As a small business, you need to be marketing your products or services to stay afloat and ahead of the competition. There are many marketing tools available, but which ones are the best for small businesses?
Cut through the noise and identify the exact tools that will help you attract and convert customers with our ranking of the top 7 must-have marketing tools for small businesses:
1. Google Analytics:
This free tool from Google allows you to track your website traffic, understand your customer’s behavior, and measure the success of your marketing campaigns. Every small business should use Google Analytics to track their marketing progress and make data-driven decisions.
If you don’t know how your campaigns are performing, how are you supposed to adjust and improve them?
Google Analytics can be a bit overwhelming at first, but there are plenty of resources available to help you get started.
2. Canva:
Canva is a free online design platform that makes it easy to create professional-looking illustrations for your social media accounts, website, and marketing materials. Canva is extremely user-friendly and even has built-in templates so you don’t have to start from scratch.
If you’re not a designer, Canva is the perfect tool for you to create high-quality visuals and GIFs for your marketing campaigns. By the time you’re done, no one will be able to tell that your graphics weren’t made by a pro.
3. SEMRush:
SEMRush is a powerful, comprehensive marketing platform that allows you to schedule social media posts, perform keyword research, analyze competitor performance, optimize content for search engines, and gain insights into your performance.
You can view a dashboard for each project or account you’re working on and see all the data you need at once so you can gain a better understanding of your marketing progress and where you need to improve.
SEMRush offers a free 14-day trial so you can try it out before committing to a paid plan.
4. Animoto:
Animoto is a video marketing platform that makes it easy to make a video for your small business. With Animoto, you can create professional-looking marketing videos without any prior video editing experience.
One great thing about Animoto is that it offers a wide range of video styles to choose from, so you can create a video that matches your brand’s style and tone. You can even combine photos, music, and different video clips to create something seamless and beautiful.
5. WebinarJam:
WebinarJam is one of the best webinar platforms that allows you to host live, interactive events with your audience. With WebinarJam, you can reach more people, build relationships with your customers, and generate leads for your business.
Webinars are a great marketing tool because they allow you to show off your expertise and build trust with your audience. When they can pair a face with the brand, it creates a personal connection. Plus, live webinars can be much more engaging than some pre-recorded videos.
WebinarJam makes it easy to host a webinar by providing everything you need in one platform, including registration, email marketing, and live streaming.
6. Video Animation Tools like Vyond:
Vyond is an animated video marketing platform that makes it easy to create educational marketing videos for your small business. With Vyond, you can create professional-looking videos without any prior video editing experience.
Use the built-in templates within Vyond to create marketing videos in minutes, and drag and drop elements until you get the finished product you’re aiming for.
7. Automation Tools like Hubspot or Skillfuel:
Save time by automating your marketing campaigns with a platform like Hubspot. Hubspot is a powerful marketing automation tool that allows you to automate your marketing campaigns, including email marketing, social media marketing, and lead generation.
Business owners say that the biggest benefit of marketing automation is the time it saves. It can improve productivity by 20%.
Consider the time and effort it takes to track marketing emails and follow up with the right responses. Rather than hiring someone to manage this job, you can let Hubspot do the work for you, saving thousands and lots of your own time.
Another example could be social media recruiting. That alone could be someone’s entire job, but with the help of tools like Skillfuel, you can let the software drive qualified candidates to your postings without lifting a finger (or spending the money to hire someone).
Why Marketing Tools are Important
There are several marketing tools available to small businesses, each with its own unique purpose. When used together, these tools can help you save time and money, while still marketing effectively to your target audience.
There’s no sense in trying to do everything yourself. Part of the benefit of running a small business in this day and age is the increased access to marketing tools and software that can improve or automate many of the marketing tasks that would otherwise fall on your plate.
Plus, with help of advanced technologies, you can improve your results without adding any extra effort.
How to Choose the Best Marketing Tools for Your Small Business
The best marketing tools for your small business will depend on your budget, your marketing goals, and the resources you have available.
If you’re on a tight budget, look for free trials on tools like SEMRush and Vyond to test things out before you commit to the investment. If you have a little more to spend, consider investing in a tool like Hubspot or Skillfuel to automate your marketing campaigns and save you time.
The most important thing is to choose marketing tools that will help you reach your marketing goals and make your life easier. With the right marketing tools, you’ll be able to save time, money, and energy while growing your small business.
Grow Your Small Business with Marketing Tools
The right marketing tools can help you save time and money while marketing effectively to your target audience. Use the list of vetted and recommended tools above, choose the ones that fit your budget and your marketing goals, and see how they can help you grow your small business in a short amount of time.