How do you choose the best digital marketing tools?

To define the objectives of a new tool, it is important to evaluate what value it adds to your marketing toolkit. Does it allow you to unify tools? Does it enable you to do new things that you couldn't before? This way you can determine if it meets your key performance indicators and your business objectives. You should also keep in mind that there is no perfect tool, but there are tools that serve similar purposes but with different advantages and disadvantages. A good decision is based on having a clear purpose (objectives) and a good understanding of the trade-offs involved (for example: one tool may have the best data quality for segmentation, while another is not as good but offers excellent automation capabilities).

A large part of defining the objectives of a new tool is to access specifically what it adds to your existing martech stack. Does it cause redundancy of some features from other tools? Does it help consolidate tools? Does it allow you to do new things that you couldn’t before? Then you can determine if it will meet your KPIs and meet your business objectives.

There is no perfect tool, there are tools that serve similar purposes but there are always trade offs involved. A good decision should be based on having a clear purpose (objectives) and a good understanding of the trade-offs involved (ex: one tool might have the best quality data for targeting while the other is not as good but offers outstanding automation capabilities).

When it comes to digital marketing, there is no best tool; it all depends on various factors like budget, team size, experience level, integration & system maintenance. Choosing may feel overwhelming (paradox of choice). My advice here is to start by identifying your goals and KPIs in order to focus on tools that best fits your marketing goals and needs. For social media management for example, you may choose between an all-in-one social media management solution like Hootsuite, or Buffer, a straightforward social media scheduling solution. Take advantage of free trials, demos, or samples offered by most tools to experiment with different options and find the tools that resonate best with your business needs.

A lot of times I work with goals that are not just number based, such as aesthetic ones where imagery and my photographers eye come in hand to gain a competitive advantage.

Most digital marketing tools are built for a particular type of customer base and buying behavior. For example - B2B vs B2C, service vs product, e-commerce vs long sales cycle. Understanding how and where your customers fit into these categories should effect your buying decision when it comes to engaging with a new digital marketing technology. Best of class for one scenario may not be best of class for another. Know who you are marketing to and the nuances that it takes to manage the digital aspects of that customer journey.

Demographics and psychographics are crucial, but so are “ideographics”—the ideas that move your audience. The practice is not new; it’s just often overlooked. Consider leveraging story-mining exercises within specific segments of your target audience. Use these real-life stories to guide the ideographic matrix that can subsequently drive campaign creation. For example, if you're targeting C-suite executives, what are the stories that resonate with them? Are they inspired by legacy, innovation, or perhaps sustainability? Build your campaigns around these narratives.

A digital marketing tool must adapt to your customers and their way of buying. Study your business, your audience and your sales cycle to choose the right technology. Know who you sell to and how to manage the digital aspect of their buying journey. In addition to the demographic and psychographic, the ideas that motivate your audience also matter. Look for real stories within your target segments. These stories will help you create an ideographic matrix that you will use to design your campaigns. For example, if you target high-level executives, what interests them? Legacy, innovation or sustainability? Build your campaigns with these stories.

Many times we overlook the tools that are already at hand and free to use, such as Instagram insights. If analyzed well, they are greatly useful.

é de extrema importancia conhecer o seu publico. Acredito ser um fator crucial que você consiga identificar as personas. Algo que tem me ajudado muito e aberto portas s?o os estudos em Neuromarketing, que para mim é crucial para identificar e compreender o seu cliente.

When it comes to budgeting, a variety of free and paid tools are available in the market. It is crucial to determine which tools are essential for your marketing strategy. I would recommend trying out a tool with trial before making a purchase, as we have made mistakes in the past where we bought a tool for three years and the team consistently come up with complaints about it. As a result, we ended up purchasing additional tool, spending more money in the process. Choose your tools wisely and conduct thorough research before even deciding on a trial.

To plan your budget, look for free or paid tools that suit your marketing. Try a tool before buying it, to avoid spending too much if you don't like it. Don't tie yourself to a tool without testing it well, even if it's cheaper. Some providers don't give full trials, but they may have good tools. Research their reputation and resources before choosing.

Avoiding long term commitments before the tool is tried and true by your team is a good advice, even if that costs you a bit more. Also, take in consideration that not all vendors allow you a full PoC or a trial period, and my experience was that many times the best tools are a bit less flexible on their trials and tests while the runner ups tend to be more customer oriented. It is a trade off, just don't overlook a vendor if they are not great providing pre-sales/trial options, try to research reputation and industry resources.

Assessing your budget is crucial when selecting digital marketing tools as it enables the allocation of funds to marketing expenditures and strategies aimed at boosting revenue. Consider utilizing free trials before investing in paid digital marketing tools. These trial periods offer an opportunity to assess the effectiveness, features, and functionality of the tools without the commitment of a subscription. EWvaluating your budget before buying digital marketing tools is a strategic and essential step. It ensures that you make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and achieve the desired outcomes while maintaining financial stability.

Existe diversas plataformas que o uso é gratuito ou investimento baixo. Porém para encontrá-las é necessária uma bela busca. Uma dica que dou é, SEMPRE testar a plataforma, para ai sim fechar o contrato. Sempre se respaldar nos contratos a respeito de período de atendimento e suporte técnico, para em uma eventualidade n?o ficar literalmente na "m?o".

We’ve all seen the deterioration of reliable, trust, worthy sources of truth on the Internet, so beware of misleading research online. Some sources may exaggerate, distort, or falsify information. For example, I see a post on Instagram all the time that says a certain digital marketing tool can boost your conversions by 500%. Don’t take things at face value. My grandfather always said Matthew, consider the source. I’ll add you should consider the evidence, and the context as well. Seek and compare multiple and credible sources. Be aware of your own biases and assumptions. This way, you can make smart and confident decisions.

Years ago I worked within a software house who promised the earth and rarely delivered on all their promises. The internet has made it significantly easier to achieve this with less accountability.

??To speed up the process, you can use AI chatbots such as GPT4 powered with a web search plugin, Bing AI, or Google Bard to make the first draft for you! Write your prompt, including your objectives, needs, budget, and some of your favorite platforms as an example, then ask for detailed research and build a table to compare them. ??

In the digital age, it is easy to fall into the trap of misleading or false information. Many online sources can manipulate, exaggerate or invent data to convince us of something that is not true. Do not be fooled by appearances. We have to be critical and analyze the source, the evidence and the context of the information. We have to look for and compare several reliable sources and contrast them with our own biases and assumptions. This way we can make smart and safe decisions.

I don't just rely on reviews and recommendations; I value battle-testing. I look for tools that allow A/B/C testing—not just A/B. Why limit yourself to comparing two variables when you can explore three or even more? Complexity doesn't have to mean complication. This is experimental theater, and you are the playwright, director, and reviewer, all in one. Remember, competitors are also reading those reviews. The edge comes from how creatively you can employ these tools, not just from the tools themselves.

A common mistake among marketers is setting up an “experience” but only paying lip service to the process. It’s very important to have a hypothesis, experiment criteria, data measurement, and controls in place. Too often we see new initiatives launched haphazardly and when time comes to review, it’s impossible to attribute results to what is tested.

There is a very good reason to trust the judgement of good consultance with experience of using the tools a company may wish to use. Testing takes a long time, it can cost a small fortune and the testing method can still be flawed. A consultant can take some of the initial risk out of this.

I agree. But one of the most commun problems a company has, is to develop a digital literaty knowledge inside her team and maintain this knowledge over time

Consider a trial period. Many tools offer a free or discounted trial, allowing you to explore their features and usability. Don't overlook your team's input. They will be the ones using these tools daily, so their comfort and familiarity with the tool is essential. Lastly, keep track of your results during the testing phase. Check whether the tool is helping you meet your objectives, and if it's worth the investment. Remember, the right tools should simplify your process, not complicate it.

After evaluating the option via demos & relevant articles, the most important part before getting into a contract for any tool is the trial period. You should use the product extensively for as many use cases as possible & measure its efficacy during the trial. You should go for the paid subscription only after a solid trial run.

Try no-code tools as marketers usually have less technical understanding as compared to the dev/ux/frontend/backend teams. If you have the clarity of your process flow, then try to look up some options online of no-code tools and develop without any code. Do a trial run. Debug with a product POC, and then implement in a pilot. Martech is a developing space and every marketer should have knowledge about the resources and it's process flows before doing a deep-dive.

To choose the best digital marketing tools, start by defining your goals and budget. Research tools in categories like SEO, email marketing, social media, and analytics. Test them with free trials, ensuring they're user-friendly and compatible with your systems. Look for scalability and good customer support. Consider data privacy and compliance. For example, if you want to improve email marketing, tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot are popular choices that offer user-friendly interfaces and scalability for growing businesses while complying with data regulations. Regularly monitor ROI to ensure your tools are delivering results.

Choosing the best digital marketing tools depends on several factors. Firstly, I consider the tool's alignment with my marketing objectives. If it doesn't serve my specific needs, it's likely not the best fit. Then, I evaluate its features, ease of use, and integration capabilities with other tools I'm using. I also pay attention to the tool's scalability – as the business grows, the tool should be able to keep up. Cost-effectiveness is another critical aspect. I usually opt for tools that offer a free trial to test before making a long-term commitment. Lastly, I consider the tool's reputation, reviews, and customer support quality.

What can you do to automate your processes or take what you or someone else is doing, put it into a process, and hand it off to someone else to free up time for strategy.

A tool without the right knowledge and support to properly leverage the benefits is not a solution. It's important to consider the long-term costs in time and resources to learn, leverage, and maintain the tool. Many tools have dashboards for self-service customization, self guided learning, etc., which in many cases marketing teams may not have time to learn and take advantage of. Understanding what type of training, service and support is available and where and when you need full service vs self-service can go a long way toward success with a new marekting tool.