Tools that should be in every good digital marketer’s back pocket

Digital marketing is a BIG industry and our team here at IOI Ventures specializes in quite a few areas, so it’s important that we work smarter, not harder. None of us can manufacture more hours in the day, so there are a few tools that we use to make our jobs a little easier and allow us to over-deliver for our clients.

In this season of giving thanks, I am sharing THREE digital marketing hacks for which I am truly grateful.

• Canva

At IOI Ventures, we do not have a designated graphic designer. While many of us know our way around the Adobe Suite, we wear too many hats to devote all our time to creating graphics from scratch. We use Canva to create everything from social media graphics, gifs, Instagram stories, email graphics, logos, brand guidelines, and even presentations. 

The best part about Canva for many digital marketers, it’s FREE! While there is a paid version that gives you more access to templates, stock photos, and premade elements, the free version can certainly do the trick for most people.

I love that it quickly allows me to resize graphics to fit the marketing channel for which it is intended. For example, a square Instagram graphic for a feed can easily be made into an appropriately sized Facebook graphic, LinkedIn graphic, and even a vertically-oriented (optimized for mobile) Instagram story.

Pro Tip: Canva has a convenient background remover feature to help simplify your graphic design needs when dealing with uploaded jpg or png elements.

• HubSpot

Did you know that IOI Ventures is a HubSpot Solutions Provider? (We even have the seal on our website to prove it!) 

HubSpot is an INCREDIBLE CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool – but it does more than keep track of your customers’ contact information. We utilize HubSpot for email marketing, website chat, automated nurture sequences, social media scheduling, reporting and so much more. It is truly our one-stop HUB for the integration of so many digital channels.

HubSpot is also a great resource for digital marketers. The HubSpot Academy has online learning modules, certificate programs, and a plethora of downloadable materials to continue to assist in your digital marketing evolution.

Looking to add HubSpot to your toolbox? Let’s Talk.

• SEM Rush

While not for beginners, SEM Rush is a very helpful tool when it comes to measuring organic website traffic and doing keyword research and analysis. When our clients need to identify how they rank for keywords, we can not only show them their own data but compare them to their competitors.

A feature I have come to use rather frequently is the Traffic Analysis tool. This gives you a peek behind the curtain of other sites and their authority ranking, referral sources, audience demographics, and different trend analyses. If you’re managing a website or building a new one, SEM Rush needs to be on your radar.

Website development is one of our specialties here at IOI. Our talented team can build sites from the ground up or refresh your current site to make sure it’s running at peak performance.

While these marketing hacks are high on my list, I am most thankful for our wonderful team of hard-working, creative, and fun individuals at IOI. Collectively, we are thankful for our clients who trust us with their digital marketing needs. If you’d like to be one of them, get in touch! Let’s Work Together