Organic digital marketing is a fantastic low to no-cost way to effectively build brand loyalty and scale your business. Digital marketers typically have a few favourite tools hidden in their back pockets that help them to create successful campaigns for their clients. This resource is meant to pull back the curtains and show new and established entrepreneurs and small business owners that you don’t need to invest in all the bells and whistles to achieve great success in the marketing world. 

(I am not endorsed by any of the following. They are simply effective low to no-cost tools to organically market your business better.)

Google Drive

This is a POWERHOUSE of marketing success! (& it’s free so…) If nothing else, having a solid understanding of the functionalities that this platform offers will provide you with most of the tools you need for creating amazing marketing assets for your business. From analytic tracking to lead magnet building to strategy & content creation, this platform has what you need.

AirTable

This is a revelation when it comes to organizing more than just your content assets! The functionality of this platform is astounding but for the sake of this article, I will note that it has an extremely user-friendly interface for creating, organizing and storing all of your content marketing assets. You can access all of these features with the free option - it’s a no-brainer! (Honestly - most of my clients have switched platforms after I create their preliminary content containers using AirTable.)

Canva

Whether you have experience with graphic design or not - and whether you use the free or paid version - Canva has your graphics covered. This tool is fantastic for creating branded graphics for your socials, emails, and more which lends your business more credibility, allows you to show some fresh personality and gives you a professional step up!

A decent camera (& ring light)!

In today’s digital marketing space, you’re going to want to take pictures and record videos of yourself and your products/services. Not only does this prove that there’s a real person behind your profile picture (so many stinkin’ bots creating skepticism in this space…), but it also provides an extra layer of connection and intimate brand building which increases the know - like - trust factor between you and your audience. 

Grammarly

Yes, in order to market your business professionally you need to know when you’ve made spelling and grammar mistakes. Although being a stickler for grammar isn’t necessarily going to make or break your success, not having clear, readable messaging could. Take the time to download this free add-on so you can show up as your best self in all of your written marketing.

Meta Business Suite

If you’re marketing on Facebook or Instagram, this tool is a MUST! Meta Business Suite is more than just a scheduler, it’s also an intuitive marketing helper based on your content analytics… But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you don’t know how to use Business Suite or any of the other great features Meta offers, they’ve got you covered! There are many great training resources out there (like this one and this one) that will help you optimize this tool. 

Email marketing platform

Email marketing gives you a distinct advantage over the social media marketing game because there is no algorithm to adjust for - it’s just you and your prospects hanging out 1:1. As of the publication of this post, I use MailerLite but there are also platforms such as mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Iterable where you can build email lists, schedule email campaigns, track email analytics and even create sales pages to support your lead magnets and other offers. 

Analytics software

Tracking your stats is always a good thing, regardless of the platform. I mentioned tracking when I spoke of Google Drive but there are more detailed tracking options available which are specific to the performance of your marketing assets. Using tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Instagram Insights. These stats will help you adapt your marketing strategy to the wants and needs of your audience (which typically leads to increased conversion!).

In essence, you will need to have creation tools (Google Drive, AirTable, Canva, Grammarly, & your camera), Scheduling tools (Meta Business Suite & MailerLite, etc.), and tracking tools (Analytics + AirTable & Google Drive) in order to effectively market your business. It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money - as noted by all of the low to no-cost tools listed above - but it does take time: Time to learn, time to create, time to asses - and repeat. Mix in some knowledge about copywriting, sales, strategy, and having fun and you’ve got a winning combination for your business success!