Technology has always been and will always be an essential component to a business, regardless of the industry. Some rely primarily on technology for their business operations, while others use it more sparingly so as to avoid overdependence. However, with the recent technology boom, consumers now rely mostly on technologies, particularly the internet, when it comes to buying decisions.
While it may have made things more convenient for consumers, businesses from all over the world often find it challenging to keep up with the change in the behavioral patterns of consumers.
If your business is on the same boat, the answer is simple—you simply have to do what consumers do, that is, rely on technologies. With that said, what tech tools should you look for?
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Tech tools for lead generation/outreach
Lead generation or outreach is one of the essential components of a marketing campaign. It refers to the practice of gaining the attraction and interest of potential customers that you can then turn into sales in the near future. There are several ways to reach or generate leads, and with each one comes varying technologies. Here’s a closer look at the best tools for lead generation: (1)
Text messages (SMS) automation tools
Text messages have been the golden standard of communication for many years. Although it may no longer be as popular right now, it’s still an excellent way to generate leads. If you want to use this method, you need SMS automation tools, such as Klaviyo. These tools allow you to schedule text messages and trigger text message delivery according to specific interactions. You can also make use of ringless voicemail like Drop Cowboy for voicemail marketing. (1)
Auto dialers
Calling prospects is yet another way to generate leads. It requires you or your employees to collect phone numbers of individuals that may take interest in your products and services.
An auto dialer essentially makes it so you don’t have to perform menial or repetitive tasks, such as looking up phone numbers, dialing them, and reading information pertaining to the prospect.
Video conferencing technologies
While it may not be the most common way of generating leads, some businesses reach their prospects by getting into video conferences rather than phone calls. In fact, it may be the best method at the moment, seeing as how physical interactions are limited right now. In that case, you’ll need video conferencing tools like Zoom and Skype to help optimize video meetings. (1)
Email automation tools
You can also send emails to prospects as a means of generating leads. It may be harder to set up than SMS or phone calls, but you can make it easier with email automation tools like Mailchimp.
These tools can help you send emails automatically according to a pre-determined schedule. The best part about this is that it requires minimal effort and the tools have useful features you can use in email marketing. (1)
Social media management platforms
Lastly, social media platforms can be an excellent outreach channel seeing as how the userbase of such platforms has grown a lot bigger than before. A social media management system should allow you to schedule posts and analyze metrics that you can then use to improve your social media marketing campaigns. HootSuite is an excellent example of such tools. (1)
Tech tools for search engine optimization (SEO)
Websites have become one of the best channels to market one’s products and services. It may be a bit of a hassle to promote your website, but it should be doable with search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is a strategy to get your web pages to rank higher in search engines, particularly Google. Mastering SEO is certainly challenging, but it can be made easier with various SEO tools. With these, you can streamline SEO and identify opportunities to optimize your website for search engines. Here’s a look at different types of SEO tools: (2)
Keyword trackers
Keywords are an essential aspect of SEO as it tells search engines what your website contains. If you use keywords that people are searching for, you can drastically increase your chances of ranking higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). That’s why looking for the best keywords is a vital skill, and keyword trackers like KWFinder and Ubersuggest can help in that regard. (2)
Website analytics tools
A website analytics tool provides you with valuable data about your website’s performance, such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, and more. It may also let you see the metrics of other websites, which is useful if you want to size up your competitors. Tools like Google Search Console and Moz can help provide insights that you can use to craft more efficient marketing campaigns. (2)
Link building platforms
Internal and external links are yet another essential component of SEO. In fact, Google says that webmasters can improve a webpage’s rank by increasing the number of sites linking to that page.
Link building tools basically allow you to find out various information on this aspect. For example, a link-building tool answers the question of how many are linking to your website, who they are, and which of your pages have a higher number of external links. An excellent example of a link-building platform that has these functionalities is SEOQuake. (2)
Other SEO tools
You should also look for tools with varying functionalities. For example, tools that allow you to find duplicate content, like Siteliner, or tools that can help you look for the perfect topic ideas, like Answer The Public. You can also find platforms that have all sorts of SEO tools in one, also known as all-in-one platforms, and a perfect example of this is Ahrefs. (2)
Tech tools for content marketing
Content marketing is arguably the most popular method of marketing nowadays. It focuses on creating and publishing content for the purpose of building trust and developing relationships with your readers. Once they feel comfortable with your brand, it should be easier to promote your products and services. And as you might imagine, there are also tech tools for content marketing which experts call content management systems. (3)
Content management systems (CMS)
A content management system (CMS) is a platform that you can use to manage, edit, and publish content of all kinds. The content is then stored in the platform’s database. A CMS typically allows its users to create content using pre-built templates, which makes content marketing a lot easier as it saves you money. WordPress and CMS Hub are excellent examples of such tools. (3)
Tech tools for engagement/event marketing
Event marketing, also known as engagement marketing, is one of the many forms of marketing and is particularly useful if you want to build brand loyalty and trust. Of course, there are tools that can help in this kind of marketing as well. Examples of such tech tools include the following:
Graphic design tools
With event marketing, you’ll require promotional materials like brochures and posters. You might be able to create such visuals manually, but tools like Canva and Pixlr can help ease the process. You can also outsource your graphic design requirements to companies like Brandripe where you pay a fixed monthly fee for all your graphic design works which is way more affordable than other services.
Event marketing automation tools
Once you’ve created the promotional materials for your events, it’s time to distribute them throughout your userbase. Naturally, you wouldn’t want to do it manually, as it’ll take a lot of time. For this, you can use event marketing automation tools like Bizzabo to send invites more easily and conveniently. These tools also usually have extra functionalities.
Event scheduler and automation
Once the invites are sent out, you can finally focus on organizing and scheduling the event. Again, you can streamline this process using automation tools for events, like Boomset.
Integration tools
Since you most likely would use all sorts of tools for event marketing, you may find the need to integrate them into one platform. This platform can allow you to connect every tool you want to use for event marketing, making it easier to utilize the tools you need and keep the others on standby. Examples of integration platforms for your tools include Zapier and Webhooks.
Tech tools for lead management
With the aforementioned tools, you should be able to gather a huge number of leads. However, your efforts would be for naught if you can’t properly manage your leads or prospects.
Lead management is the process of managing leads until the point where you take steps to turn them into actual customers. For this, you may need the help of CRM platforms. (4)
Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms
A customer relationship management platform, also known as CRM platforms, helps you manage data pertaining to your customers, although it may also help with leads or prospects.
These platforms can be extremely helpful since they provide insights that can help you maximize your chances in your attempts to turn prospects into customers. Such insights can also be helpful when creating targeted marketing campaigns. A reliable CRM platform should also be able to integrate all your tools into one point. An example of this is HubSpot CRM. (4)
Final words
Not everyone can craft the perfect marketing campaign right from the get-go. In fact, most, if not all marketers nowadays rely on some sort of technology for their marketing efforts. Of course, that’s not to say you should rely solely on these tech tools. You can combine these with traditional marketing methods that work for your type of business. Nevertheless, with this guide, you should be able to find the most suitable tech tools for your marketing campaigns.
References:
- “Communication Channels”, Source: https://www.knowledgehut.com/tutorials/project-management/communication-channels
- “27 Simple and Free SEO Tools to Instantly Improve Your Marketing [Updated for 2021]”, Source: https://buffer.com/library/free-seo-tools/
- “What is a Content Management System and How Does it Work?”, Source: https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/2019/08/content-management-system.html
- “What Is Lead Management and Why Does It Matter?”, Source: https://technologyadvice.com/blog/sales/what-is-lead-management/
