rates, multiples more effective than email. This makes developing a marketing strategy around Messenger critical to your business. 

Not convinced yet? The Facebook team recently released stats regarding the insane usage of Facebook Messenger worldwide. Here are the key stats you need to know that affirm Messenger's importance to your business:

By Matt Doyle, VP and co-founder of Excel Builders.

Every business should take advantage of Facebook's Pages feature. Pages are like a profile just for your business, and there are many reasons you should be using one already. Pages show up on search engines very quickly, so if you are trying to get attention for a new business, a Page is one of the best free ways to create a result that customers can easily find. Also, as customers increasingly look for business information through social media, providing vital service and hour information can save them a lot of frustration.

While most businesses get as far as creating a good source of information, they often go on to treat their Page more like a poster than the hub it could be. Just a few habits can make your Page a hard-working part of your entire marketing effort. Here are five ways that you can make better use of your business' Facebook Page.

Make It a Depot for Your Branding

There are newer and hipper social media platforms than Facebook, but it's still the top choice because it's worked so hard to integrate (sometimes by buying out) the competition. You can post content there from any other social media platforms you're running for your business, from Twitter to Snapchat. These platforms have limits on how you can communicate, but Facebook can host nearly all types of content, including large libraries of images and both long and short messages.

Because of this, Facebook makes a great "depot" for your brand -- a place where you can collect everything that's going to be launched on all of your other social media platforms. Fresh pictures, video and messaging can go to your Page first. Then sent out to more niche platforms based on performance. Take advantage of the option to connect your social media accounts when it's available. That will always save you some work when you want to get a message out.

It's not surprising at all if, at some point in your life, you've dreamed of becoming a travel blogger.  After all, according to a Google survey, "how to become a travel blogger" is actually the seventh most searched travel phrase on the entire web. Just because you travel and write doesn’t mean you can write well or can become a good travel writer. In fact, I am not a good blogger :-)

Becoming a travel blogger seems like a great idea in theory, but as you get the ball rolling the process can get increasingly overwhelming. To be full time and make a living from your travel blog, it's not quite as simple as just throwing up a few posts and having a Twitter account or Facebook page. Being successful in blogging takes a lot of strategy, as well as talent for telling stories and presenting them in a way that inspires people to see the world. Passion is at the root of great writing, and making that shine through in your blog will keep readers interested. Sticking to what you love will keep your enthusiasm and motivation up, too.

When we start out, we use to focus mainly on posting high-quality content. If you are a great photographer, you have really good travel photos and you are really proud of your pictures. You probably think that word of mouth or support from family and friends is enough to create a momentum to push your blog to the limelight, but it isn’t. You shouldn't underestimate social media marketing and its importance in making your posts visible to your audience. What you should do is write posts and then spend the rest of your time promoting them in social media or getting them featured on other websites through collaborations.

If you’ve read around and you know your stuff when it comes to creating and running a blog, then no doubt you should know by now the value of sharing your new content as you upload it.

Create a post, share said post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… rinse and repeat. Simple!

But what if you don’t update your blog with new content every day? Does that mean you can’t do any promotion that day?

Of course not! It simply means that you should look for ways to promote your old content to get repeat traffic from old posts.