As the year comes to a close, I thought it was a good time to look at my favourite digital marketing tools of 2022. There are so many tools and platforms available that are supposed to make our lives easier. Still, it can be a minefield and become quite overwhelming when trying to figure out what will work for your small business. Given that, I thought I’d highlight what works for me when delivering my digital marketing services.
Trello
My absolute favourite, and if you follow me on social media, you’ve probably heard me talk about Trello a time or two. I pretty much run my business and my life, for that matter, in Trello.
For my small business, I use Trello to:
- Plan my year
- Plan my blogs
- Social media
- My to-do list
- Business ideas
- Swipe file – things I see and like that I might adapt for my business
- Project management
- Client onboarding and capturing brief details. I love being able to ask a quick question, and the answer doesn’t get lost in a long email thread
Personally, I use it to:
- Store a quick recipe guide, so I can see at a glance what ingredients I need for the shopping list
- Keep a list of gifts and present ideas. And to keep a record of who I’ve bought what for. I also share this board with my hubby too, so it’s a great way to give a hint or two, if you know what I mean. 😉
- Ideas for the house – we’ve just built, which was a 2-3 year process, so as I saw things I liked, I’d pop them on my Trello list.
Dropbox
Where I store everything, I’ve never been able to get my head around Google Docs and Google Drive properly, so I’ve always predominantly used Dropbox.
I have been considering giving Google Docs another crack, though, as I’ve been reviewing my expenses and get some free space as I already use Google Workspaces. If anyone has another option for Microsoft Office, let me know.
I even have my phone camera set up to sync with Dropbox, so I don’t lose any photos if I lose my phone or something happens. If you do this, don’t forget to check that the camera sync is still set up and working from time to time, as I have had it drop off before without realising it.
Wave
I’m still a Wave girl for my accounting. They’re no longer supporting Australian clients or offering their platform to us, Aussies, but you can stay if you were already with them. So, I’m only moving when I have to or when I outgrow them.
Loom
A great way to share short videos/messages. Especially when I’m trying to explain something to a client, sometimes it’s much easier to get the message across when I can literally walk them through it. And Loom makes it so easy to do so. And if I’m having a bad hair day or in my PJs still, I don’t even have to show my face on it. 😉
They have bought in a maximum of 25 videos for the free version, which may not work for all.
Awesome Screenshot
This is another platform where you can create videos that I’ve started using if my Loom account hits the 25-video limit.
Awesome Screenshot is an excellent option for capturing screenshots, as the name indicates. You even have some options to take a full screenshot or a partial screen. You choose.
Meta Business Suite
Business Suite and Facebook Business Manager are great platforms for managing my client’s Facebook and Instagram and scheduling content in advance.
It’s not my favourite platform for checking insights. IMO, it was much better for that a few years back. I hope Meta is reading this and will add that back in.
My Hours
I still use My Hours as needed to track project hours while doing a time audit. And to track time for those adhoc tasks I do for clients, I bill separately.
My Hours have changed over the years with how it’s set up and what you can do, but the free version still works for me.
Calendly
A great booking tool that has a lot of flexibility if you want to pay for the pro version.
The Calendly free version, which I use, is excellent for up to 1 event. You can even ask questions, and it syncs with my Google calendar, making it a great option to keep my work days working smoothly.
You do need the pro version if you want to add reminders which would be super handy.
And you can share your Calendly link directly with your clients or embed your calendar on your website, which is what I do. By doing that, you’re sending traffic to your website, which makes Google happy, and they might have a look around while they’re on there, too, win/win.
MailerLite
Is my email marketing tool of choice and what I generally recommend to clients depending on their needs. Mailerlite has a great free option for up to 1000 subscribers, and you can target your audience on what campaign you send to and who based on your digital marketing strategy. You can set up automated workflows, share your lead magnets, and then take potential clients/customers through your funnel.
Mailerlite has a tremendous drag-and-drop function and some great customisations, or you can use one of their templates to get you started. Or, of course, we’re here to help you get your email marketing off the ground and keep it running if you need support with your content marketing.
You can even set up landing pages with Mailerlite, although I recommend doing this through your website, so you’re driving the traffic to your website and reaping the search engine benefits and helping you rank higher.
What digital tools do you like using for your small business?
That sums up what I’ve used to keep my digital marketing business running in 2022.
I always love learning about new tools that work for people. What do you use? Do you have a favourite tool that I’ve not mentioned? Share below or some me a DM on Facebook or Instagram. Perhaps it’s something that would work better for me come next year.
