When you undertake a digital marketing strategy, a wide range of technology may be required to support your initiatives.
The questions that many companies face when it comes to this tech is how to know what they require and, with so many choices on the market, which tools are the best ones for their business.
If you’re finding yourself asking the same questions, we’ve got the guide for finding the best digital marketing technology to suit your needs.
These are frequent types of technology that our clients use for their digital marketing initiatives:
- The content management systems (CMS) your website is built on (e.g. WordPress).
When it’s time to build or upgrade a website, there are many CMS providers out there who claim they have the best platform. Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, and more all offer website services. So, which is the best one?
It depends on your website needs. In general, you’ll want to choose a CMS that:
- Can be made accessible
- Is customizable and easy to use.
- Helps with SEO.
- Works with your developer’s needs.
In our experience, WordPress is the best CMS for many businesses. Learn more about how to tell if your business website is working for you.
- The automated email marketing platform you use (e.g. HubSpot, ActOn, Click Dimensions).
Email marketing is one of the most efficient ways to drive repeat traffic and build strong relationships with your audience. Automated email marketing platforms make this even more efficient by taking the grunt work out of it.
When you’re choosing an automatic email provider, there isn’t necessarily one choice that rises above the others as “the best.†It can depend on your preferences, such as:
- The email design. Some platforms are more customizable than others. MailChimp, for example, has layout limitations, but if you like the look it might not be a problem.
- If it works with your lists. You want to choose a platform that makes it easy to segment your lists and keep them clean.
- Some platforms cost less, or cost nothing, until you reach a certain number of email subscribers. Others have flat package rates. Depending on your budget, this could be a deciding factor.
- What campaigns you want to execute. If you’re sending out year-long Inbound marketing campaigns, you may require a different platform than someone sending out a monthly eNewsletter.
- Social media schedulers (Hootsuite, Later, MeetEdgar, etc.).
Social media managers are likely familiar with post scheduling tools like Hootsuite, Later, MeetEdgar, and even schedulers within the platforms themselves, like Facebook.
Which is best?
It can depend on the platforms you use, the time you have to devote, the number of posts you put per week, the amount of engagement you get, and more.
Pros:
- Schedulers can save time.
- They can allow you to schedule posts in advance for days you’ll be out of the office.
- They can ensure a consistent presence.
- They can help execute a strategy.
Cons:
- They can be glitchy. Posts might get missed or pushed down by algorithms.
- They don’t capture the true experience of using the platform and there are limitations. For instance, with new privacy regulations for Facebook and Instagram there are certain tasks, like tagging, that a scheduler can’t do.
- They can create bad PR situations. For instance, if you have a sales post or a #FridayFeelings post scheduled and then a national disaster strikes, it might make your brand seem callous.
In our opinion, social media scheduling should generally be kept to schedulers within the platforms themselves – and whenever possible posting should be done manually or verified by someone on the team.
If you’re in a tight spot or there’s no way you’ll be able to get to your computer, a scheduler can be a great back up – or you might consider outsourcing your social media.
- The technology you use to deliver online help/resource content (e.g. Zendesk).
Increasingly, companies are relying on technology for customer service, like Zendesk. These tools can help manage customer interactions across channels – phone, email, social media, chat, and more.
Plus, it’s scalable, so if your business is busier at a certain time of year, or growing, you can scale your help desk software with it.
When choosing a help desk software, you might ask:
- What your goals are. Creating a FAQ page? Automated chatbot? Responding to emails within one hour? Etc.
- What experience you want to offer your customers.
- What experience you want to offer your support team – the in-house customer service members.
- What can be changed or improved in your current customer service.
- The essential features your team requires that are must-haves.
- The technology you use to deliver your webinars (e.g. GoToWebinar, Zoom, etc.).
For any business offering online learning, webinar technology is essential.
You want to pick a software that allows ease of use both for you and your listeners.
You might consider:
- Editing ability. Do you want to edit webinars once they have occurred?
- Branding and customization.
- Syndication and publication.
- If you can pre-record content.
- And more.
There’s even more digital marketing technology that your business might require. Podcasts, video creation, search engine optimization tools, the list goes on.
Narrowing down the field can seem overwhelming, but it’s essential to making the most of your initiatives. And you don’t have to do it alone.
At Pulsion Marketing, we offer technology consultations to help you choose the right software for your business.
We are experienced with most major providers of the above technology and can help you choose, plan, and, if required, build them out/integrate them according to your needs.
Learn more today by calling 1-888-701-4441 or visiting www.digiforcemarketing.ca.