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13 Essential tools for your marketing tech stack

13 Essential tools for your marketing tech stack

5 minute read

13 Essential tools for your marketing tech stack

5 minute read

13 Essential tools for your marketing tech stack

Afoma Umesi

GatherContent Contributor, Writer
Software and technology pervade every sphere of our lives, including marketing. Formerly analog processes can now be digitized and more efficient. With the right digital marketing tech stack, you can boost your team’s productivity and enhance your results.

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We’ll walk you through building a comprehensive technology stack for marketing and share our recommended tools to help you get started.

What is a marketing technology stack?

A marketing technology (Martech) stack is a set of software tools used by teams to support and streamline their marketing operations. It typically includes a range of products to handle the various aspects of digital marketing, from content ideation and production to search engine optimization (SEO) and social media management.

How to build a smarter marketing tech stack

With over 9,000 Martech tools available, choosing the best fit can be tricky. So, it’s worth knowing how to build a stack that will meet your team’s needs without consuming your entire budget. Here are three major criteria to keep in mind.

Choose multipurpose tools

As in every toolbox, software tools are most useful when they perform more than one function. As you decide on the right options for your stack, it’s more cost-effective to work with multi-functional tools. For example, it’s more practical to use a social media management tool that schedules posts to all your social media platforms than a tool that only works with one or two.

Consider software compatibility

Marketing automation is crucial to improving your team’s efficiency—automation can reduce marketing costs by a whopping 12.2%. But automation only works when there’s integration. Choose software that plays well with others. The most compatible software tools are often industry-standard options, so whenever possible, it’s best to stick to the beaten path.

Focus on ease of use

What’s the point of using reputable software that isn’t user-friendly? A learning curve is normal, but you should be able to train your team to use your stack within a reasonable time period. Software with responsive customer service teams also makes onboarding and dealing with bugs and glitches easier to manage.

Our recommended marketing tech stack

With those factors in mind, we’ve curated a list of reputable Martech tools to make your marketing process seamless and more efficient. However, ensure that these tools match your team’s specific needs before adopting them. If you’re unsure, request product demos and compare them with alternatives before committing.

Content marketing platform: GatherContent

GatherContent

Content is a key part of any marketing strategy, and it can become overwhelming to use different platforms for different phases of your content production process. That’s where content marketing platforms come in.

GatherContent (that’s us!) is a top content hub for managing your content production from planning to publishing. Use our editorial calendar feature to plan blog content, write various content forms easily with our content templates, and edit collaboratively with our editor feature. No need for scattered spreadsheets and documents.

When all’s done, publish content seamlessly using our integrations with content management systems like WordPress.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

Keyword research: Ahrefs

There is an abundance of SEO tools and Ahrefs is one popular choice. With Ahrefs, users dig into keyword rankings, explore competitor website gaps, run SEO audits, and examine website backlink profiles.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

Alternative: Semrush

Website analytics: Google Analytics

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a classic analytics tool for measuring quantitative website metrics. Users measure bounce rate, traffic sources, real-time traffic, time on page, sessions, conversions and so much more. Keep up with website traffic trends at a glance and monitor keyword performance over time.

Pricing: Free

Alternative: Hubspot Dashboards

Heatmap tool: Hotjar

Hotjar

Analytic tools are great, but they say little about the motivations of user behavior on your website. Heatmap tools like Hotjar bridge this gap by highlighting friction areas, clarifying the customer journey, and showing how far down the page readers scroll on your website—all while protecting customer data privacy.

Pricing: Starts with a free plan; paid plans start at €39

Alternative: Crazy Egg

Social media management: Buffer

Buffer

Buffer is an all-in-one social media management tool that allows users to plan and share content across multiple platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. With Buffer, teams collaborate on social media content, creating drafts, reviewing posts, and approving before hitting publish.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $5/month per channel

Alternatives: Hootsuite, Sprout Social

Content management system: WordPress

WordPress

WordPress is a powerful, versatile content management system (CMS)—it’s so good that over 40% of websites online use it. Access to plug-ins and highly customizable settings make this CMS popular for blogs across a range of industries.

Pricing: Plans start at $4/month billed annually

Alternatives: Squarespace, Webflow

Webinars: Zoom Webinars

Videoconferencing tool, Zoom also supports webinars for up to 50,000 attendees and 1000 panelists. Record and stream your event to YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms and collect analytics with Zoom’s reporting features. Keep leads moving through your content marketing funnel by connecting webinars with your customer relationship management (CRM) tool.

Pricing: Starts at $79/month per license

Alternatives: ON24, GoToWebinar

Landing pages: Unbounce

Unbounce

Build your landing pages in record time with AI using Unbounce. Unbounce’s Smart Builder makes it easy to create pop-ups, sticky bars, and other landing page elements. You can create AI copy and streamline traffic to ensure that prospects see the landing pages that target their pain points.

Pricing: Plans start at $90/month

Alternatives: InstaPage, LeadPages

Email marketing: MailChimp

MailChimp

Looking to build a solid email marketing campaign? Try MailChimp. Ramp up lead generation with a variety of sign-up forms and nurture prospects with segmentation and automation. Use MailChimp’s in-depth analytics reports to measure your campaign performance and make the most of your mailing list.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $11/month

Alternatives: Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact

Collaboration: Slack

Slack

Slack is a well-known collaboration tool that allows teams to send messages, files, and even voice memos to each other. Create Channels to discuss specific topics, send Direct Messages to individual teammates, and have team Huddles to quickly catch up on projects.

Pricing: $6.67/person per month, billed annually

Alternatives: Microsoft Teams

Project management: Asana

Asana

Marketing teams love Asana for its user-friendliness and varied features. Keep track of tasks using a Kanban-board style workspace, submit work requests using Asana’s forms, and set team goals all in one space.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $10.99

Alternatives: Trello, monday.com

Video marketing: Wyzowl

Wyzowl

More B2B marketers are adopting video as one of the many effective content marketing channels—and Wyzowl makes it easier to make videos. Whether it’s a short explainer video, advert, product demo, or demo testimonial, Wyzowl can create it for you.

Pricing: Contact Wyzowl for a quote

Alternative: Animoto

Build your content hub on GatherContent

No level of software mastery replaces doing the hard work: careful content audits, masterful content strategy, and skilled execution. But a great marketing tech stack can make your marketing efforts easier.

Marketing tools vary depending on your industry and marketing strategy, our list is a great starting point. If you have a content marketing team, a content marketing platform is a must-have tool for your stack—and that’s where we come in.

Good to Know: GatherContent is a vital component of your content production process and should be on your must-have Martech stack list. Keep all your teammates in the know and ditch content silos when you start using GatherContent. Sign up for a free trial today.

We’ll walk you through building a comprehensive technology stack for marketing and share our recommended tools to help you get started.

What is a marketing technology stack?

A marketing technology (Martech) stack is a set of software tools used by teams to support and streamline their marketing operations. It typically includes a range of products to handle the various aspects of digital marketing, from content ideation and production to search engine optimization (SEO) and social media management.

How to build a smarter marketing tech stack

With over 9,000 Martech tools available, choosing the best fit can be tricky. So, it’s worth knowing how to build a stack that will meet your team’s needs without consuming your entire budget. Here are three major criteria to keep in mind.

Choose multipurpose tools

As in every toolbox, software tools are most useful when they perform more than one function. As you decide on the right options for your stack, it’s more cost-effective to work with multi-functional tools. For example, it’s more practical to use a social media management tool that schedules posts to all your social media platforms than a tool that only works with one or two.

Consider software compatibility

Marketing automation is crucial to improving your team’s efficiency—automation can reduce marketing costs by a whopping 12.2%. But automation only works when there’s integration. Choose software that plays well with others. The most compatible software tools are often industry-standard options, so whenever possible, it’s best to stick to the beaten path.

Focus on ease of use

What’s the point of using reputable software that isn’t user-friendly? A learning curve is normal, but you should be able to train your team to use your stack within a reasonable time period. Software with responsive customer service teams also makes onboarding and dealing with bugs and glitches easier to manage.

Our recommended marketing tech stack

With those factors in mind, we’ve curated a list of reputable Martech tools to make your marketing process seamless and more efficient. However, ensure that these tools match your team’s specific needs before adopting them. If you’re unsure, request product demos and compare them with alternatives before committing.

Content marketing platform: GatherContent

GatherContent

Content is a key part of any marketing strategy, and it can become overwhelming to use different platforms for different phases of your content production process. That’s where content marketing platforms come in.

GatherContent (that’s us!) is a top content hub for managing your content production from planning to publishing. Use our editorial calendar feature to plan blog content, write various content forms easily with our content templates, and edit collaboratively with our editor feature. No need for scattered spreadsheets and documents.

When all’s done, publish content seamlessly using our integrations with content management systems like WordPress.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

Keyword research: Ahrefs

There is an abundance of SEO tools and Ahrefs is one popular choice. With Ahrefs, users dig into keyword rankings, explore competitor website gaps, run SEO audits, and examine website backlink profiles.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

Alternative: Semrush

Website analytics: Google Analytics

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a classic analytics tool for measuring quantitative website metrics. Users measure bounce rate, traffic sources, real-time traffic, time on page, sessions, conversions and so much more. Keep up with website traffic trends at a glance and monitor keyword performance over time.

Pricing: Free

Alternative: Hubspot Dashboards

Heatmap tool: Hotjar

Hotjar

Analytic tools are great, but they say little about the motivations of user behavior on your website. Heatmap tools like Hotjar bridge this gap by highlighting friction areas, clarifying the customer journey, and showing how far down the page readers scroll on your website—all while protecting customer data privacy.

Pricing: Starts with a free plan; paid plans start at €39

Alternative: Crazy Egg

Social media management: Buffer

Buffer

Buffer is an all-in-one social media management tool that allows users to plan and share content across multiple platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. With Buffer, teams collaborate on social media content, creating drafts, reviewing posts, and approving before hitting publish.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $5/month per channel

Alternatives: Hootsuite, Sprout Social

Content management system: WordPress

WordPress

WordPress is a powerful, versatile content management system (CMS)—it’s so good that over 40% of websites online use it. Access to plug-ins and highly customizable settings make this CMS popular for blogs across a range of industries.

Pricing: Plans start at $4/month billed annually

Alternatives: Squarespace, Webflow

Webinars: Zoom Webinars

Videoconferencing tool, Zoom also supports webinars for up to 50,000 attendees and 1000 panelists. Record and stream your event to YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms and collect analytics with Zoom’s reporting features. Keep leads moving through your content marketing funnel by connecting webinars with your customer relationship management (CRM) tool.

Pricing: Starts at $79/month per license

Alternatives: ON24, GoToWebinar

Landing pages: Unbounce

Unbounce

Build your landing pages in record time with AI using Unbounce. Unbounce’s Smart Builder makes it easy to create pop-ups, sticky bars, and other landing page elements. You can create AI copy and streamline traffic to ensure that prospects see the landing pages that target their pain points.

Pricing: Plans start at $90/month

Alternatives: InstaPage, LeadPages

Email marketing: MailChimp

MailChimp

Looking to build a solid email marketing campaign? Try MailChimp. Ramp up lead generation with a variety of sign-up forms and nurture prospects with segmentation and automation. Use MailChimp’s in-depth analytics reports to measure your campaign performance and make the most of your mailing list.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $11/month

Alternatives: Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact

Collaboration: Slack

Slack

Slack is a well-known collaboration tool that allows teams to send messages, files, and even voice memos to each other. Create Channels to discuss specific topics, send Direct Messages to individual teammates, and have team Huddles to quickly catch up on projects.

Pricing: $6.67/person per month, billed annually

Alternatives: Microsoft Teams

Project management: Asana

Asana

Marketing teams love Asana for its user-friendliness and varied features. Keep track of tasks using a Kanban-board style workspace, submit work requests using Asana’s forms, and set team goals all in one space.

Pricing: Limited free plan; paid plans start at $10.99

Alternatives: Trello, monday.com

Video marketing: Wyzowl

Wyzowl

More B2B marketers are adopting video as one of the many effective content marketing channels—and Wyzowl makes it easier to make videos. Whether it’s a short explainer video, advert, product demo, or demo testimonial, Wyzowl can create it for you.

Pricing: Contact Wyzowl for a quote

Alternative: Animoto

Build your content hub on GatherContent

No level of software mastery replaces doing the hard work: careful content audits, masterful content strategy, and skilled execution. But a great marketing tech stack can make your marketing efforts easier.

Marketing tools vary depending on your industry and marketing strategy, our list is a great starting point. If you have a content marketing team, a content marketing platform is a must-have tool for your stack—and that’s where we come in.

Good to Know: GatherContent is a vital component of your content production process and should be on your must-have Martech stack list. Keep all your teammates in the know and ditch content silos when you start using GatherContent. Sign up for a free trial today.

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