[2020] Tools Guide for Content Marketing Campaigns
Online tools can greatly help with your content marketing campaigns but you need to choose the most effective ones!
Ever heard of having too much of a good thing?
There’s an abundance of tools dedicated to content marketing. They make it easier to do just about everything, from creating cool visuals to perfecting the timing of your Instagram posts.
And yet, this endless choice can seem daunting. The toolbox runneth over, making it hard to decide what best suits your needs.
Time to look at the tools that pack the strongest guarantee to transform your next online campaign into an audience magnet.
2020 Tools Guide: Content Marketing
Source: Pexels
Tools Guide: to do marketing research
First things first: the basis of any campaign is knowing what type of content your audience will find most interesting. Blog posts? Video? Quizzes? And what topics should you focus on?
Some of the best tools to help you decide:
Oh, you’ve already heard of this one? Well, beyond Google’s omnipresent search engine, don’t forget all the brilliant marketing tools it has to offer.
- Google Trends shows you how search volumes are changing over time, allowing you to understand trends that are relevant to your audience
- Google Keyword Plannerlets you identify keywords and check search volumes to make sure your online ads get seen far and wide
- Once you’re up and running, Google Analytics can pinpoint your most effective content using, for example, time on page, bounce rate and pages per session.
Google Trends example (yoga versus pilates)
Buzzsumo
How about having the ability to choose your content based on what’s been successful for others?
Buzzsumo lets you know what content is proving to be popular for other companies in your sector. It also shows you what topics your potential customers are discussing on social media, and which experts those customers are most influenced by.
All in all, the perfect way to keep your finger on the pulse and create content to match.
Tools Guide: to manage social media
Once you’ve decided what types of content to use, time to make sure it gets noticed.
Nobody would doubt the power of social media: 73% of marketers claim that it has been effective for their business.
But with so many channels, from Pinterest to Instagram stories, it can feel overwhelming to plan a campaign. Tools to the rescue!
Buffer
No more angry texts from the marketing team because, after sharing a certain post on Facebook and Twitter, you forgot about LinkedIn.
Buffer is a one-stop shop, allowing you to schedule posts across all the main social media channels. It also allows you to analyze which posts work best for you, as well as making sure you don’t miss any interactions from your audience.
Hootsuite
Need something more extensive?
Hootsuite also allows you to schedule posts across channels, but with a broader range of platforms (YouTube, WordPress Blogs). The dashboard has a huge range of features, managing not just posts, but even ad campaigns.
It’s this all-encompassing service that makes Hootsuite the world’s most popular tool for handling social media.
Hootsuite dashboard example (source)
Tools Guide: to make content look good
It’s no secret: visually appealing content is simply more popular.
Blog posts with images get 94% more views; Facebook posts with images are more than twice as likely to attract interactions.
But don’t despair if you’re not exactly a design whizz—there are plenty of tools to help you out:
Venngage
An image speaks a thousand words.
Venngage is a simple tool to make sure your audience sits up and notices. Their templates let you create eye-catching images, from mindmaps to funky charts and diagrams.
No matter how complex the information, features such as their infographic templates allow you to get the idea across in a fun (and highly shareable) way.
Venngage infographic example (source)
Canva
With its estimated 15 million users, you’re probably already familiar with them. And there’s no denying that this tool’s popularity is deserved.
It offers millions of stock photos, as well as illustrations, cool fonts, shapes, and so on. Basically everything you need to create the perfect images to illustrate your message or accompany your texts.
Tools Guide: to make users engage
No matter how interesting or eye-catching your content is, its true measure of success is in one thing: does it get people to do what you want them to do?
Does your content get users to subscribe to your newsletter, or to buy your product, or to do something similar?
Whatever your goal, these tools make sure to transform users’ interest into action:
Typeform
In an age of information overload, how can we get people to hear our message? Well, how about first listening to them?
The Typeform Quiz Builder is a tool that allows you to start a conversation with your audience.
Perhaps you can ask about what type of product or service your users need. Or perhaps you could simply test their knowledge on a fun issue.
Either way, a quiz is one of the most effective ways to get people to hang around on your site, submit their details and perhaps even make that purchase.
Typeform quiz example (source)
Wishpond
How to draw in your audience more? Never underestimate their competitive streak!
Wishpond is a platform that aims to grow your business in a variety of ways. One aspect not to be missed is its range of tools for making online contests. The site offers all sorts of contest ideas, while the tools allow you to create everything from photo caption competitions to sweepstakes where the audience win prizes.
The benefits for you? Users are only too keen to share a satisfying contest on social media, and even to provide you with their details so they can enter.
Tools Guide for Content Marketing: to manage whole campaign
Ok, so you now have an idea of what type of content you want to use, how you want to share it, how it’s going to look, and how it’s going to engage your audience. Here’s my tools guide for the whole content marketing campaign.
Time to bring it all together. Some of the best all-rounders:
Hubspot
With over 68,000 customers around the world, Hubspot is more of a well-stocked toolbox rather than a singular tool.
Its goal is to provide you with everything you need to make the journey from attracting an audience to getting users to do what you need (subscribing, purchasing, etc.). That means tools that help you develop your own website, automate your ads and social media, analyze your performance, and so on.
Who could ask for anything more?
ActiveCampaign
While Hubspot’s popularity claims the throne, there are plenty of alternatives which can be cheaper and arguably more suited to smaller businesses.
ActiveCampaign is another all-in-one that helps you design, create and track your campaigns. It’s also scalable, meaning that it can grow as you start to attract all those delightful new customers.
ActiveCampaign dashboard example (source)
Planning and organizing a content marketing campaign can seem like a mountain to climb. But don’t be daunted.
The 2020 Tools Guide for Content Marketing will help you take things step by step, making sure your next campaign gets all eyes on you.
About the author
Content Marketing Sales Funnel
Your content marketing sales funnel is all about getting people to know, like and trust you by nurturing them with the right information at the right time.