It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or entrepreneur – building a strong personal brand online will help you achieve your goals. To help you every step of the way – from planning to posts …
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What does it take to be a successful marketer?
Turns out we don’t have to guess because someone’s already done the research. Fractl used IBM’s Watson Personality Insights API from 2019 to pick out the key traits and characteristics of 20 of the world’s most prominent marketing leaders (I even made the list!).
According to the study, the No. 1 trait shared by marketing leaders is adventurousness, followed by high energy levels, assertiveness, and intelligence.
One interesting thing about this is that you’d also find a lot of those traits in people with exceptional presentation skills.
To put yourself out there and present to a room full of people, you need to be at least a little adventurous. If you’re not a high-energy person, you’ll find it hard to keep people engaged. If you’re not assertive, you’ll struggle to communicate your points effectively. The list goes on.
That’s not a coincidence. To make it as a marketer, excellent presentation skills are pretty much nonnegotiable.
In a way, marketing is one big presentation. When we write a blog post or appear on a podcast, we’re presenting. When we research our audience, we’re trying to understand better what they want to see and learn from our presentations.
In other words, strong presentation skills underlie pretty much every aspect of marketing. If you can deliver an incredible presentation, you can:
What makes people trust brands? According to a global survey from PR and marketing consultancy Edelman, it boils down to three key factors:
However, an even more crucial point underpins all of this. Without strong presentation skills, potential customers aren’t going to know about any of those things!
If you don’t tout the quality of your product, or highlight your superb reviews and testimonials, or demonstrate your commitment to making the world a better place, how will anyone know whether they can trust you?
Ever wondered why personal social media accounts get better engagement than brand accounts? Because it’s easier to sell a person than a brand.
That’s why speaking at conferences, networking meetups, and other events can be such a useful tool for building brand awareness. It puts a human face on your brand, which instantly makes you more recognizable, relatable, and memorable. That’s why for many of us, when we hear the words Apple, Microsoft, or Tesla, we immediately think of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Elon Musk.
Your presentation skills can be one of the biggest weapons in your armory when it comes to selling your product.
According to a study from Chief Marketer, live events are the second-biggest source of B2B leads, and also generate the second-highest ROI of any sales channel.
Granted, not all those respondents would have been guest speakers at those events, but to generate leads, they would have absolutely been speaking to prospects at their display stands, during networking sessions, and even while queuing to buy a hot dog or coffee. Their one-on-one presentation skills were crucial to breaking the ice with those leads.
By this point, you hopefully agree with me that presentation skills are essential for modern marketers. Now, let’s take a look at how to hone those skills to meet your marketing objectives.
If I told you to write me a blog right now, you’d likely find it pretty tough. After all, I’ve not given you any information. You don’t have a theme, or a title, or even an audience. In short, there’s no way of knowing what I’m looking for, so you can’t gauge what success looks like.
Alternatively, if I told you to write a blog about this year’s biggest trends in SEO, aimed at marketing leaders for SaaS startups, you’d have a much clearer idea of how to proceed.
The same thing is true for developing your presentation skills. Start by defining exactly what you want to achieve, such as:
Also, give yourself a deadline. Rather than generally building up your presentation skills, commit to improving your public speaking in time for a specific conference or networking event. Sign up as a speaker early; that way, you’re completely accountable for following through with your plans.
As well as simply “doing more of it,” there’s another extremely effective way to help you feel more confident about speaking in front of an audience: Do your research.
When you think about it, imposter syndrome is another big reason people shy away from public speaking. We worry we’ll be exposed as frauds and charlatans who don’t know what we’re talking about.
Thoroughly researching your audience will help guard against that feeling. When you know exactly who you’re talking to, it becomes much simpler to build an effective presentation.
If I’m speaking to a room of NASA engineers, I’m not going to tell them how to build a better rocket. I can’t tell them anything they don’t already know (and most of what I say would likely be wildly inaccurate).
However, I almost certainly know more about marketing than them. Maybe I’d tell them how, by sharing snippets of their work through their personal social profiles, they can build awareness and interest in what they do, which in turn, might persuade politicians that increased federal funding for NASA would be a real vote-winner. With that increased funding, they can go away and build better rockets.
With that in mind, before you start working on your next presentation, ask yourself the following questions about your audience:
The idea here is to identify the “thing” you know that’s of most value to your audience. The more you can niche down, the better. If you can’t answer some of those questions, speak to the event organizers; they should be able to help.
Throughout human history, storytelling has been one of our most effective tools for influencing, inspiring, and teaching one another.
Paul Smith, author of “Lead With a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire,” put it better than me when he wrote:
In any group, roughly 40 percent will be predominantly visual learners who learn best from videos, diagrams, or illustrations. Another 40 percent will be auditory, learning best through lectures and discussions. The remaining 20 percent are kinesthetic learners, who learn best by doing, experiencing, or feeling.
Storytelling has aspects that work for all three types. Visual learners appreciate the mental pictures storytelling evokes. Auditory learners focus on the words and the storyteller’s voice. Kinesthetic learners remember the emotional connections and feelings from the story.
With that in mind, another key way to improve your presentation skills is to work on your storytelling. Don’t just tell your audience how a certain tactic can get them more sales; give them specific, real-world examples that help them relate your advice to their own circumstances.
Also, don’t overlook the power of humor to engage an audience. As the British comedian John Cleese said:
If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth.
I’m not suggesting you go away and write a 30-minute standup set, but if you can drop a couple one-liners here and there, it can go a long way to getting your audience on your side.
Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, is a common complaint. One much-quoted (and very old) Gallup survey claims it’s the second-most prevalent fear in Americans, affecting 40 percent of respondents.
Clearly, it’s not the “speaking” element that puts us on edge. It’s the idea of doing it in front of an audience. What if we make fools of ourselves, or say the wrong thing and get booed off stage?
Painful as it might sound, in my experience, the best way to overcome this is to seek out opportunities to speak in front of an audience. This can be in your professional or personal lives. It can be as simple as saying a few words at family gatherings or giving small presentations to your team at work.
You’ve set goals for improving your presentation skills, done your research, crafted a handful of engaging anecdotes, and practiced in front of an audience. Now, it’s time to weave all those things together to create a killer marketing presentation. Bear these five tips in mind while you’re doing it:
According to one study, you’ve only got 30 seconds before your audience’s attention starts to lapse. That means you need a strong start to persuade them you’re worth listening to. Lead with your most eye-catching statistic, your best joke, or your punchiest anecdote, and keep it short. On average, we speak at up to 130 words per minute, so that only gives you a maximum of 65 words to play with.
Presentation skills aren’t just about what you say. They’re also about how people perceive you.
A study at California State University, Northridge, found students followed instructions far more accurately when those instructions were given by someone who was dressed casually rather than professionally.
Why did this happen? One interpretation from the study’s authors is that the students responded better to someone dressed similarly to them:
Perhaps the participants in our study felt that they were better able to relate to the experimenter in the casual-dress condition, thereby lowering their anxiety and increasing their ability to follow directions correctly.
In short, there’s no such thing as a right or wrong way to look or dress for a presentation. Rather, we should reflect our audience.
Don’t kid yourself it’ll “be alright on the night.” If you don’t prepare properly, it won’t!
Figure out what works best for you by running through your presentation multiple times. Do you find it easiest to work off cue cards? Do you need visual aids? Or is it better for you to run lines until you’ve memorized your presentation word for word?
There’s no better way to guarantee people are paying attention than to ask regular questions throughout your speech!
This isn’t about putting people on the spot. Instead, it’s about turning your presentation from a one-way narrative to a two-way conversation.
Say you’re giving advice on tackling a specific problem. Ask how many people had experienced that problem, when they first noticed it, and why they’re so keen to fix it.
There are very few instances in which you shouldn’t be supporting your claims with real evidence. Even if you’re giving your personal opinion on a topic, those opinions should be backed with actual data from reputable sources.
If I’m telling you that Facebook is the best platform to grow your business, you likely wouldn’t just take my word for it. You’d want to hear evidence about Facebook’s audience, the effectiveness of advertising on the platform, and how much it’ll cost.
No one is born with incredible presentation skills; not even Steve Jobs.
Sure, some of us are more confident than others at talking to an audience and getting our points across effectively. However, it takes work; and if honing your presentation skills is taking you away from other important work, like content marketing or SEO, our agency is here to help.
The good news is the harder you work at it, the more confident you’ll feel, and the better your presentation skills will become. It’s a virtuous circle!
What tips have you used to level up your marketing presentation skills?
While on the surface it may seem that business borrowing from family and friends is a simple solution to a hard problem, there is actually a lot more to it. It can be tricky, and many unforeseen issues can arise.
There are some outside-of-the -box methods however, that allow for business borrowing from family and friends without all the drama. These options are much better than borrowing directly from loved ones. Of course, mixing business and family or friends will probably never be drama free, but these tips can make it a lot easier.
This option does include getting funding directly from friends or family. However, it works differently than a loan. Angels tend to be a lot more informal than most types of funding. They can be people you know. They can also be people you connect with through networking or other means. Your mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, best friend, cousin, pretty much anyone can be an angle investor!
Angels are not covered by the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) standards for accredited investors. But a lot of them are accredited investors anyway.
Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.
To become an accredited investor, a person has to have a minimal net worth of $1 million, and an annual income of $200,000.
But, they don’t have to be millionaires. They could be friends or colleagues sitting on home equity, or local professionals who are looking to invest. Consider people you know well and people you don’t know so well. Angel investors could be people you grew up with or have done business with.
Even if you do not use friends or family as investors, finding an angel investor could convince those closest to you to help in another way.
Here’s how crowdfunding works. You market your business on a crowdfunding platform, and anyone who wants to can invest in the company. Some platforms will even accept donations as low as $5 or $10 dollars, though most do require more. With rewards-based crowdfunding, you get some token of thanks for your donation. With equity-based crowdfunding, which almost always requires $500 or more, investors get an interest in the company.
This is not a sure thing. While there are a lot of successful crowdfunding campaigns, the majority are not able to fully fund their business through crowdfunding. According to Startups.com, the average success rate of a campaign is 50%, and 78% of crowdfunding campaigns reach their goal. It’s a good way to give friends and family a chance to help fund your business without them having to give a large sum of cash at one time.
Kiva is an online lender that is a little different. For example, the interest rate is 0%. That means even though you have to pay it back, it is absolutely free money. They don’t even check your credit. However, there is one catch. You have to get at least 5 family members or friends to give to your business. In addition, you have to pitch in a $25 loan to another business on the platform. This is another way those you love can help you fund your business without giving up a pile of cash all at once.
A guarantor loan is a loan that you get, but someone else signs on to guarantee that they will repay if you default. It could be a business partner, a friend, or even a family member. This is sometimes a better option for having a family member help with funding than getting funds from them directly. Still, the same caveats exist when a guarantor is using their credit to help you out. If your business fails, or you default on the loan, then your guarantor will bear the brunt of that – and they will, most likely, come after you to make up for any losses they incur.
If you have friends or family that qualify as a guarantor, they may be more willing to go this route. They can let you piggyback off their good credit without giving up any cash initially. Hopefully, they never will.
Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.
This is a type of loan that you can use a guarantor to get. The credit line hybrid may be for you if you have a credit score over 680 or have friends or family that do and are willing to cosign. You can usually get a loan of 5x the amount of your highest revolving credit limit account, up to $150,000. Honestly, this is more than what you could get on your own when applying for credit cards. Furthermore, you can get cash out on this program.
Also, there is no impact on your personal credit with this type of financing. It will not even affect a guarantor’s personal credit. A lot of business owners use the good credit of friends or family to help them get the funding they need. All payments report to the business credit profile, so you can build business credit at the same time.
Once you get the funding you need, work on building your business credit score. There are a few things you need to do to make this happen. However, once it’s done, you will have access to the funding you need, and you could be in a better position to help others rather than asking for help.
The first step in the process is to establish your business credit profile. You do that by setting up your business to be a fundable entity separate from you the owner. That includes having separate contact information, using an EIN rather than your personal SSN, formally incorporating, and opening a separate, dedicated business bank account.
Once that is said and done, you can rest assured that your business accounts that are reporting will show up on your business credit report, thus causing your business credit score to climb. Not all accounts will report, but the Credit Line Hybrid does. That’s a good start. A business credit expert at Credit Suite can guide you through finding other vendors that you qualify to get an account with that will report as well.
Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.
It’s not a long term solution. There are many business owners who get their start with the help of friends and family. That’s a good thing. It’s a great way to get the ball rolling when your own resources are limited.
However, you don’t want business borrowing from friends and family to be your primary solution for the life of your business. Not only will this source of funds eventually dry up, but it can also cause some major drama.
The key to being able to fund your own business, and keep everyone else on your side, is to work toward building a business that is fundable on its own. As you do so, you will see that your friends and family continue to cheer you on, and eventually that’s the only help you’ll need.
The post Business Borrowing from Your Family and Friends: Top Hacks to Make it Work appeared first on Credit Suite.
To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach
, if you are an organization proprietor the job of getting company resources can be extremely difficult.. Due to the fact that they have actually never ever been shown just how to acquire funding and also as a result they have no hint where to start, many organizations stop working. The Small Business Administration reports that 97% of company financing applications stop working.
The relevance of looking for specialist support when establishing up organization credit report has numerous organization proprietors transforming to a service financing instructor to assist them develop their organization credit rating. One of the largest errors made by service proprietors is that they try to get company funding utilizing their individual credit scores.
Up until your service has 3 different service credit rating ratings, any type of funding that your company obtains will certainly be based exclusively on your individual debt ratings as well as your individual possessions. You require to have organization credit history ratings developed to also obtain looked at for an organization car loan. Having organization debt ratings developed are simply a beginning in the money procedure.
” Missing simply among the 20 products will certainly obtain your organization rejected,” states Finance Specialist James Christy. “If you adhere to the action in an excellent service money trainer you will certainly ensure that you have every one of the products finished.”
Lenders will certainly reject an organization funding application if the company lawful name is not detailed appropriately with the 411 Directory Assistance. An additional means funding can be refuted is if your company has a financial institution ranking listed below a reduced 5 or if your company does not have credit score documents open with the 3 organization credit report reporting firms.
The procedure of developing service credit report is a lot extra challenging than establishing up individual credit rating. There is one company credit score firm that will certainly attempt to bill you $500 simply to open your credit report data.
A company financing train advises local business owner in a detailed layout on specifically what they should do to obtain their company all set to be accepted for funding as well as just how as well as why to develop business credit report they require to obtain accepted. An instructor will certainly reveal a company just how to not just construct service debt, however to develop excellent company credit scores that the financial institutions as well as various other financing firms will certainly utilize to accept your funding demand. A great money trainer will commonly guide you to resources for service bank card, supplier credit lines as well as for various other innovative kinds of funding.
To locate an organization financing trainer to aid your service develop exceptional company credit rating you could most likely to your preferred internet search engine Google, Yahoo, or MSN as well as do a look for the expression “organization financing train”.
The value of looking for professional aid when establishing up service credit history has lots of organization proprietors transforming to an organization financing train to aid them develop their service credit rating. Till your service has 3 different organization debt ratings, any kind of funding that your service obtains will certainly be based entirely on your individual credit report ratings and also your individual possessions. One more method funding can be refuted is if your company has a financial institution score listed below a reduced 5 or if your service does not have credit scores documents open with the 3 organization credit scores reporting companies. A service money instructor advises company proprietors in a detailed layout on specifically what they should do to obtain their service prepared to be authorized for funding as well as just how and also why to construct the company debt ratings they require to obtain accepted. A train will certainly reveal a company exactly how to not just develop service credit scores, however to develop excellent service credit history that the financial institutions as well as various other loaning companies will certainly make use of to authorize your financing demand.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or entrepreneur – building a strong personal brand online will help you achieve your goals. To help you every step of the way – from planning to posts … The post The Personal Branding Playbook: Join The Creator Economy appeared first on Paper.li blog.
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By now, you’ve probably heard a lot of buzz about Gen Z’s favorite social media app, TikTok. TikTok is a video sharing platform that allows users to create and share dynamic short-form (maximum of 60 seconds) videos. Users can add song snippets, special effects, and filters to their videos and then share them with a …
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By now, you’ve probably heard a lot of buzz about Gen Z’s favorite social media app, TikTok.
TikTok is a video sharing platform that allows users to create and share dynamic short-form (maximum of 60 seconds) videos.
Users can add song snippets, special effects, and filters to their videos and then share them with a vast global network.
There are more than one billion users on TikTok, and the app is available in over 150 countries. It’s ideal for brands targeting a younger audience, as the majority of TikTok users are between the ages of 10 and 29.
Tapping into this diverse market offers a lucrative opportunity for brands. With the right TikTok marketing techniques, you can leverage this social network and open your brand up to an exciting market of Gen Z’ers and millennials.
Below, I’ll show you the strategies and tactics you need to sell products on TikTok.
TikTok is the most-downloaded social app worldwide. In 2020, TikTok was ranked one of the world’s top mobile apps, outperforming YouTtube, Tinder, and Netflix.
Bringing your brand to TikTok gives you visibility with millions of new users worldwide. These new customers have real buying power—–combined, they influence more than $350 billion in annual sales in the US.
TikTok’s unique algorithm means even accounts with little to no followers can go viral on the TikTok For You page (FYP).
Plus, integrations with Shopify and other strong eCommerce platforms have made it easy for brands to sell products directly on TikTok.
When you look at these stats, it’s no surprise brands across the globe are jumping on board and finding creative ways to sell products on TikTok.
If you want to sell products on TikTok, you need to lead your efforts with a strong strategy.
Your TikTok profile acts as your eCommerce home page, so it’s important to optimize your profile before you start selling.
Here are a few easy ways to do this.
Your TikTok bio is your chance to introduce your brand and products to your audience.
Your bio is the first thing people will see when they visit your page, so it’s important to make a good first impression. It’s also important to provide accurate information about your brand.
In a few words, describe your brand and what you do. Using keywords in your social networks is the best way to improve your SEO on TikTok.
Remember, your target market on TikTok is mostly Gen Z’ers, millennials, and Generation Alpha.
That means it’s important to speak their language.
Emojis are colorful and eye-catching and act as visual indicators of your products and services.
Using emojis can help increase conversions in your online store, so be sure to make good use of them when you sell products on TikTok.
Your TikTok profile should lead users towards actions you want them to take.
Adding a CTA to your profile will tell users exactly what to do next, and can help increase conversions.
For example, you can use a CTA to direct followers to your eCommerce shop, blog, or another social channel where you sell products.
You can also promote discount codes or sales in your TikTok bio.
Once you have your bio set up, it’s time to create your strategy. Here are a few tips to help your products sell.
If you want to sell products on TikTok, you need to get your brand in front of as many people as possible.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by sponsoring a branded hashtag that asks users to create user-generated content (UGC). TikTok calls this the Hashtag Challenge Plus, and it allows users to shop for products related to a sponsored hashtag.
Once you establish your challenge, you can create a paid-for hashtag with a specific landing page to direct your users towards a sale. The challenge will show up on the Discovery page, which drives more views.
TikTok also allows in-app shopping for your hashtag so viewers can buy directly from the app.
Brands such as Kroger have leveraged this feature effectively, with campaigns such as the #TransformUrDorm challenge. TikTok users were asked to create before and after videos of their dorm room makeovers. From there, they were prompted to buy dorm items such as toasters and popcorn makers directly in the TikTok app.
The award-winning campaign brought Kroger more than 800 million views and generated 304k UGC videos.
In 2020, TikTok announced a new deal with eCommerce giant Shopify to integrate Shopify’s more than 1 million eCommerce merchants with TikTok’s growing audience.
Shopify merchants can now connect their shops to their TikTok for Business accounts and sell products on TikTok directly, through in-feed shoppable videos and ads.
This is a great way to grow your Shopify eCommerce store and your TikTok following at the same time.
The Shopify app itself has a host of built-in features to help you sell products on TikTok.
Here are a few noteworthy TikTok for Shopify features:
If you’re new to this integration, try everything. As marketers, A/B testing is our greatest asset.
You’ll never know what works until you try it.
Once you have your store connected to your TikTok channel, you can start creating content that promotes your products.
Here are a few effective ways to promote your Shopify store on TikTok to drive more conversions.
Certain apps, such as Vop, allow you to embed your TikTok feed onto your sales website.
This lets your customers see your products in action before they commit to a sale.
If you regularly showcase user-generated content on your TikTok feed, you can tap into genuine, digital, word-of-mouth advertising. This can go a long way in improving the trust customers have in your brand.
Leveraging TikTok’s paid advertising features are a great way to tap into this exciting new market.
To begin creating ads, you need to know what you’re working with. TikTok content has specific specs and parameters you need to follow.
From there, it’s all about creating engaging, creative, and fun ads that attract the attention of TikTok’s youthful demographic.
When creating ads, be sure to use audio. TikTok has always been an audio/video platform, so it’s important to create content that fits in this sphere.
Voiceovers, background music, and special effects audio can help make your ads more effective.
Get creative! Tiktok is a platform built for content creators. Make your ads fun, fresh, and exciting to attract new customers.
Every TikTok bio allows you to add a website link.
Use this space to add a link to your eCommerce shop, or any pages you want to increase traffic to, like relevant promotions or landing pages.
This tactic is a great way to guide users to the content you want to be seen and increase sales on TikTok.
Installing the TikTok Pixel on your website, eCommerce store, and ads, allows you to track events along your customer purchase paths.
For example, if someone views a product, completes a payment, searches for a product, or adds billing info to your checkout flow, you can track it.
You can also track when a user downloads your content, clicks a button, or views a page.
This is helpful when you want to see if your eCommerce link in your profile bio is effective. Or, if you want to know how many people are making purchases through your shoppable videos.
The more data you collect, the better you can understand your customer journey.
From there, you can determine what works and where you should focus more resources.
The Shopify sales you make through TikTok can be managed directly within Shopify’s dashboard. This includes all ad creation, targeting, optimizations, and tracking.
Merchants can use Shopify-specific apps such as the “Magic TikTok Pixel” to better track conversions in TikTok campaigns.
When you install the Magic TikTok Pixel you will be able to:
Now that you know how to sell products on TikTok, it’s time to start experimenting.
TikTok is still evolving as a platform, and we can expect even more sales opportunities coming out soon.
For now, it’s important to get started with the shopping features that are already available. This will help you drive more eCommerce sales and attract loyal audiences.
If you want to develop a more comprehensive social media ad campaign that includes TikTok, but need help doing so, reach out to our agency.
How have you found success when selling products on TikTok?
Did you know there are more than 30 million small businesses in the United States alone?
With a number like this, small business owners need a competitive edge. If you are building a business, chances are you’re looking for ways to get your leg up on the competition. To accomplish this, you’ll need a good marketing strategy and access to the best digital marketing tools.
In this post, I’m going to outline 21 digital marketing tools you need when starting a business. You may be familiar with a marketing tool or two in here; others might be new to you.
From simplifying your social media marketing efforts and project management to finding freelancers, each of these tools will help you get the competitive edge you’re after.
Are you ready to grow your business with digital marketing?
Then let’s begin.
Get this: email marketing is used by eight out of ten marketers.
This isn’t something you should wait on. Instead, you should implement an email marketing strategy on day one.
With more than 12 million customers, MailChimp has claimed its spot as one of the top email marketing providers and digital marketing tools in the world.
While there are alternatives, this tool remains one of the best, for many reasons:
When starting a business, it’s not likely that you will have more than 2,000 subscribers. For this reason, you can get started with MailChimp early using the tool for free as you get your feet wet with email marketing and then move to a paid plan as you scale.
When it comes to marketing, sales, and CRM software, HubSpot has become one of the top players.
For the sake of this post, let’s focus on its marketing software solutions. The company has this to say about this digital marketing tool:
From attracting visitors to closing customers, HubSpot brings your entire marketing funnel together.
You know just how important it is for your marketing funnel to be in good working order. With this software, you have access to tools that help with:
There is no stone left unturned, when you rely on HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing software.That’s why it’s a top choice for those who are starting a business.
With everything you need in one place, you don’t have to pull yourself in many different directions. This will help you to find success in the early days and help you as you grow.
Trello is a digital marketing tool that helps you to manage projects and stay on the same page as your team–a sound digital marketing practice if you want to save time and frustration.
For example, you can share blog posts on Trello before you publish them. This gives others on your team the opportunity to review the post, weigh in with their thoughts and make changes that could strengthen the piece before it goes live.
In the past, before the days of Trello and similar programs, email was the best way to collaborate with your team. While this is still helpful, to a certain degree, it can lead to confusion, missed messages, and frustration.
With Trello, everything related to your online marketing strategy can be shared in the same place. It only takes a few minutes to set up a board. Even better, you can quickly invite your entire staff, all of whom can jump in on the action without delay.
Trello isn’t the only digital marketing tool of its kind, but it’s, by far, one of the best. When it comes to collaborating with others regarding marketing tasks, this tool is hard to beat.
Social media plays a big part in the success of any company, regardless of size, age, or industry. In fact, I’d argue that social media marketing is a must to thrive in this digital era.
Digital marketing tools like Hootsuite allow you to schedule social media posts in advance, thus saving you loads of time.
Hootsuite offers tons of features to help you grow your business. For example, you can:
Social media marketing is not as difficult as it sounds, especially when you rely on tools like Hootsuite. With this particular tool, you can schedule and manage social media profiles for more than 30 platforms.
Imagine doing this by hand, without a central dashboard to guide you. It would be enough to frustrate even the most experienced entrepreneur, let alone a new business owner. Let Hootsuite take over like the social media marketing manager it is.
As one of the top free tools from Google, Analytics should be part of your digital marketing strategy from the very start. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the most powerful digital marketing tools out there.
It only takes a couple of minutes to add the Analytics code to your website, giving you the ability to track every action by every visitor.
This is considered by many to be nothing more than a traffic tool, but it can actually have a big impact on your marketing strategy, if you know what you’re doing.
Take, for example, the ability to see where your traffic comes from:
Maybe you realize that a particular social media campaign is driving tons of traffic to your website. With this data, you can adjust your future strategy, in an attempt to capture the same results.
Or, maybe you find that a particular set of keywords is doing wonders for your organic traffic. Again, you can turn your attention to these keywords, ensuring that you keep these in mind as you create content down the road.
Google Analytics isn’t one of those digital marketing tools you can ignore. Installing this early on is a key decision, in regards to your digital marketing strategy. The data you can collect is extremely valuable.
The tagline of this digital marketing tool says it all:
Track, analyze and optimize your digital marketing performance. See what’s working and what’s not, across all campaigns, mobile and web.
It’s good that you want to spend so much time on digital marketing in the early days of your business. But, do you really want to make decisions that aren’t having an impact?
You need to track and analyze every move that you make, as this is the only way to focus on the tactics that are providing the best return on investment (ROI).
With KISSmetrics, you can easily see what’s working and what’s not, across all of your campaigns.
Take, for example, its Analytics products. With a funnel report, you can see if there are any “leaks” in your business. Here’s a screenshot of what to expect:
Starting at $120/month, KISSmetrics isn’t the cheapest digital marketing tool on this list. Even so, it’s one that you’ll want to think about, as your business gets up and running.
With a variety of products at your fingertips, the insights you receive will be invaluable to your company’s growth.
Do you plan on spending a lot of time on social media marketing?
While this is a great way to engage your audience and send traffic to your website, it’ll only work in your favor if you have a solid plan in place.
Tools, such as Followerwonk, are designed to help you improve your social media marketing strategy, such as by digging into your Twitter analytics data.
I included this digital marketing tool on the list for two reasons: it’s easy to use and it’s extremely effective.
Followerwonk breaks down its service into three distinct categories:
The only downside of Followerwonk is that it can’t be used with other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. However, if you have big plans for Twitter, this is a digital marketing tool you should use often.
Even though you may not use it on a daily basis, it can come in handy from time to time. After all, it’s imperative that you understand your audience.
If WordPress is your content management system (CMS) of choice, you shouldn’t hesitate to install the All in One SEO Pack plugin.
A big part of your digital marketing strategy should be based around search engine optimization (SEO) and this digital marketing tool will ensure that you always make good decisions regarding your content and its appeal to search engines.
Some of the top features of the plugin include:
Even though all of these features are exciting, it’s something else that has made it one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time: its ease of use.
Here’s a screenshot, showing a small portion of the tool’s back end:
You don’t have to make many decisions in order to get started. And, if you’re ever confused as to what you should be doing, there is help to be had. All you have to do is click the “?” symbol and you’re provided with more information and advice.
The All in One SEO Pack plugin has more than a million active installs. You won’t have to look far to find competitors, but there’s a reason why so many people use this digital marketing tool.
Not only is it free and simple, but it’s results can’t be denied. It will definitely help your website from an SEO perspective, which is something all new businesses need.
BuzzSumo is a big deal for people who need to learn more about their market.
When you start a business, it’s safe to say you know a thing or two about your industry and primary competitors. But, once you dig around more, you’ll find that there is tons of data you can use to your advantage.
If you want to better understand your competition or if you want to learn what type of content performs best with search engines and your audience, you don’t need any other digital marketing tool by your side.
A BuzzSumo search results page looks something like this:
Additionally, there is high level data associated with each result:
This information can come in handy at many times, such as when you are creating content for your blog.
Why guess as to what is performing best in your niche? You can use BuzzSumo to answer this question with 100 percent accuracy.
With this search, you see that the top result has approximately 20k social shares. You now know what to strive for, if you want to achieve the same level of success.
As a big fan of BuzzSumo, this is a ditial marketing tool that I use on a regular basis. Even if you don’t do much with the data at first, each search will help you to better understand your competition and target audience.
Do you ever find yourself asking this question: what’s working and what’s not about my website?
This is where Crazy Egg can step in and provide assistance.
There are two keys here:
When you’re new to your business, you don’t want to spend countless hours dealing with IT issues. Unfortunately, this often happens when it comes to split testing. Unless you use Crazy Egg, of course.
The tool is packed with features, such as:
A tool that helps you understand what your website visitors like and don’t like, so you can maximize your sales and leads, means that you have to give Crazy Egg a try. It’s one of those digital marketing tools that you don’t know you need, until you use it one time.
Not only is keyword research a challenging task, but it can also get expensive with the price of premium keyword research tools. Your typical free software won’t offer you much but UberSuggest isn’t your typical free software.
As a whole, this digital marketing tool is easy for beginners because the dashboard is simple to navigate so you can quickly find the data you want. You’ll start by entering a root keyword or domain that you want to research. You get up to three free searches per day on the free version and you can upgrade to a paid software as well.
UberSuggest provides useful keyword information such as total search volume, difficulty, and paid difficulty if you’re thinking of running an ad campaign around that keyword.
As you work your way down you’ll see historical data that will show you how that keyword has trended over time. This is helpful for determining seasonal keywords or ones that are popular now but may die off over time.
You also get keyword ideas and suggestions that are relevant to the one you’re searching for so you can update older content or develop a content marketing plan.
Overall, UberSuggest is an amazing free keyword research tool that is a great choice for beginners and has enough value as a paid tool for those who are scaling as well.
CoFoundersLab is a great digital marketing tool for small businesses that are growing but need a little help to take things to the next level. It uses AI to help you find a cofounder, additional member, or advisor based on a certain set of criteria.
The best digital marketing tools make life easier. CoFoundersLab intends on helping to create a large ecosystem of business owners, entrepreneurs, consultants, and advisors so it’s that much easier to find whatever you need at the current stage in your business.
For example, you can search for someone with a specific skill and find them instantly without having to post on job boards, conduct interviews, and do onboarding. If you’re looking for an SEO content creator, you’ll simply fill out that set of criteria and be instantly connected to someone who can fill that role.
It’s similar to other freelancing platforms out there, but what separates CoFoundersLab is you can find someone who is on the same level. If you’re looking for someone to financially back your business or simply support you equally in your venture, this might be the place to do it.
When it comes to must-have digital marketing tools, Adobe Sign more than makes the cut. It’s a cloud-based e-signature service that helps you use less paper, save time, and get signatures using an automated signature system. You can send documents, sign, and manage the whole process via desktop or mobile device.
There are also integrations to keep records of all the signatures you’ve received so you can reference back if you lose something important.
This simple but useful tool solves a major problem that a lot of businesses have. More and more people are working remotely and may not have access to printers and scanners. This creates delays in your workflow and can frustrate customers if you’re unable to get them what they want because you’re waiting on signatures and approvals.
Adobe Sign is also usable from anywhere on any device. Someone can be on their way to a meeting in the car and sign on their mobile device using their fingertip. No need to print anything, scan, fax, anything. It’s completely digital, safe, and secure.
DropBox is an essential piece of the modern digital business. It allows all the working pieces of your business to come together in one place to eliminate clutter and save time looking for things.
Organization is the key to a successful business, and downloading and sharing files simply doesn’t cut it anymore. With people working from home, you can’t have everyone downloading personal company files onto their computers, misplacing them, or potentially abusing them.
DropBox prevents this from happening by being a totally cloud-based document sharing platform that allows you to set permission levels so certain people can only see what they need to.
You can also connect other tools like Slack and Zoom to DropBox so you have everything in one place. All company data stays in one place so it’s organized, safe, and accounted for.
If you’re still manually downloading files to your computer, attaching them to emails, and sending them off into space, you’ll find DropBox is a much more efficient and safer way to keep track of documents and document sharing in your business.
I don’t know where I would be without the full line of Gmail products. There used to be a time when we’d create pieces of content in Word platform, download it, and then attach it to an email and send it off.
The next person would mark it up with notes and adjustments, send it back, and the process would start over.
Thankfully, those days are long gone.
With Google Docs and Sheets, you can share documents in real-time and actually mark them up with the writer looking at them so you can see what they’re doing. There’s a chat feature and a suggestion area, too where you can ask questions and provide responses as to why a certain adjustment was made.
There’s a level of security and protection here, as well. Different permission levels ranging from “view” to “edit” give you complete control over your documents. If you’re sending a document off as a reference to something, you might not want that person to make any changes to it without making a copy for themselves, the Gmail Suite of products can do that.
Plus, everything syncs with your Google Calendar. If you’re talking in an email about setting up a call in three days, you can instantly set that appointment on your calendar and you’ll receive reminders across all your devices.
oDeskWork is a freelancer platform that connects you with the right virtual assistant or freelancer to support your business. At some point, every business needs to start hiring. No matter what business you’re in, to grow and scale, you need a support system because you can’t do everything.
This is where digital marketing tools like oDeskWork come into play. You can upload current projects that you need completed, browse profiles, and start communicating with potential candidates.
The platform also offers payment protection, so you ensure you get the services you anticipated. Payments are only released to the freelancer when you’re satisfied with the work they completed.
oDeskWork has experts and freelancers in all different kinds of niches including digital marketing, virtual assisting, transcribing, proofreading, writing, editing, SEO, WordPress, and more.
Upwork is a freelancer platform that connects you with qualified candidates who can help your business grow, making it a must-have digital marketing tool. What I like most about Upwork is the transparency you get and the fact that you can see all types of work that the freelancers have completed.
For example, if you’re browsing for someone to build you a WordPress website, you wouldn’t hire someone without first seeing what type of work they do, right?
The platform will show you examples of their work, their job success rating, a description of their skills, their rate per hour, as well as any badges they’ve earned for continuous performance.
When you’re searching for tools for digital marketing agencies, the last thing you need is to waste time with people who can’t deliver. Upwork ensures that doesn’t happen with their escrow protection as well. None of the money you pay for a job will be released until you are happy with it.
I also find that Upwork is a great place to find long-term working relationships with freelancers that you can use on an ongoing basis versus a one-off job.
I like to think of Fiverr as Upwork’s little brother. When you’re looking to create long-term working relationships and hire someone who can really provide you with a premium service, you should turn to Upwork.
Sometimes though, you’re just looking for a quick job that someone can turn around fast for an affordable price. For example, if you need someone to do up a quick logo for an affiliate site for five dollars, Fiverr is the way to go.
One thing I really like about Fiverr is you can quickly sift through freelancers using the search feature. Type in the service you’re interested in, and you’ll find information such as overall rating and average starting cost.
Fiverr also provides certain freelancers with titles like “top-rated seller” and “level 2 seller.” These will help you determine what level of experience you’re looking for in the job you need to be completed. The best digital marketing tools offer this kind of trust.
This tool is best for one-off jobs that are lower budget and not as difficult, but I wouldn’t recommend hiring off Fiverr for anything too involved such as link building or content creation.
Need to stay on task? This digital marketing tool can help.
OmniFocus is a task management tool that helps you manage all your operations in one place. You can keep track of everything that’s going on all from your browser or mobile device.
You can tag certain projects, assign them to the individual you want to complete them, and set due dates so you can lay out your week in the most productive way possible. As work comes in, you can assign support workers to handle the task and close it out when it’s complete.
One of my favorite things about OmniFocus is the forecast feature where you can get an overall snapshot of what you have coming up in the future including recurring tasks that might only happen once per quarter, bi-annually, or even every few years. This ensures that no one forgets anything.
The main downside is that this tool is only available for Apple users at this point. For all the Windows and Android people out there, you’ll have to go with something else like Trello or ClickUp for now.
We all know Zoom as the video conferencing software used to bring people together no matter where they are on the planet. We’re all facing our own unique remote working situation but we still need to connect sometimes and Zoom allows that to happen. The best digital marketing tools help bring businesses together.
You can share your screen, draw on the screen, record meetings, and invite others to join in as well. Zoom offers free video conferencing for up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes.
If you’re holding a one-on-one meeting that runs longer than 40 minutes, I’ve found in the past that Zoom will often extend the meeting for free with no time limit.
Toggl helps bring this list of digital marketing tools together. For all the work you’re doing, freelancers you’re managing, and documents you’re sharing; you need to have an idea of how long everything takes.
This tool does that with time tracking, reporting, and project planning. You can use Toggl to get an accurate representation of how long a task or project will take so you can know how many resources you need to allot for next time.
Toggl offers a few different tools for time tracking, project planning, and candidate-screening so it’s an all-inclusive tool for businesses that manage a remote team.
Starting or growing a business isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, either.
The first step is to create a strong digital marketing strategy–one that incorporates social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, and consistent, valuable content that truly speaks to your audience.
Ensuring your business succeeds means using the right digital marketing tools at the right time. It’s my hope that this list will help you in your digital marketing efforts and bring you the success you seek.
Would you add any other tools to this list? Did you use any of these as you launched your small business? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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