Tips for Small Scale Marketing - Tools for Success

Many small businesses suffer from a black-and-white idea of marketing.  They either try to do it themselves or feel like they have to pay a big agency to manage it for them.  BIG DEAL Company is here to add some color and support with marketing for small businesses.  We’re offering up ten of the top tools that can help small-scale businesses thrive.
 
1. Canva: This tool is great for creating graphics, social media posts, and marketing materials with ease and is relatively user-friendly. 

• Pros:
  • Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface for designing.
  • Offers pre-made templates for social media, presentations, flyers, and more.
  • Affordable and includes a free plan.
  • Collaborative features for team use.

• Cons:
  • Limited customization compared to more advanced design tools.
  • The free version lacks access to premium assets and features.
  • Not ideal for complex graphic design projects.

 
 2. Mailchimp: Use Mailchimp if you’re looking for the ideal way to build email marketing campaigns, newsletters, and automation for your small businesses.

• Pros:
  • Free tier available for small mailing lists.
  • User-friendly email automation and campaign management.
  • Integrates with e-commerce and CRM platforms.
  • Detailed analytics for tracking email performance.

• Cons:
  • Pricing can get steep as your email list grows.
  • Limited design flexibility for email templates.
  • Customer support for free plans can be slow.

3. Google Analytics: Google Analytics provides invaluable insights into website traffic, visitor behavior, and performance metrics.  It can be a little bit tricky to learn at first but is well worth it.
 

• Pros:
  • Completely free with in-depth website traffic data.
  • Customizable reports and dashboards.
  • Tracks visitor behavior, acquisition sources, and conversions.
  • Integrates with Google Ads and other platforms.

• Cons:
  • Steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Data privacy and concerns with certain user-tracking features.
  • Can be overwhelming with too much data if not properly configured.

  
4. Hootsuite: This helpful little tool helps to manage and schedule social media posts across multiple platforms from one dashboard.

• Pros:
  • Manages multiple social media accounts from one platform.
  • Supports post-scheduling, analytics, and social listening.
  • Customizable dashboards for tracking key metrics.
  • Collaborative features for teams.

• Cons:
  • Can be pricey, especially for businesses with multiple users.
  • Limited features on the free plan.
  • The interface can feel cluttered and slow at times.

 
5. Buffer: Another excellent tool for scheduling social media posts and analyzing their performance.

• Pros:
  • Simple and intuitive interface for scheduling social media posts.
  • Offers an easy way to analyze post-engagement and performance.
  • Affordable pricing plans with a free tier.
  • Integrates with most social platforms.

• Cons:
  • Limited advanced features compared to competitors like Hootsuite.
  • Analytics are more basic and require a higher-tier plan for detailed insights.
  • Scheduling Instagram posts requires manual intervention for free users.

 
6. WordPress: This versatile platform is for building websites and blogs, offering many plugins for SEO and content management.

• Pros:
  • Highly customizable with a wide range of themes and plugins.
  • Great for content management (blogs, portfolios, e-commerce).
  • SEO-friendly with plugins like Yoast SEO.
  • Open-source, with a large community for support.

• Cons:
  • Can be complicated for beginners without tech experience.
  • Requires ongoing maintenance (updates, backups).
  • Some themes and plugins can slow down site performance.

  
7. Trello: This is a helpful tool to organize tasks and projects with boards, lists, and cards, and is ideal for collaborative marketing efforts.

• Pros:
  • Simple, visual project management with boards, lists, and cards.
  • Ideal for organizing tasks and tracking progress.
  • The free plan offers plenty of features for small teams.
  • Easy collaboration with real-time updates and sharing options.

• Cons:
  • Limited features for advanced project management (compared to tools like Asana).
  • Can become cluttered with too many cards and lists.
  • No native time-tracking or advanced reporting tools.

​8. HubSpot CRM: A great program if you’re looking to manage customer relationships, track interactions, and automate marketing tasks.

• Pros:
  • The free version includes CRM, email tracking, and meeting scheduling.
  • Provides a unified platform for managing customer relationships and marketing efforts.
  • Automation features to streamline tasks like emails and follow-ups.
  • Scalable with premium add-ons for growing businesses.

• Cons:
  • Paid features can get expensive for small businesses.
  • Complex interface with a learning curve for beginners.
  • Some limitations in email automation for the free plan.

  
9. SurveyMonkey: If you want to learn more about your audience consider this program that conducts surveys to gather customer feedback and insights, aiding in market research.

• Pros:
  • Easy to create, distribute, and analyze surveys.
  • Provides valuable feedback and insights for market research.
  • Customizable surveys with a variety of question types.
  • Free tier available with basic features.

• Cons:
  • The free plan limits the number of questions and responses.
  • Custom branding requires a paid plan.
  • Higher-tier plans can be costly for advanced features like data export.

 
10. Google My Business: This is an essential tool for local businesses to manage their online presence, including maps, reviews, and search visibility.

• Pros:
  • Free to use and essential for local SEO and search visibility.
  • Helps manage reviews, business information, and map presence.
  • Improves local customer engagement and search rankings.
  • Detailed insights on how people find and interact with your business.

• Cons:
  • Requires constant updates and monitoring to maintain accurate information.
  • Managing reviews can be time-consuming, especially if dealing with negative feedback.
  • Limited control over the appearance of your business listing.

 
BIG DEAL Company has mastered all of these tools and more, blending our expertise with a deep understanding of small businesses’ unique challenges. By harnessing the power of innovative platforms like Canva, Mailchimp, and Google My Business, BIG DEAL takes the stress out of marketing and adds vibrant, effective strategies.
 
Whether you’re just starting or growing your business, BIG DEAL is here to bring your marketing out of black and white and into full color, helping you thrive without the sense of overwhelmingness from doing it alone or having to rely on large, faceless agencies. We understand small businesses because we are one too!
 
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