Use These 8 Lesser-Known Marketing Tools to Help Spread the Word If you're looking to get more ROI out of our efforts this quarter, try some of these apps.
By Sujan Patel Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Having the right tools can mean the difference between success and failure. But with so many different tools available for small-business marketing, it can be challenging to know which ones to choose.
While there are plenty of well known, and often, expensive options out there, these eight lesser-known tools can be a great help when it comes to marketing success.
1. Edgar
Edgar is an awesome tool that lets you make the most of your social media updates. It's hard to believe, but the average lifespan of a tweet in terms of its value is only 24 minutes. Edgar allows you to schedule tweets and other social media updates that recur periodically, increasing the chance your audience will be reached by an update. In addition, scheduling is automatic, meaning that social media updates take far less of your time.
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2. Narrow.io
Narrow is another tool that allows you to optimize social media presence. Narrow allows you to build a targeted Twitter following of engaged users. By focusing on users who talk about subjects relevant to your brand and industry, you gain followers who are interested in what you have to say and who are more likely to interact with your posts. By taking advantage of key elements of Twitter automation, Narrow sets you up for success.
3. Content Marketer
Content marketing is key to every business, and Content Marketer is the tool that's going to help you excel. Currently only released to a select group of early users, the program is expected to launch fully in July, when it will help users promote content to key influencers, increase traffic and build relationships with readers.
As you likely already know, manual influencer outreach is very time-consuming, giving tools such as Content Marketer the potential to save hours and hours of work. One last feature marketers will want to watch for is Content Marketer's ability to assist in finding contact information for industry authorities, simply by entering an article they wrote into the tool.
4. Filament
You can't affect what you don't measure, which is what makes measuring the impact of your website one of the most important aspects of today's marketing. Manually understanding what's happening by wading through most traditional analytics programs is difficult -- that's where Filament comes in.
Instead of reporting tons of dense data, Filament helps you answer the specific questions you have about increasing engagement, which traffic sources to focus on, and the types of content that perform best on your site, among others. Filament doesn't just count visits, it also tracks sign-ups, shares and subscriptions. It's an all-in-one tool for measuring the impact of your website.
5. Five Second Test
Getting user input is important, but it's often extremely time-consuming. Enter Five Second Test. Signing up for the service will show you what a user recalls about your design after only five seconds of seeing it -- giving you a good sense of the impression you're making in that critical engagement window.
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With average user attention spans shorter than ever, tools such as Five Second Test are critical to knowing whether you're making the impact you intend.
6. Scroll Depth
This Google Analytics plug-in allows you to dive deeper into user metrics -- literally. Scroll Depth measures the extent to which users scroll down your pages, helping you to determine whether your content is effective and which pages visitors engage with more. This insight is invaluable for making sure viewers get the key messages you intend every time they visit your site.
7. Trapit
Want to have all of your staff contribute to your content marketing campaigns, but you're not sure where to start? You're not alone. The creators of Trapit are ready to help, following their company's merger with Addvocate at the end of 2014. Empower employees to spread your company's message by giving them created content that they can easily share with their own social networks. Then, measure the impact of their shares with access to the tool's content library and built-in analytics.
8. Canva
Many marketers excel at creating messages and spreading them, but aren't quite so strong when it comes to visual design. Canva can come to the rescue. This easy-to-use program allows anyone to create great designs, even without extensive training. Not only is it fun to use, it's much less expensive than tools such as Photoshop. Stick with standard design elements, fonts and photo editor tools for free or use custom images for just $1 each.
Marketing tools are an important part of getting your work done successfully every day -- but don't feel like you have to stick with the same old programs you've been using for years. With these eight lesser-known tools, you'll be able to easily ramp up your productivity on your most important activities -- boosting not only your company's success, but your own career as well.
Have another marketing tool that you feel deserves a spot on this list? Share your recommendations by leaving a comment below!
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