At the start of 2017, 70 percent of small to medium sized businesses said they were looking to increase marketing spend. That’s according to GetResponse, an email marketing software program that serves over 350,000 businesses, marketers and brands.
In the first few months of this year, many businesses have stayed true to their intent, putting more dollars into optimized marketing campaigns to reach targeted customers. Yet with so many different approaches to marketing and various ways to segment audiences, it gets tedious to do things by the book. Thankfully, there are some must-have tools that every marketer should get familiar with. Let’s take a look at our top ten.
- Ninja Outreach: Make your life easier with this all-purpose influencer marketing tool. With this program, you can find thousands of influencers and leads, then reach out to them for a fraction of the time and cost you’re probably spending now.
- Mention: Keep track of what people are saying about you and your competitors through Mention. This tool tracks key phrases and brand names in real time so you can join the conversation.
- Buffer: This free social media scheduling tool lets you schedule posts ahead of time, saving you from scrambling later in the week. Batch your social media marketing process in one step, spread out your posts over the week and catch up on that People magazine.
- Canva: Over 2 million people use Canva to create images for social media and blog posts. The program is easy to use thanks to the optimized sizes and built-in templates that cater to each social media channel.
- FollowerWonk: Identify key influencers on Twitter with this tool. With a one-stop interface, you can read Twitter bios, compare social profiles and optimize followers.
- Picreel: Present visitors leaving your site with enticing offers with Picreel. You have nothing to lose since these people are leaving anyway, and you may gain a few quality leads.
- HootSuite: This full-service online brand management tool allows you to curate, schedule and send social posts from one central location. Not only does HootSuite provide you with practical benefits, but also it makes connecting with customers safer and smarter.
- ReferralSnip: Word of mouth is still one of the top ways that people learn about businesses. ReferralSnip is a referral program that can be set up in under a minute. Add your company details, design your snippet and refer customers. Also check out what people are saying about your brand at CustomerLobby.
- Pixlr: Pixlr is an easy online image editor that can be used in just about any browser. Use the tool to crop, filter, resize and enhance images to align with your business. You may even find that Pixlr is easier to use than Photoshop.
- VWO: Discover what is working and what is not on your website with VWO. This A/B testing tool can test just about anything within reason including headlines, website copy or web design. Use it to find out what your audience responds best to.
What marketing tools can you not live without? While these are some of our favorites, there are plenty others out there that save time, money and headache without your brand skipping a beat. With these tools in hand, you can be a more effective and productive marketer!
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