If there’s one thing small business owners lack, it’s time.
If finding time to get your digital marketing in order is tough, it might be time to consider a few tools you can set and forget. These tools require a small amount of setup, but they provide big returns in efficiency and time saved.
As well as saving you time, these digital marketing tools can help you better understand your audience and reach them in a more impactful way.
1. Google Analytics
You might think you know your audience, but Google Analytics knows them even better. Google’s Analytics platform is still the most popular way to get a good visual on audience traffic. It can help you learn:
- when someone visited your site
- what pages they visited
- how long they spent on certain pages
- the web browser they used
- the device they used to access your site.
Analytics can be used to learn more about audiences, make better business decisions and create targeted marketing campaigns. But that doesn’t mean all Analytics data is useful. Information you’re interested in as a business owner will be unique to your business, and this is where set and forget saves the day. Google lets you set up dashboards in Analytics that only show information relevant to your needs. This can save you time that’d otherwise be spent sifting through confusing and unnecessary data every time you use the platform.
2. Hootsuite
Social media is a great way to engage with people all over the world, but managing social accounts can be harder than it looks. Social media requires consistency, so posting at the wrong time or failing to regularly share content can amount to time wasted. Hootsuite solves this by neatly packaging your social media accounts on a single platform and making it easier than ever to share your content.
As well as letting you manage your social media in one convenient place, one of the big advantages of Hootsuite is the option to schedule your posts. Just let it know when you want certain social media posts sent out, and it’ll do all the hard work for you. As well as being a time-saver, scheduling can also lead to more strategic content. Being prepared means you’re already ready for the days or periods of the year where your audience is more likely to engage with your small business.
Hootsuite also offers a nifty analytics tool to give you insider information and grow your social media following.
3. MailChimp
Email marketing is another reliable way you can connect to your audience on a regular basis. The trouble is, creating and sending emails on the regular can be difficult. For example, if Google Analytics told you your overseas customers are most active when you’re sound asleep, manually sending off emails might be tricky. Thankfully, Mailchimp has made a name for itself as an email marketing tool for exactly this reason.
Like Hootsuite, MailChimp offers you the option to schedule emails to reach people at just the right time. It also offers a great range of email templates, making it an ideal resource for time-poor business owners still wanting engaging material.
4. Canva
Good visual design isn’t just eye-catching. Investing in quality design can quickly lend a sense of professionalism and trustworthiness to your brand. But good aesthetics don’t come easy – or cheap. Learning design basics can be time-consuming and hiring a graphic designer can be put an unnecessary hole in your pocket.
Canva solves these issues by letting you quickly create impressive designs with clever templates and user-friendly drag-and-drop text visual elements. Whether you need infographics, business cards, brochures, or social media materials, Canva lets you create and save templates you can use and update in the future.
Ready to simplify your digital marketing?
If you’re still uncertain about using tools to set and forget, you should know that saving time is cheaper than you think. The above digital marketing tools are often free for smaller businesses, or at least offer free trials you can take advantage of.
If you’re looking for another time-friendly way to get more out of your digital marketing, get in touch with our team. We’d love to show you how good content can attract customers and keep them coming back for years to come.