Elizabeth Eschler
Finding affordable marketing tools to expand your online brand can be quite the challenge if you own a small business. Without massive funds for building and managing a robust social media presence, a high-quality landing page, or software that can easily organize and schedule emails and social media posts, it’s easy to think that the internet just isn’t for you. However, tons of free marketing tools are available to help expand your business or portfolio– they’re just a bit harder to find. Here are our five favorite free marketing tools that can help you expand your business into the digital world:
1. WordPress
WordPress has been around for quite a while, and for a good reason: the online software is just so easy to use. When signing up for a free account, you’ll have access to a variety of tools to make the perfect website. Customizable themes, subdomains, and file sharing are all just the basics. You’ll also have access to WordPress plugins, which can further enhance your online experience through in-system SEO management, media embedding tools, security scanning, and contact or chat widgets. WordPress also has paid subscriptions at various price ranges to further customize your site.
2. Mailchimp
Another excellent site for creating your landing page, Mailchimp’s free subscription package comes with a ton of tools. Create a custom email, landing page, social media ads, surveys, and more in the in-browser software. Mailchimp also provides mobile site compatibility and customization and an array of design tools and templates. Like WordPress, Mailchimp offers a subscription service for users.
3. Social Media Monitoring Tools
Monitoring your social media presence is an excellent way to establish a brand voice and keep track of your business’ popularity online. For ease of management, we recommend free social media software add-ons like TweetDeck to manage your Twitter. TweetDeck is a free Twitter add-on that allows users to schedule posts, manage multiple Twitter accounts, view page visits, and tweet statistics directly.
4. Digital Design Software
If you’re looking to create assets for your landing page, you’ll need some design software. Adobe products are always a strain on the wallet, so here are two free design programs available for Windows, Mac, and Linux to help make your content beautiful:
- GIMP is a photo editing and digital painting software similar to Photoshop that allows users to create artwork, graphic elements and manipulate photos for free. GIMP is also compatible with various file types, including .psd files, to allow easy editing.
- Blender is a free program that allows users to create, render, and animate 3D objects and artwork. Best for animators, this software has 2D compatibility as well, making it ideal for any type of animation project.
5. Google
Google is a gift. With free in-browser analytics programs (Google Analytics) to track every detail of your site traffic and Ad compatibility (Google AdWorks). The vast array of software is excellent for any small business owner. Google business programs aside, users can also create and manage multiple emails through Gmail and create monetized videos with YouTube. All Google programs require a Gmail account to sign up, though.
Despite the internet’s vastness, there are plenty of places out there that want to help the little guy out– so what’s stopping you from creating the perfect online presence for your business?
