7 Free Marketing Tools Your Team Should Be Using

In our fast-paced digital age, content and tools come at you fast. Everyone is selling SaaS, subscription models and systems that will supposedly deliver “no-brainer” type returns. And there are thousands of options for how to build out your marketing technology stack. So what’s the good news? With all this “digital”, there are a slew of free or “free-mium” resources out in the marketplace that are really useful. But the question is, how to choose which ones are good, and which ones are one-hit wonders?

Good news! We have built the definitive list of apps and platforms that every marketing team should be using. Bonus…each of these are completely free, at least for the core product, and offer a ton of value.

1. Trello

   This free tool is an essential for project management within our business. It’s very easy to use thanks to the visually friendly U/I, allows multiple users (even on a free account), and they have a mobile app that’s rock solid. We’ve tried just about every project-tracking tool (Basecamp, Asana, Zoho, etc.) and Trello stands up – I’m surprised they give away as much as they do, for free.

2. Google Analytics

   This should be an obvious one for most business owners and marketers. Google Analytics is the industry leader and gold standard when it comes to metrics for any type of website – from B2B, to B2C, their tracking and reporting platform offers powerful insights for a marketer. If by chance you’re not using GA, it’s easy and of course free to install. If you are using it, consider some of their next level features like conversion tracking, behavior analysis, and page speed scoring. Ready to go deeper on page speed? Try their offshoot – PageSpeed Insights.

3. HubSpot

   When the boss comes to you and says she’s ready to take the next step with marketing spend and asks what you want to do, the answer should probably be HubSpot. This Boston-based company has a premium priced product for sure, but they also offer an amazing amount of functionality in their free version – web chat tools, a CRM, email marketing and more.

4. Pingdom

   An essential when it comes to tracking your website speed and gaining actionable insights on how to improve. According to Google, users will abandon a slow website within 3-4 seconds. That’s not much room for error. Just enter your domain name and Pingdom offers an immediate scan of your website. Handoff the results to your developers for a faster website.

5. Uptrends

   Never find out the company website is down from your boss or client again. Uptrends lets you monitor your website in real time and receive an instant alert if anything goes down. Bonus – you can set the level of sensitivity on alerts to match business needs.

6. Marketing Charts
   

   The ultimate macro data source for marketers. Whether you’re interested in mobile device usage trends, top performing websites, or the best performing display ads, Marketing Charts has it all, and more. This free resource offers insight across the entire spectrum of industries and markets. Just like the name says, data is easy to digest, in the form of charts, and they offer a newsletter option with preference customization.

7. Mailchimp

   This gem has been around for a few years and it holds up. Mailchimp is still free for small businesses, and they also offer very affordable plans if you have a larger contact database. Sure, their email delivery is rock-solid, but the best part about Mailchimp? All the other tools! They also offer tagging which allows for dynamic email campaigns, social media management, display ad management, and a beautiful, easy to understand reporting dashboard so that users can make smart, informed decisions.

Need help with all this? We’re ready to discuss a plan with you.