Marketing is one of the most difficult aspects of growing your business. Some consider marketing to be an art, others treat it more like a process governed by statistics and data. The truth is that both creativity and data-driven logic play a part in creating successful marketing campaigns. Striking the right balance will heavily depend on the type of company you are and the audience you’re aiming for.
We wrote a great article on how to grow your business online if you’re curious on how to get started!
With that said, marketing can be made a lot easier by utilizing the right tools and platforms. So in this post, we’re going to talk about 10 marketing tools that every small business should know about in 2021.
1. Bit.ly
Bit.ly is essentially a URL shortener, but it can actually be used to track a range of analytics since each link is tracked. You can view statistics on specific URLs to see how much engagement the link has seen.
This is excellent for social media because shortening URLs means the link is easier to see and can fit within character limits such as those on Twitter. You can also create separate links to see how you’re performing on each social media platform in terms of engagement.
2. HubSpot
HubSpot is a full-stack growth software that provides tools that help with marketing, sales and also customer service. It assists with every facet of your business and gives you everything you need to increase conversion rates.
While HubSpot starts for free, it does get rather expensive. But for all the tools you get with it, it’s well worth the investment since it can scale to your business’s needs. It offers an incredible list of features that can help with anything that a small business needs to get noticed.
3. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a free keyword tool that helps improve your search engine optimization. You simply type in a domain or keyword and it’ll provide deep insights into the strategies that your competitors are using.
It also provides information on the top SEO pages on the web for organic keyword phrases and will also offer suggestions on keywords to use on your website.
4. Social Media
Social media is a blanket term for platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even Pinterest. Social media is used by billions across the world and while it’s not defined as a “tool” itself, it’s an important component of any marketing strategy.
Pick the right social media platform based on your company and your needs. Make sure you’re engaging with your audience on the platform and focus on building a brand personality to make your company more approachable. Take on all feedback and don’t hesitate to assign members of staff to monitor your social channels at all times to identify branding opportunities.
5. Buffer
To help you make the most of social media, it’s important to use a variety of tools that can help you optimize your presence on various platforms.
Buffer is a wonderful social media tool that helps you automate and optimize social strategies. They have a variety of different products that can help you schedule your posts on social media and also include share widgets for websites. It starts free so you can try it out before investing.
6. Moosend
Email marketing will always be relevant to online businesses. Moonsend assists in that field by providing an affordable email marketing and marketing automation platform with a surprising range of features. This includes automated marketing campaigns, subscription forms and also custom landing pages.
With plenty of templates and advanced tracking and automation options, Moosend is a fantastic tool that will improve your marketing efforts and help you make meaningful decisions for your business.
7. Trello
Trello is an excellent example of a multi-purpose tool that can be used to help market your small business.
It’s a brainstorming and calendar service that helps you collaborate with others by sharing ideas and keeping track of projects. While this doesn’t directly help with marketing, it does help organize your marketing campaigns and will ensure that every team member has their assigned role and records their progress. This will help you stay on track with your marketing projects and can also be used to discuss future ideas.
8. Google Analytics
Tracking and analyzing customer data is extremely important when it comes to making smarter decisions for your business. You need to focus on data and not your gut feelings when deciding important things for your company such as where to focus marketing efforts.
Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to do just that. It’s a simple and easy-to-use tool that allows you to track and analyze customer data. It’s widely used by all businesses and provides deep insights into how your website is performing. Almost all marketers will have used Google Analytics at some point and are likely still using it thanks to its versatility.
9. Canva
When it comes to graphic design, hiring a freelancer or any kind of specialist can be a long and expensive process. In order to save time and money, it’s important to look for tools that can help speed up the process and create acceptable results with the least amount of effort and resources.
Canva is a fantastic solution for small businesses that don’t have the money to hire a full-time graphics designer or even a freelancer. It allows you to create beautiful graphics with simple controls. It’s an affordable monthly cost which means there’s little up-front investment, and you get access to millions of images in its library which can all be used to create custom graphics for your website.
While it’s always good to upgrade to a full-time or freelance designer in the future, having an option like Canva is amazing for small businesses with only a couple of employees and few resources.
10. MailChimp
MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools around. It offers website traffic tracking, email templates, drip campaign designs and many different software integrations.
One of the best things about MailChimp is that it’s completely free for small companies, allowing every business to design and automate email campaigns with almost no effort.
