The Best Friend of a Content Manager
What do the marketer and the content manager have in common? They are usually overworked, stressed and underpaid.
The reality is that creating content today is a lot more demanding than yesterday. The competition is fierce. Once, it was okay to publish a video or an article once a week, but now, the standards are pushing it to 2 to 3 times a day.
But there is a silver lining: the advancement of technology.
Being competitive no longer depends only on your creativity but also on the marketing tools you use to complement your productivity and everything in between.
Marketing tools allow you to work smarter, not harder, by automating repetitive tasks and providing valuable data insights to optimise your results.
For example, why focus on a topic you know is not popular when your software recommends topics with a hundred times more traffic and ten times more potential for you to be discovered organically?
Sounds crazy? Well, that is what some software can do for you.
Choosing the right tools for your content manager
Before diving into specific software options, you should also consider the factors influencing your marketing tool selection. Essentially, you need to ask yourself, will this tool give you the best ROI?
The last thing you want is a subscription to a tool that you will rarely use and does not have the features you need; market research is vital.
Here are some factors you might want to consider:
Budget: Marketing tools range from free plans with limited features to comprehensive enterprise solutions. Determine your realistic budget allocation for marketing software.
Team size and skillset: Are you a solopreneur or a large marketing team? Consider the technical expertise required for different tools and choose solutions that match your individual or team’s capabilities.
Specific Goals: Identify your core marketing goals. Do you need social media scheduling, email marketing automation, or design collaboration features? Prioritise tools that address your specific needs. Some tools offer several features in one package, which can come in handy if you are spread across many marketing strategies.
Below is a list of popular content management tools for various marketing needs. Let’s take a look at 12 best marketing tools for a content manager, with brief overviews of their functionalities, strengths, and costs.
Social Media Content Management Software
1. Social Champ
What does it do? Social Champ is a content manager software tool for social media that allows your content manager to schedule posts, track performance across various platforms, collaborate with teams, and analyse engagement.
What are its strengths? Social Champ is an easy-to-use scheduling tool that allows you to integrate with all the major social media platforms.
Social Champ is known for its intuitive interface, which allows social media management newbies to create and schedule engaging posts. Beyond user-friendliness, the software also excels in its robust bulk scheduling capabilities.
This means you can create weeks or even months’ worth of content in advance for a consistent social media presence – without the daily hassle.
This strategic scheduling is a powerful tool for maintaining brand awareness and audience engagement.
How much does it cost? Social Champ offers different pricing tiers with varying features, typically starting from around $29 per month.
2. Buffer
What does it do? Buffer is a popular content manager and social media management tool that lets you schedule social media posts, analyse performance, and engage with your audience across various platforms.
What are its strengths? Buffer excels in its ease of use, free plan with limited features, and chrome extension for quick sharing to social media.
Its intuitive interface allows for quick scheduling and posting across major platforms, making it perfect for a content manager or small teams managing a handful of social accounts.
While limited in its features, the free plan is a budget-friendly option for dipping your toes into social media scheduling.
Buffer’s ability to queue posts in advance ensures a consistent social media presence, while the extension allows for seamless content sharing on the go, directly from your web browser.
This combination makes Buffer ideal for busy social media managers who must streamline their workflow and maintain a consistent online presence.
How much does it cost? Buffer offers a free plan with limited scheduling and a paid plan starting at around $6 per month for additional features.
3. Hootsuite
What does it do? Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management platform that allows you to do your job as a content manager by scheduling, content curation, social listening, and advanced analytics for larger teams and agencies.
What are its strengths? Hootsuite is known for its robust email marketing features, ability to manage multiple social accounts, and powerful analytics for in-depth social media insights.
Hootsuite excels at managing large numbers of social accounts across various platforms, so it is ideal for large agencies or social media teams
It boasts of powerful analytics that provide deep audience insights and campaign performance metrics.
This data-driven approach allows users to refine social media strategies and measure digital marketing success with tangible results.
For example, Hootsuite can track engagement rates, follower growth, and brand sentiment across all your social channels so you can identify which content resonates most with your audience.
How much does it cost? Hootsuite offers various pricing plans catering to different needs, typically starting from around $49 per month.
Website Content Management Software
4. WordPress
What does it do? WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to create and manage websites without extensive coding knowledge.
What are its strengths? WordPress is known for its user-friendly interface. Even if you don’t have experience in coding, you can have access to vast number of plugins and themes for customisation as well as a large developer community that offers support.
WordPress is especially great for businesses looking to make SEO their top priority or for bloggers who need to manage multiple posts and scheduling.
It allows creators and business owners to build the website they want without the need for a developer or retainer.
How much does it cost? WordPress itself is free to use. However, costs may include domain name registration, website hosting, and premium themes/plugins that start at $3 per month and can go as high as $100 per month.
5. Wix
What does it do? Wix is a user-friendly website builder known for its drag-and-drop functionality, which allows users to create professional-looking websites without coding.
What are its strengths? Wix is great for creating beautiful pre-designed templates and built-in features like SEO tools and analytics despite the lack of coding background.
Its variety of ready-made designs makes it a good option for small businesses that are just starting out or will not need a large website in the future.
Its simple drag-and-drop tool lets you change your website as your brand evolves. With its built-in SEO tools and analytics, you have everything you need for your business in a single platform.
How much does it cost? Wix offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans with additional features and storage, typically starting around $17 per month.
6. Joomla!
What does it do? Joomla! is a free and open-source content manager system (CMS) known for its flexibility, scalability, and robust user management features.
What are its strengths? Joomla! stands out because of its flexibility and scalability, making it perfect for everything from easy blogs to big online stores.
It has a system of extra options that add more functions – you can add online store features or change your site into a full membership site with tools like the Community Builder.
This way of adding only what you need lets users create the exact website they want without the unnecessary extras.
How much does it cost? Joomla! is free to use. However, costs can pile up through domain name registration, website hosting, and premium extensions for additional functionalities. Subscriptions to these functionalities could go as high as $99 to $349 per year.
Email Content Management Software
7. Mailchimp
What does it do? Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that allows the content manager to send and track email campaigns for marketing automation and audience engagement.
What are its strengths? Mailchimp is a great start for businesses trying out email marketing. Its easy-to-use interface and simple drag-and-drop email creator make it easy to craft newsletters, even if you’ve never designed anything before.
Mailchimp’s free option lets you send a certain number of emails to a number of people for free, allowing businesses to try out email marketing and grow their list of subscribers before they commit to a paid plan.
How much does it cost? Mailchimp offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans with increased sending limits and features, starting at around $13 to $350 per month.
8. Klaviyo
What does it do? Klaviyo is an e-commerce focused email marketing platform that allows for personalised email marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and purchase history.
What are its strengths? Klaviyo is best for its focus on e-commerce marketing with customer data segmentation that goes beyond demographics.
This allows you to target campaigns based on purchase history, abandoned carts, predicted customer lifetime value, and even browsing behaviour.
Klaviyo integrates with popular e-commerce platforms, so you can pull in real-time customer data and product information to craft highly relevant and personalised emails that drive sales and customer engagement.
How much does it cost? Klaviyo offers a free plan with limited features and pricing based on the number of contacts you have. Pricing starts at 251 contacts for $20 on email marketing per month.
9. MailerLite
What does it do? MailerLite is a user-friendly email marketing platform with a focus on affordability and ease of use. It allows you to design, send, and track email campaigns.
What are its strengths? MailerLite stands out for being an email marketing platform that’s easy to use, and easy on the wallet. Its tiered pricing structure keeps costs low, especially for startups.
The drag-and-drop editor lets anyone create professional campaigns to start off your business.
This focus on affordability and usability makes MailerLite a great option for those who are just getting started with email marketing.
How much does it cost? MailerLite offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans with increased sending limits and features, typically starting at $9 per month.
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Design Content Management Software
10. Adobe XD
What does it do? Adobe XD is a user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design platform for creating prototypes, wireframes, and interactive mockups for websites and mobile apps.
What are its strengths? Adobe XD is great for crafting interactive prototypes that bring websites and apps to life.Imagine sketching out your ideas and then being able to see them function like real products.
XD goes beyond static mockups, which allows you to link screens and create user flows.
Plus, it integrates smoothly with other Adobe Creative Cloud apps, so you can import your designs with ease. And when it’s go-time with developers, XD’s handoff features ensure clear communication, saving everyone time and effort.
How much does it cost? Adobe XD is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, with individual plans typically starting around $20 per month.
11. Figma
What does it do? Figma is a web-based design platform for creating UI/UX designs and prototypes and collaborating with design teams in real time.
What are its strengths? Forget emailing files back and forth—Figma lets your entire team work on the same design project simultaneously, in real time. This fosters instant feedback and iteration and keeps everyone on the same page.
Beyond its core functionality, Figma also has a vast plugin library that serves as its app store for design tools.
Need to create complex charts? Integrate a data visualisation plugin.Want to generate realistic mockups? There’s a plugin for that too.
This allows Figma to adapt to any design workflow, making it a powerhouse for creative teams.
How much does it cost? Figma paid plans start at around $12 per month.
12. Microsoft Whiteboard
What does it do? It is a digital whiteboard tool for brainstorming, collaborating on visual ideas, and note-taking within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
What are its strengths? Microsoft Whiteboard is a natural fit for businesses that are already using Microsoft Teams or Office 365.
Imagine brainstorming in real-time with colleagues, regardless of location, with content that flows seamlessly through Whiteboard, Teams chat, and documents.
Whiteboard also goes beyond a simple digital…well, whiteboard.
Its infinite canvas and integration with Loop components, like sticky notes and to-do lists, create a dynamic workspace for capturing and organising ideas within the Microsoft environment.
When you’re comfortable with the software, you can create your entire digital marketing strategy template on the Whiteboard with the entire team.
How much does it cost? Microsoft Whiteboard is free with a Microsoft 365 subscription or for individual use with a Microsoft account.
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