For the past few years, traditional marketing has been replaced with digital marketing, mainly due to the rise of the ‘e-client’, or computerised personal assistant. However, even though written word is relatively obsolete in this new era, the tools used to create it have evolved along with the industry. This article will discuss the ten best tools that can be used for content marketing.
HubSpot
No tool is indispensable in online marketing. However, as the name might suggest, HubSpot is certainly the most popular content marketing tool today. What makes this platform different from the rest is that it was specifically designed for creating and distributing content. What this means is that every piece of content you create with HubSpot will be automatically shared with your audience, whether they’re interested in your product or service or not. This will help you reach a much wider audience than you otherwise could have, since people are more likely to be interested in something that is relevant to them.
Another distinguishing feature of HubSpot is its intuitive design. Even if you’re not a techie, you’ll find the platform simple to use and navigate. As a result, content can be created quickly and efficiently, allowing you to keep up with the growing demands of today’s digital marketer.
Canva
Canva is another content creation platform that was built with the content marketer in mind. This is evident from the very first glance, as you’ll find dozens of pre-designed templates that you can customise with your own text and images. Canva is a Google-owned company that was created in 2018 and was originally designed for YouTube creators. Since then, they’ve expanded their offering to include blogs and other similar platforms. What makes Canva unique is that it is an all-in-one platform, which gives you the ability to create and post-publish content in just a few clicks.
The best part of Canva is how easy it is to use. Even if you’re a complete novice, you’ll have no problems creating a professional-looking blog post in just a few minutes. What’s more, Canva allows for collaboration, so if you’re working on a project with someone else, you can seamlessly sync your content and work together in real-time.
Jekyll
If you’re looking for a simple yet effective blogging platform that doesn’t require any previous experience, then you should take a look at Jekyll. Similar to Canva, this platform is designed for simplicity and usability, while also providing a professional appearance. What sets Jekyll apart is that it was specifically designed for use on a personal or corporate blog, and not a news site or magazine, like Canva. As a result, the templates are streamlined for writing product reviews, publishing case studies, and sharing company news and events.
Since its launch in 2013, Jekyll has become the de facto standard for simple blogs and websites. According to the website’s own statistics, as of July 2019, there are over 1.8 million sites using Jekyll, and this number is growing every day. This makes it the most popular blogging platform today. Why? Because it’s simple to use and very effective.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is the default word processing program used by most people, including me. As a result, I’m often confronted with the program when I’m writing an article. For that reason, it’s important to know how to use this tool effectively, as you’ll struggle to compose an article without it. Luckily, with a little bit of know-how, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to with Microsoft Word.
The best thing about this program is how easy it is to use. Simply open it, and you’ll be presented with a blank document. You can add a header, create paragraphs, add images, and even add a glossary if you’re using a dictionary! You can’t beat that. All of this is relatively straightforward, even for the most inexperienced user.
Buzzfeed
Buzzfeed is one of the biggest digital news magazines today, offering a mix of storytelling and curated content. This platform caters to both audiences by creating a space where users can engage with content that is both entertaining and informative. When you log in to Buzzfeed, you’ll see a wide array of content, designed to engage and entertain you.
Amongst the thousands of videos, GIFs, and memes you’ll come across, you’ll also find curated content that is perfect for your needs. This content will be displayed in a simple and effortless manner, inviting you to engage with the content, or subscribe to get more quality content delivered to your inbox.
MailChimp
Mailchimp is one of the largest email marketing platforms, serving over 500 million active users around the world. Like the other tools on this list, Mailchimp was built with usability and effectiveness in mind. You can use this tool to create email marketing campaigns, gather subscriber email addresses, and send out periodic emails containing new content, discounts, or other valuable information.
One of the distinguishing features of Mailchimp is its intuitive design. Even if you’re not a techie, you’ll have no trouble understanding how to use and leverage this tool’s functionality. The best part is how easy it is to use. Simply click the ‘Create Campaign’ button, and you’ll be brought to a simple wizard-like interface that will walk you through the entire process, step by step. Creating a marketing campaign with Mailchip is as simple as 1-2-3.
Another beneficial aspect of using Mailchimp is how much it can be customised. You can adjust the template design, the type of content you’ll produce (i.e. articles, web pages, or videos), and you can even set up to send a variety of content to different groups of subscribers. This is an incredibly flexible tool, which makes it ideal for use by startups and small businesses who need to produce content on the fly.
Pensuite
Pensuite is a software-as-a-service tool that enables users to create and distribute content to websites and blogs. Its user-friendly interface walks new users through the creation and publication process, step by step. Once you’ve finished creating your content, you can simply click the ‘Publish’ button to have your content live on the web in just minutes.
Pensuite focuses on reducing the technological barriers to entry for content creators. This is evidenced by its streamlined design and intuitive UX, which makes it easy for anyone to create and distribute content. Even if you’ve never done so, you’ll have no trouble using Pensuite to create and publish content, as the entire process is designed with the beginner in mind.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another one of the most popular content creation and distribution platforms, helping businesses and individuals alike to connect with their audience and provide them with useful and informative content.
What sets Hootsuite apart is that it was designed with the social media marketer in mind. For that reason, every piece of content you create with it will be instantly sharable, and you can choose which platforms your content will appear on. To get started, simply click the ‘Create Content’ button, and you’ll be presented with a wide array of pre-designed templates from which to choose. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, you can create one with Hootsuite, as well as connect your Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts.
Another distinguishing feature of Hootsuite is how flexible it is. What this means is that you can fully customise the design and appearance of your content, as well as produce content of any type and size. Even better, since this tool is online-based, you have the ability to constantly update your content, whenever you feel necessary, without having to worry about distribution or publishing platforms. This keeps your content fresh, and lets you provide your audience with the most up-to-date information, as soon as it’s available.
The main drawback to Hootsuite is that, similar to the other tools on this list, it was designed for use on a laptop or desktop computer. As a result, if you’re out and about, on the move, then you’ll struggle to use this tool effectively. However, as a secondary device, such as a smartphone, you can use tools such as Twitter’s Official App to create and manage tweets, as well as view and engage with all of your favourite content, whenever and wherever you need it.