10 USEFUL MARKETING SITES SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULD SAVE TO THEIR FAVOURITES
If you’re a marketer who often finds yourself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of marketing resources available online, rest assured that you’re not alone. There are many useful sites and apps out there, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are right for you.
Each marketing expert must determine which marketing resources and sites best suit his or her needs. These useful sites might not all be right for you, but I’m sure that some of the items on my list will end up occupying your Favorites bar as well—that is, if they aren’t already there.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a site used for scheduling and managing social media posts and metrics across different platforms. Hootsuite can be used for over 35 popular social networks, including popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Not only does Hootsuite allow you to schedule posts, it also gives you information about who is reading, liking, and sharing those posts.
2. Google Analytics
Marketing experts worth their salt understand the importance of tracking and measuring their efforts. What’s the point of organizing and following through with campaigns if you don’t know how well—if at all—those campaigns are working to improve your conversion rates? Google Analytics is one of the best marketing resources for keeping track of your progress, and it will ultimately help you improve your marketing strategy. Like the other useful sites listed in this post, Google Analytics is free to use.
3. URL Builder
Though URL Builder is part of Google Analytics, I have this site saved as its own page in my Favorites bar. I regularly depend on this useful site to create custom URLs that enable me to track the activity of my site’s visitors. While some of the other sites in my Favorites bar are reference sites with information to which I often refer, URL Builder has a practical application that I use often. Creating and distributing great content is all well and good, but if you can’t keep track of how that content is helping your site improve, your job isn’t being done in its entirety.
4. Canva
People who work in marketing must wear multiple figurative hats. We sometimes fill several roles, including writer, researcher, manager, and even graphic designer. This last point is where Canva comes in handy. One of the better-organized graphic design sites out there, this useful site allows marketers to create custom presentations, flyers, and other graphic images. Its fun, fresh, and simple modern design allows even amateur designers to create professional-looking pieces. With free access to sites like Canva, marketers for even the smallest companies no longer have any excuse for not creating beautiful, professional content.
5. StockSnap.io
In case you haven’t heard, corny stock photos are out. Gone are the days of businesspeople smiling back-to-back with their arms crossed across their chests. Instead, websites are now making use of real photographs of nature and of normal people in everyday situations. There are a few useful sites for finding copyright-free photographs, but StockSnap offers a particularly beautiful collection of images for you to use in your marketing efforts.
6. HubSpot’s Marketing Blog
Content marketing is a fairly new phenomenon. If you’re looking for a credible source of diverse information regarding the glamourous field of content marketing, look no further than the HubSpot Marketing Blog. It’s one of those marketing resources that I rely on much more than I sometimes think I should. Some of the posts cover general topics like the psychology of marketing, while others are detailed accounts of specific topics like buyer personas. Whatever you need to know about marketing, you can probably find it on HubSpot.
7. Pocket
Ever come across an article, video, or other piece of content that you thought would be great for your blog or social media, but that you didn’t have time to look at? With Pocket, you can save all such content in one place, then look at it later. You can download Pocket on your phone, tablet, or computer, and once you’ve saved something to Pocket, you don’t need Internet access to look at that content again. Pocket is a great app for keeping track of useful sites and marketing resources, and it can help you stay organized.
8. Scoop.it
This content curation site is useful not just for distributing your own content, but for finding other great marketing resources and useful content to share with your followers. Scoop.it users add their own content to the site, along with a description, allowing other people to view that content according to topic. It’s basically just one big platform for sharing things, and—as we all know—sharing is caring. Especially in the world of marketing.
9. Piktochart
If you think infographics are super cool, but you haven’t the foggiest idea how to create one of your own, have no fear—Piktochart is here. This site allows you to make professional infographics quickly and easily. Infographics can be great forms of visually interesting content; if you don’t have any for your site yet, I recommend that you check out this cool marketing resource. Did I mention that it’s free?
10. Google Drive
While not strictly a marketing resource, Google Drive can be a content marketing team’s best friend. If you’re working with a team of people, this large online storage space can help you share files and collaborate without having to deal with the hassle of oversized email attachments. Google Drive also allows you to work on the same content from different computers, tablets, and even smartphones. If you want to have access to your work wherever you go, or if you’d like other people to have access to it, Google Drive might be the site for you.