Marketing Tools to Be Thankful For: Email, Social Media, and More
You wouldn’t try to make a Thanksgiving meal with all new recipes and kitchen tools - you’d be frazzled and scrambling before you even put the turkey into the oven. You shouldn’t make marketing materials with all new platforms and software, either. Here’s a list of the tried and true tools, that I’m grateful for this season. Plus, a few new ones, since it’s always fun to have something new to keep things fresh at the table.
When you have the time set aside to work on marketing, you want to avoid learning a new piece of software as much as possible. Because then you’re not working on your marketing, you’re learning a tool to help you when you do work on your marketing.
It all adds up to a lot of time and exasperation without much to show for it. It’s easy to think that it’s the tool that is holding you back versus the discipline needed to make social media posts or write emails. So many times, it’s not the tool, though. It’s the person wielding it.
In the nearly ten years that I’ve been in the digital marketing space, I’ve come to rely on a few tools that have grown and adapted with my business over the years. Instead of switching to the newest buzzy piece of software, I have leaned on them. You should have tools that you can count on. So here’s my list, including any free trials or discounts that I am able to offer. If you need to update your tech stack of go to software, you can start here.
Feel free to leave your favorite platforms in the comments.
Note: if you click on some of the links on this blog post Downstage Media may get a commission.
Social Media Tools
Meet Edgar
There are many different social media scheduling tools out there, but there aren’t as many social media automating tools out there. I don’t want to spend the time choosing the exact day and time that every single social media post that I create is going to publish. I just want to make a big batch of them, put them into categories and then say, “Pick any one of these and post them on LinkedIn at 11am on Tuesdays. And when you’ve run out of posts just start all over again.”
Meet Edgar does that for me.
It also finds my most recent blog posts and will automatically create a few social media posts based on what’s in the post.
It’s a huge time saver and helped inspired the PAGER Model that I created for social media.
Use code 25EDGAR for 25% off any plan.
This is the easiest social media content creation tool I’ve come across. PostDeck.io gives you three different prompts that you can use as a springboard for your social media posts. Need more? Just refresh the page. You’ll get ideas for engagement content, photos to post, and videos to make. Very helpful when you need to come up with a bunch of ideas on the spot and don’t feel all that creative. There’s no learning curve here. Just simple. Basic. And easy to implement. And at only $4.99 a month, it’s pretty much a no brainer.
ProTip: I like to take the prompts and create an image and a video for each one, so I can variate the content. So, I might create a graphic for a post, but then also make a 90 second video about it. This gives me two posts for the same concept.
Email Marketing Tools
Mailchimp
Now, I’m certified in Mailchimp, so obviously I’m a little biased. But here’s the thing: the reason I became certified in Mailchimp was because it was such a helpful tool that so many of my clients were using. I wanted to make sure that I learned it inside and out mostly so I didn’t have to learn other platforms that had similar features
Let me tell you, there is a lot more to Mailchimp than just sending email blasts. Mailchimp has become a very robust platform. And I’m glad that I’ve grown with it in the past ten years. Where they used to simply send out email messages, they now offer landing pages, postcards that can be mailed to customers, and can even create (basic) social media posts for your brand. They have some AI in the mix too!
I especially love the new Customer Journey feature which allows you to set up automations that don’t simply involve emails. For example, if someone visits your landing page, they can be tagged #landingpagefreebie, sent an email with the freebie right away, and then when they click to download, they get a postcard in the mail with bonus tips. All of a sudden this one platform which was only used for email, helps you connect with customers across multiple channels. Big win for you, and less of a learning curve understanding the newer features.
Jasper.ai
Look, if the robots are going to take over the world, they may as well be adorable, amirite?
Artificial Intelligence has made it’s way through content creation this past year. And I see it taking off even more in the next one. You know how when you’re typing something into Google, Google automatically fills in other words that you might want to use? Jasper.ai does the same thing. Except that it does it for things like blog posts, newsletters, and social media posts.
I’m not a regular user of Jasper, but I have played around with it quite a bit. Although it’s not how you would write your magnum opus, it can absolutely be a helpful crutch when you feel like your brain is dead and you need to just come up with something.
Oftentimes, what it spits out may be weird, but in figuring out what you don’t want to say, it helps refine what you do want to say.
Messaging Tools
Trello
I use Trello in all sorts of ways, it’s the engine that runs both the Content Stockpile for social media and the Brand Playbook.
Trello is one of those platforms that has many more uses and features than I put into my workflow, I’m sure. But I’m happy with the elements that I do use. So I don’t go too deep with this software (although you could, of course).
Imagine a bunch of index cards lined up on a bulletin board and you’ve got the premise for a Trello board. So, when I’m putting together a BrandScript for a client, each element of their BrandScript will be in a list. This will make up the messaging they’ll use throughout their marketing.
Then I do the same for their elevator pitch (also known as a one-liner) and for their brand narrative.
If you are a visual person, you will find especially Trello to be a great tool for you when you’re getting your company on the same page in terms of the words its using in its marketing.
Business Made Simple
You could call Business Made Simple a suite of online courses. Which it is. There is a StoryBrand Messaging course, a Marketing Made Simple course, and every couple of months they add a new one to the platform.
You could also call it a membership of sorts too. Because every month there is a Live Q&A that is led by the best selling authors Donald Miller and J. J. Peterson which comes with facilitation by yours truly. (They are open to the public for a nominal fee.)
Because of this two-sided approach, I find it’s a valuable tool for both marketing and running a business as a whole. And the courses are laid out in a very clear, easy-to-digest format with templates and pdfs to help you through.
I used it for a couple of years personally and found the information to be so beneficial and laid out so well, that I started coaching clients through the courses based on their marketing needs. (You can take this marketing assessment to find out yours.) When they started getting great marketing results, I built the Marketing Mentorship with Business Made Simple as the cornerstone.
When the Time Comes to “Work on Marketing”
Just like when you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, you want to have your kitchen set up in a way that you can rely on with the tools and recipes you need to make some delicious dishes. Creating marketing assets is the same thing. Over time, you will begin to develop your own favorite tools and standbys that you can come back to over and over again.
In the meantime, use this list of software and platforms that have been vetted by a marketing pro over the course of ten years.
Get Coached in Your Marketing
If you’d like someone to work with you to put your marketing on autopilot, sign up for the next Enhanced Marketing Livestream. You’ll get small group and large group coaching, as well as five private sessions with me to create and work through your marketing plan.
Social media marketing is constantly putting obstacles in front of brands. It is hard to navigate. but it’s vital for your brand to have a presence on at least a couple of platforms. The PAGER method solves four main issues that brands face with social media marketing so that you can get help your bottom line while at the same time build a community of fans.