Five marketing productivity apps you need in your toolbox

As marketing becomes more complex and employed across more channels, keeping up with the volume of activity and tracking and analysing performance is one of the biggest challenges marketers and business owners alike face.

Fortunately innovation in the marketing space is keeping pace.

We’ve identified the latest new applications that help you implement tasks efficiently and ensure your marketing efforts are being directed where they’re most effective:

RJMetrics – This analytics platform can help you make sense of all your marketing data (e.g. web traffic, email marketing, advertising). It automatically consolidates data from your existing systems (e.g. Xero, Mailchimp, Social Media, Google Analytics, Magento, Zendesk) and quickly analyses them so you get the insights that you need. All reports can be accessed in a single intuitive interface which you can easily share with your teammates.

Buzzsumo – Creating content that appeals to your target audience doesn’t have to be overwhelming. All you need is a tool like this that allows you to research which content performs best for your audience. It’s easy to use, just search by keyword or backlink and you’ll get a detailed report showing how well previous content on that topic performed in social media. Results can be filtered by date (e.g. 24 hrs, past week, or past six months) or by type (e.g. article, infographics, and videos).

VWO – Get the most out of your landing pages, websites, and marketing campaigns with Visual Website Optimizer. This easy to use A/B testing tool allows you to create different versions of their websites and landing pages using a point-and-click editor. VMO will then tell you which version produces maximum conversion rate or sales. You may also test your headline, website design or website copy your visitors respond to best. Knowing what’s working on your website, and what’s not gives you the power to change your strategy.

Autosend – If you are exploring behavioural marketing, this is the perfect tool for you. Autosend helps track the activities of your website visitors and allows you to send personalised and targeted messages through email or SMS. Trigger-based campaigns are popular these days because they can generate more revenue compared to your traditional email marketing campaigns.

Hemingway – Writing the right message which is both informative and easy to understand is a challenge for those doing content marketing. Well, Hemingway is now here to help you churn out shorter, less complex and easier to read copy. Hemingway scores writing based on the complexity of sentences and grammar. Know which sentences are hard to read, have passive voice, or if you’re using too much adverbs. Copy and paste any content into the edit setting to see the grade. If you know who your target audience is, you will know which score to aim.

Grade 10 or below = Good

Grade 11 through 16 = OK    

Grade 17 or above = Bad    

Your choices of marketing tools can spell the difference between merely surviving to completely achieving your marketing goals. Use only the tools that can help you manage your daily marketing tasks and achieve greater marketing efficiency.

Since starting her outsourced national marketing consultancy Marketing Angels in 2000, Michelle Gamble has helped hundreds of SMEs get smarter marketing. Michelle helps businesses find more effective ways to grow their brands and businesses.