Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Teknovation welcomes guest columns on topics that are of interest to our readers. The following one – “12 Essential Online Tools and Apps for Digital Marketers” – was submitted by Sharon Conwell. She is a part-time educator and freelance writer specializing in content creation and optimization. You can contact her on LinkedIn.)

Digital marketing is a constantly changing field. To keep up, to stay ahead of competitors, and to make sure you’re doing your best to promote your business to potential customers, it’s imperative to stay on top of online tools. These tools help you stay on top of trends, aware of any new developments, and ahead of the curve and competition. 12 of the most important tools and apps for every digital marketer to have in their arsenal are:

• Sprout Social – When you’re managing social media profiles for a business over multiple platforms, it can be difficult to stay on top of all of them and even harder to maintain consistent engagement across every network. This website makes management and engagement simple, and if you’re not convinced that you need it, you can try it out with a 30-day free trial.
• Hubspot – This is a great free app that helps with inbound marketing. This is a great platform that is full of free marketing software including email templates and stacks of content that you can use for your business. This also helps you manage emails through features like integrating accounts, and scheduling delivery.
• Paper Fellows – As social media grows, a lot more is being done over blogs and web pages, which are then shared over social media. While digital marketers may not have trained in creative writing, it suddenly becomes an essential part of their job. The forums on this website are full of expert advice that can make writing a much less daunting task.
• Mail Chimp – While emails may be old school compared to modern social media marketing, they are still effective and a popular tool for most marketers. This is one of the biggest and best email marketing platforms, and what makes it awesome is the fact that free plans are available. If creating a whole email marketing campaign sounds too difficult or too time consuming, this website will take care of everything for you.
• Sniply – One of the best means to generate conversion leads on your website is by using a Call to Action. This website helps create calls to action that appear as buttons at any point you wish on your website. This is a great way of implementing a visually appealing feature that could also prove to be good for sales.
• Easy Word Count – In the internet era, size matters. When it comes to content, it is well acknowledged that content of roughly a thousand words is best for SEO, and content of around 1500 words is best for engagement, especially when shared on Twitter. This website helps you monitor this.
• Ad Roll – Retargeting campaigns are becoming increasingly popular online. Once someone has browsed your website, you know they’re interested and can then send ads their way to encourage them to come back. While setting this up yourself could prove complex, it’s super simple with this website.
• Ampervise – This is a great tool for anyone who is either new to digital marketing or feels like their progress has started to stagnate. You’ll fill-in details around your business, and then receive a report advising what methods of marketing would be most effective to your specific company. This makes getting started, or finding areas to improve, a lot easier.
• Big Assignments – Creating original and high quality content on a regular basis is tiring and time-consuming. As a result, a lot of businesses are choosing to outsource the actual writing to experts who know how to create engaging content that’s optimized for the web. If you want to maintain your own voice, you can simply use this site to engage an editor.
• Choice Stream – To streamline your targeting, this service uses smart technology to analyze your customers’ data and make sure that your ads are directed at relevant customers who will buy from your site.
• Apester – Web users love interactive content. It’s a welcome break from the pages and pages of written content, and this tool makes creating such content simple.
• Canva – As most digital marketers are aware, presentation is important. This tool makes it incredibly easy to produce creative, visual content to really catch the eye of your customers.

It’s understandable that it is tough to stay on top of such a developing field, however the tools described above can help ensure that you are a leader in your field and able to master any growing trends.

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