Use Big Marketing Tactics with these Free Marketing Tools
I just love finding new web-based marketing platforms that help my business and other small businesses look really, really big. Below are six resources to add to your box of tricks.
1. Insightly.com – Customer Relationship Management. Insightly is free until your database of contacts reaches 2,500. They offer a comprehensive dashboard of services to help you manage your sales prospecting and follow up. The free version allows up to three users, which is perfect for a small business or start up. The platform is compatible with LinkedIn and allows you to download your contacts with just a few clicks. One feature I absolutely love is the project management feature. It includes the options to assign roles, create timelines, and share files.
2. Picmonkey.com – Photo Enhancement Services. Ask a marketer what your focus should be with social media, and they will all answer “content.” I love Picmonkey because it can take ordinary photo content and spice it up. Use it to take your top five photos from an event and create a collage, for sharing on your social media channels. A collage is also perfect for showing the many different ways people use your product. How about using it for before and after demonstrations? We used picmonkey to create the photo collage in this blog post. The possibilities are endless and Picmonkey makes it fun and easy.
3. Storify.com – Is there anyone who doesn’t have a blog? Maybe not, but what is challenging is to offer a blog with content that is real, relevant and interesting. Using Storify, you create the story on their platform and then share it, either by embedding it into your blog, or through social media sharing. Are you an expert at what you do? Create an article on Storify and use their supportive content to validate your expertise.
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4. Slideshare.com – Visual Content Sharing. With its 130 million page views, Slideshare takes Powerpoint and makes it current and cool. It’s easy to create an account and get started. I love this platform especially when sharing a lot of information. It gives you a polished and professional look. It’s perfect for sending a prospect a proposal, or sharing about an event or product. The platform also supports videos and webinars. You can embed the file into your website or blog or share through a link on your social media channels.
5. Anymeeting.com – Webinar Services. Share your expertise through a webinar using Anymeeting.com. There is a free version. The only downfall is that it shows advertisements off to the side of your presentation. It can be distracting, but this platform is perfect for getting started. You can have the advertisements removed for a low fee. I’ve attended meetings through anymeeting.com and was impressed with the site. It’s very economical and the perfect starting place for webinars.
6. BoxShot 3D – Virtual Cover Renderer. So you’ve just written the next best e-book, now what do you do? Use BoxShot 3D to create a really snazzy 3D cover. The free platform offers tons of creative options. The covers are incredibly lifelike, and the creativity doesn’t stop there, you can also create report covers, CD and DVD boxes, and bottles and cans.
What I love most about numbers 3 and 4 is you are given the opportunity to widely broaden your audience. Both of these platforms require you to create the content on their site and then embed it in your site or share it through a link. I love this because by having the material on their site, you are exposed to all of their members and followers. One of my Slideshare presentations received 200 extra views from the Slideshare site alone.
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