Having the right tools is essential to getting the job done right and in a timely manner. The same goes for marketing. If you want to attract and convert leads online, you have to have the right tools. This is one area where I see businesses fail the most. They get the idea that they need to market themselves but when it comes time to buy tools that will help them maximize results they balk. Now, not all the tools on my list have a fee. In fact, only one is. But even for the free tools, there is a level of buy-in and commitment you must have in order to see your desired results.
This week’s question comes from Mindi Rosser – @mindirrosser
If you could only choose five marketing tools for your business, what would they be and why?
This initally seemed like an easy question to answer, but it actually took me some time. I decided to choose five tools that I can’t live without and that I believe can be helpful to you. Here’s a quick list of them
- Blog: Content drives your marketing. This is your voice online. It also helps your SEO efforts.
- Email: Connect with your contacts and nurture leads.
- Google Analytics: Track what is working and where traffic is coming from.
- Twitter: For me, this is a great social channel. I drive a lot of traffic and it coverts @ 4.3%
- HubSpot: Marketing automation is key to making sure no one falls through the cracks. Connects all your tools and syncs your efforts. Not as expensive as you think.
Now, check out the video to get more details on each of the five must-have marketing tools.
If you want to do the job right, you need to have the right tools. Now, tools don’t do the work for you, but they help make the work a lot easier and make sure that what you’re building is built sound, secure, and with a good foundation. Today’s question is, “If I could only pick five marketing tools, what would they be and why?” Let’s get into my five tools that I would choose and how I would use them and why they’re so important to my strategy.
The first tool is your blog. The reason blogging is so important is it’s your voice online. It’s where you get to house your content. It’s where you get to add your flair, your style and really, let the world know a little bit more about you, your business and the way that you run it. Blogging is still an extremely powerful tool. But, it’s got to be used effectively. There are billions and billions and billions of pieces of content on the internet that absolutely suck. This comes from people believing that “if I just post more than somebody else, then my site’s going to rank.” We’ve got all these pieces of content that are just low quality, don’t add any value, but they’re floating around the internet.
That’s created a lot of noise. How do you use your blog to stand out? You be yourself, first off. You write with your own tone. You don’t try to be somebody you’re not. You try to give your business’ voice online the same feel as you would if somebody was speaking to you on the phone. Now, then you develop good content. Now, good content is a very hard term to define, right? Good content is content that’s going to speak to your audience and solve their problems or educate them in a helpful manner. Your blog is really a way for you to add your voice to the internet, add content that speaks directly to the people you want to reach and does it in a tone that really invites them to join in and connect with you. Your blog is still a very powerful tool and if used correctly, can help you generate traffic, convert leads and even turn those leads into sales.
The second tool that I would choose is email. Email is a great form of communication when used appropriately. Now, we all have one reason or another to hate email. Maybe it’s all the spam messages we get. Maybe it’s the millions and millions of just emails we get on a regular basis and we feel like we’re flooded. You can still use email effectively for marketing, again, if you do it in the right context. Email is about communication. Email is about connection. It’s not about spamming. It’s not about just putting more stuff in somebody’s inbox. If you overload people, they’re going to unsubscribe. They’re going to ignore you. Once they ignore you, the chances are, they’re not coming back.
Use email, but use it appropriately. Use it sparingly. Understand, again, your audience. Your audience is going to dictate how much you can send them, what types of content that you can send them and really if they’re engaged or not. Now, we do use email automation…
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