Modern Marketing Toolbox: 7 Essential Digital Marketing Tools to Use

digital marketing in letter squares

Digital marketing tools can turbocharge the growth and development of your business. They allow you to do more with less and gain a deeper understanding of your audience.

That’s probably why digital ad spending is expected to go up by over $375 billion by 2021. Yet nearly half of those doling out the dough actually have a digital marketing strategy in place!

The right tools can help fix that. And in the following article, we’ll be discussing the ones that most demand your attention. Let’s get started!

1. Google

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We don’t simply mean “Google it,” though the search engine can certainly be a great research tool for building necessary content. No, we’re talking about the suite of Google products that help you with the under-the-hood part of your site.

This wouldn’t be a good digital marketing guide if we didn’t spell out what those specific tools are. So here’s a quick overview.

  • Google Trends: What are the hot topics that people are searching the most? Great for planning the content you plan to cover.
  • Google Keyword Planner: beyond the topics, what are some of the specific keywords being searched? What are the low-competition long-tail terms? This will help you optimize.
  • Google Adwords: this is a good way of instantly monetizing your blog. To get the most bang for your buck, you’ll want to have content that sizzles (see other tools).
  • Google Analytics: What are your best performing posts? Worst performing? It helps to know both!

Get your feet wet with these before moving onto specifics. Other useful Google tools include Analytics URL Builder, Data Studio, and Tag Manager.

2. Social Media Management Tools

Much has been made (sometimes rightfully so) of Facebook’s questionable tactics toward marketers. And you shouldn’t go all-in with the social media giant. But it’s hard to run any sort of digital marketing enterprise without it.

Even so, not all of your customers will be on Facebook. That’s why it’s important to have a presence on the other major networks (i.e., Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, etc.). Give your audience as many ways to interact with you as possible.

Then, use a tool like HootSuite, CoSchedule, or SocialFlow to plan and publish posts. That’ll keep you from having to visit every website any time you need to make a post.

3. Email

Use email list management programs like Mailchimp to keep tabs on your email/website update sign-ups. Also, fragment those lists as much as possible so you know exactly what brought them to you and where they are in the sales process (tire-kicking or ready-to-buy).

4. Key Influencers

Here’s one of the more overlooked digital marketing tips. Search terms like “what is digital marketing,” and you’ll find top search results populated by influencers like Neil Patel or heavy deep-dive journalism sites like Search Engine Land.

Follow these top dogs religiously. Read everything you can get your hands on to understand where the trends are and where they’re going.

5. SEO Management Suites

It’s not enough to know how your posts are performing compared to other posts. You also want to know how you stack up against the competition. Enter SEO Management Tools.

There are many reputable ones out there. Most will let you see the top-performing posts on your competitors’ sites as well as emerging trends for specific content areas. Use these to your advantage when generating fresh content ideas, exploring new topics, or growing your footprint.

6. Design Software

Unique and eye-catching designs are necessary for branding. But they can be expensive if you’re farming it out to someone else or hiring a full-time designer.

Enter sites like Canva, Pablo, and Weld, or pay software like Microsoft Publisher. These enable you to create designs that pop with very little trial-and-error.

7. Team Collaboration Software

Platforms like Slack or Trello are not often grouped into the discussion of digital marketing software. That’s because they fall under the “team collaboration” banner.

But any great marketing effort requires growth. And as you grow, so, too, will the people you have to bring on board to keep the ship afloat.

That’s where team collaboration software comes into play. The aforementioned products are for project management and 101, “digital marketing for beginners” purposes.

Consider employing OKR SOFTWARE for next-level digital marketing. This includes a focus on objectives and key results (OKR) and it actually connects what your team is doing to the big picture (i.e. measurable results).

Digital Marketing Tools Are Always Changing

So put the tools above to good use, but always be on the lookout for emerging digital marketing tools to stay ahead of the curve. Good luck! And before you go, make sure to check out some more of our posts on SEO and digital marketing.