Marketing

5 Marketing Hacks to Make Your Life Easier in 2020

November 18, 2019

Every business owner knows that marketing is important, but what happens when trying to figure out marketing keeps you from the real work of your business? If it seems like marketing is taking over your life, you may want to check out these tools. Each year, thousands (yes, thousands) of new marketing technology hits the market carrying the promise of making marketing easier and more effective for your business. But which tools are right for you?

These marketing tools are designed to make your life easier, but sinking time and money into the wrong tool can be a costly mistake. While not every tool makes sense for every business, there are some tools that should be mainstays in every marketing manager’s toolbox. We took a look at some of the most popular MarTech and came up with our top five easy-to-learn tools that can make marketing less of a burden for your business.

1. Online Local Listings

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical component of every business’s marketing plan. One component of SEO that can’t be ignored is accurate online listings (think online yellow pages). Moz Local is a marketing tool that makes it easy for businesses to update their online listings all in one place. This increases your company’s visibility on search engines so that your customers can find you when they search online.

2. Social Media Automation

Social media can be overwhelming and take up a lot of your time unless you leverage automated tools like HootSuite or Buffer. Both of these platforms are easy to use and allow you to schedule your posts on several different social media platforms in advance. Each service offers distinct features but their basic functionality is the same: plan social media content in advance and schedule everything in one sitting. This game-changing automation can save you a good chunk of time and bring in more leads for your business.

3. Social Media Graphics

You can’t post anything on social media without an image. Well, you can but people are unlikely to engage with your content without an associated picture or graphic to go with it. The good news is that you don’t have to be a graphic designer to create great social media graphics. Services like Canva, Adobe Spark, and Over make it easy to design professional-looking graphics using templates and presets. These services also link up with free stock photos sites such as Unsplash and Pexels, keeping costs low for marketers on a budget.

4. Email Marketing

If you think email marketing is simply sending out your company’s electronic newsletter, think again. Lead nurture campaigns are an easy and effective way to build relationships with your current and future customers. You can set up a series of messages to be sent out to all of your subscribers or to specific lists over a specific period of time. These messages can be used for onboarding, up-selling, and more. Mailchimp is an email automation service that allows for both standard e-newsletters and lead nurture or “drip” campaigns. It’s easy to learn, offers great customer support, and offers a free plan to qualifying businesses.

5. Plagiarism Checker

Due to the rise of content marketing, plagiarism is a real concern. Whether a rogue website is stealing your content or a content mill is selling you stolen copy, it’s wise to know your way around a plagiarism checker. You always need to be sure that you’re not being copied or unknowingly plagiarizing another brand’s copy. Copyscape is a reliable plagiarism checker with both free and paid services.

These are five marketing tools that we believe will benefit any small business trying to get a handle on their marketing. But we also know that not all businesses are created equal. If you can’t (or simply don’t want to) hack it on your own, give us a call. We would love to work with you to create a digital marketing strategy that will save you time and grow your business.

Cross & Crown

About Cross & Crown

Cross & Crown is a team of creatives who are passionate about solving problems through design and technology, taking what is there and making it better. Based in Chambersburg, PA, we strive to help educate, advocate, and thrive in a digital world.

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