7 Innovative Tools for Automating Your B2B Marketing Efforts

Robots are taking over. The question is whether you are friend or foe. Technology is evolving at breakneck speed and you may be wondering how to keep up. Put your mind at ease – the Branchers have got you covered, and the answer is simple – marketing automation.

Falling behind with the times? Read up on these 7 #marketing automation tools to stay competitive! Click To Tweet

Just to get an idea of the power of marketing automation, a study from VentureBeat Insight cited in 2015 that 80% of marketing automation users saw leads increase and 77% had increases in their number of conversions. It is really quite simple if a company is able to automate time-consuming processes, the only real con is that someone might be out of small tasks to do. Thanks, robots! Now we can focus on the big picture.

• Just to clarify: these aren’t big metal rectangular people taking over your employees’ desks. This tech is highly approachable software that can take a company and absolutely flip their conversion rates. If an hour long monotonous task can be turned into several clicks that last a few minutes, you have WON. Take it from us: Automation in 2017 is QUEEN.

Zapier and IFTTT

The first step into marketing automation can be scary. But once you have conquered that learning curve, you would not believe the amount of time saved. These two applications will have you realizing that just from a quick glance at their home pages. In short, Zapier and IFTTT allow a user to integrate various online apps together through chains of conditional statements. For a more succinct example click this link and read on.

The best part is that you don’t have to make your own zaps or applets. Though that is is certainly possible, millions of these integrations have been created, leaving you armed and ready to take on any marketing tasks ahead. Both are being used here at Red Branch Media for various clients. Try them both out! They each come with free versions with the option to upgrade and add more sophistication to your efforts.

Campaign Monitor

Sometimes innovating doesn’t involve creating a whole new product, but it can be a revitalization of something old – not that email marketing is actually that old. With a 17% higher conversion rate than social media, email is a force that many underestimate. For $9 a month you can start creating automated workflows and revolutionizing your email marketing tactics. We’ve already given you a short how-to guide for just that!

Buffer

If you want to be known as an industry leader or an influencer in your field, sharing what you research every day is an easy way to do that. But your company most likely has multiple social media accounts. Buffer lets you show off your findings across all of your platforms. This simple extension can fill out a few days worth of queued postings, allowing any user to effortlessly stay active on the internet.

SproutSocial

While Buffer is an awesome tool for posting, SproutSocial can help with everything else. Reviewing social statistic reports, responding to activity, checking feeds and so much more. Funneling all of these tasks to one spot can make your life a lot easier. The point is that there are numerous variables to be concerned with when it comes to social media marketing. Sometimes having more tools in the bag is a good idea.

HubSpot

The point of automating tasks is to reduce time spent clicking and sifting through unrelated content. HubSpot does that by pulling all of the data and potential tasks to one place. For those coming into the fold, HubSpot can be quite intimidating. If you have the budget to invest in HubSpot, dive in, follow the instructions, and begin to realize how much you can do to develop your marketing strategy. The beauty of HubSpot is that the data is there and ready for you to meticulously break apart the value of each action you take. Not made of money? Try the free and low-cost CRMs they offer!

Canva

Efficiency is the name of the game. Having a strong designer on the team is the best way to get high-quality, captivating content. But not everyone is so fortunate to have the talent and end up sourcing out design work. What’s definitely not efficient? 15 emails back and forth with edits for a single image.

Canva opens up the world of design to the average user. The platform has hundreds of design templates and thousands of images to piece together. Served up with google fonts, customizable color palettes, and space to upload content, Canva can provide an innumerable amount of unique images for your company to use.

They automate the process by cutting out any of the questions and doing at least 75% of the work you need done to create a strong design. Never worry about things like what the heck is the size of a social media cover photo again. Just load up a template and swap in your brand palette, a strong call-to-action, and some images. BOOM! You are an artist.

Google Drive

A decade ago, nobody expected anyone to compete with the Microsoft Office Suite. Coming on to the scene, the Google suite was often criticized for a lack of functionality. The funny part is that it still has less of tools. Google proves once again that there is innovation in simplicity. Today, the simple suite has officially leveled up into Google Drive.

If you need any articles written, spreadsheets analyzed, presentations created, and more, look no further than Google Drive. Because now you do not have to do it alone. Real time online collaboration allows the user to multiply the speed at which they can finish tasks. On the specific note of marketing automation, templates can be a lifesaver. If you have a preferred way to budget a strategy or brand a proposal, create it once for everyone on your team to use. Check out what happens when one of the most powerful companies in the world marries a digital office suite with Dropbox. Automate your documents to your heart’s content.

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