15 Top Digital Marketing Tools & Why We Love Them via @sejournal, @gwthhackguides

The digital marketing industry is constantly changing, and if you feel like you’re being challenged to do more with less, you’re not alone.

Marketers need tools more than ever to automate repetitive tasks, augment our skills, collaborate more effectively, and scale what we’re doing right.

And when it comes to digital marketing tools, you have tens or even hundreds of thousands of options to choose from – certainly hundreds of options for each channel or task type.

Here are 15 of the most popular digital marketing tools on the market right now (in no particular order) and why they’re indispensable to many.

1. Canva

Steve Jobs once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Canva makes creating design elements simple with a sophisticated platform.

If you can not draw a stick figure, don’t worry. The Canva repository of designs allows you to choose and edit a design without specific skills to create a stunning pixel-perfect design.

Additionally, Canva provides graphic animation, infographics, and videos.

Canva offers a free plan, but if you want to upgrade to a paid plan, it is well worth the investment.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot provides a powerhouse of tools to help marketers, but the Hubspot CRM is particularly popular due to its powerful features.

The HubSpot CRM provides email tracking & notifications, prospect tracking, meeting scheduling, and a live chat option.

Furthermore, HubSpot’s ease of use makes the platform stand out from competitors.

The best part about the HubSpot CRM tool is the price point, which is free.

Unfortunately, the drawback of the free plan is that it only allows two users to access the CRM.

However, the paid plan has unlimited users, and you can add up to one million contacts.

3. VWO

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) can be somewhat esoteric, but it doesn’t have to be with VWO (Visual Web Optimizer).

VWO measures clicks on-site, page scrolling from users, time spent on site, and exit intent.

The power of VWO is the ability to test different angles for your site to increase your conversion rates.

Testing button colors, headlines, landing page layouts, and several other variables is straightforward with VWO.

You don’t have to be technically inclined to set up tests.

Non-technically inclined individuals without coding skills can set up tests just as easily as a developer.

4. Semrush

To drive traffic to your site, you will need competitive intelligence.

Semrush provides 50+ tools to help you compete against your competitors.

Semrush is widely regarded as an SEO tool, but that may be selling it a bit short as the software offers several other digital marketing features.

For instance, Semrush offers features for social media competitive analysis, CRO, PPC spying, and PR monitoring.

If you’re looking for a suite of tools to compete against the onslaught of competitors looking to drive you out of business, Semrush provides a good line of defense.

5. Slack

Once upon a time, carrier pigeons, smoke signals, and letters were the norm for communication.

Now, millions of people use Slack as the primary way of communicating.

Slack is the next evolution of communication. Messages are instantaneous, and you can share several file formats through the platform.

Additionally, Slack connects you to video conference calls and allows you to create channels for a select group of contacts for group chatting to increase productivity.

It also integrates well with various other tools and productivity suites.

6. Asana

The path of least resistance is not always a linear progression.

Asana realized this when they built this fantastic project management software.

Asana provides project managers, product managers, and executives visibility and accountability of team members.

You can break tasks down into subtasks and assign them to team members.

Additionally, you can set up milestones, and the entire organization can view the progression of projects through tagging tasks.

Through API integrations, Asana also integrates with CRM systems and several other third-party apps.

Furthermore, you can start to use Asana for free.

7. OptinMonster

OptinMonster, bought to you by veteran WordPress aficionado Syed Balkhi, is sure to delight.

Whether you are a startup, small business, or even an enterprise-level organization with a WordPress site or blog, OptinMonster monster delivers advanced functionality hidden in simplicity to end-users.

OptinMonster provides a highly customizable lightbox popup for collecting emails, countdown timers, inline forms, content locks, and targeted campaigns based on Google Analytics data that seamlessly integrates with the platform.

8. ConvertKit

ConvertKit provides advanced multi-step email journeys called sequences to increase your email open rates.

In addition, audience segmentation called rules within the platform offers complex automation for your email sequences which take minutes, not hours, to build with ConvertKit.

Furthermore, all links inserted within your email sequences are tracked and reported within a user-friendly dashboard.

ConvertKit also enables you to copy and paste code within your articles to create beautiful email opt-in forms that can easily integrate with the CRM platform of your choice.

If you are looking for a cost-effective, user-friendly email marketing software that provides advanced automation and segmentation with a plethora of API integrations, try ConvertKit.

9. Unbounce

Landing pages can make or break the number of transactions you can drive to your organization.

For instance, if you are running PPC campaigns, Google ads assign a landing page quality score that could either help or hurt your efforts to drive sales.

Unbounce provides a cost-effective way to build responsive landing pages optimized for mobile and desktop traffic that happen to be aesthetically pleasing and functional.

No coding is necessary to create landing pages.

The drag and drop editor provides you with everything you need to make the experience you would like to create for your target audience.

If you would like to add advanced functionality, you have the option of adding custom HTML and Javascript.

Unbounce offers over 120 integrations with third-party applications.

AI technology called smart traffic can dynamically shift your traffic to the highest converting landing page variant, drastically increasing your conversion rates.

10. Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is a social media tool that has taken the marketing world by storm since its inception by seasoned marketer Noah Kagan.

When you need a tool to get to the heart of social media analytics, look no further.

Identifying social media influencers, building trending journalist profiles, and viewing the most shared content are a few features that Buzzsumo offers that will give you a competitive advantage against your competitors.

11. Sprout Social

Have you ever needed to be in multiple places at one time?

Sprout Social gives you the ability to post to multiple social media platforms by automating your social media stories.

The best feature about Sprout Social is the analytics dashboard to gauge activity across each social channel once you have automated your posts.

Sprout Social is a no-brainer to add to your tech stack if you have multiple social media channels.

12. Deepcrawl

Deepcrawl enables you to gather impactful metrics – and fast.

In addition, unlike several other technical SEO web crawlers, a clean user interface makes navigating the platform straightforward.

Deepcrawl makes automated SEO crawls and automated code audits seamless.

Furthermore, the platform offers a strategic partner to help you unlock all the powerful features of the platform.

13. Demio

Did you know nearly 70% of webinars are for increasing sales and engagement?

If you are not leveraging webinars, you are seriously leaving money on the table for your organization.

Demio is a powerful tool that hosts live events and conducts product overviews.

Furthermore, Demio evergreen webinars that can increase your participation rate.

As a marketer in the 21st century, you are aware of the power of video – but personalization is critical now more than ever.

Personalization with video is accomplished with Loom.

You can present a video recording or live video while displaying your face in a small circular box that is non-intrusive and sleek.

Loom is excellent for teaching students, providing general overviews and software product walkthroughs.

Fun fact: The SEJ team uses Loom internally.

15. Lucky Orange

Lucky Orange provides eight tools under one company umbrella.

Simply put, this platform is the closest match to a digital marketing Swiss army knife.

One monthly flat rate provides access to the following tools:

Guess how much it costs for the starter plan?

Drum roll, please.

Plans start at $10 a month.

Startup founders, established business owners, or anyone with a web presence can gather a deeper understanding of your audience with Lucky Orange.

Google Analytics is always a go-to but take your analytics analysis further with this affordable and versatile tool.

In Conclusion

No matter what digital marketing niche you operate in, automating your marketing efforts is the current reality.

These 15 tools can help automate specific tasks, save you time, and ultimately generate more revenue for your organization.

If you are a startup founder, blogger, or internet-based small business, consider integrating these tools into your tech stack.

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