Running marketing for a small business can be challenging with limited time and resources. Thankfully, there are many affordable digital marketing tools available today that can maximize your impact. Here are 10 of the best and most budget-friendly options small businesses should consider:
Key Takeaways:
- Tools like Grammarly, Canva, and Buffer help you quickly create optimized, engaging content across formats and platforms.
- Email marketing and automation platforms such as Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Zapier allow you to set up campaigns and workflows to nurture leads and customers.
- Keyword research tools including Ahrefs make it possible to find strategic keywords and gaps to target based on competitors.
- On-page optimization from Yoast SEO and analytics from Google Analytics equip you with data to inform better content and optimization.
- Social media management tools like Hootsuite save time and resources needed to handle multiple brand profiles and engage followers.
- Affordable advertising options on platforms like Facebook and Google provide highly targeted promotion possibilities.
- Many digital marketing technologies offer free versions or trials, allowing you to test out tools and only pay more as the business scales up.
- Carefully choosing the right tools for your needs and budget and slowly building your stack over time is recommended to maximize value.
- With the fundamentals covered through key technologies, small marketing teams can accomplish an outsized impact with these digital marketing tools.
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps you create clear, mistake-free content. It scans your writing and suggests grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary improvements. The free version offers basic checks while premium tiers provide more advanced suggestions. With Grammarly, you can improve the quality of blog posts, website copy, social media updates, online guides, and any other marketing content you produce. The tool integrates with many popular apps and browsers to bring a spelling and grammar check to where you need it. For small business owners and solopreneurs managing their own content, Grammarly is an invaluable tool.
2. Canva
Canva makes graphic design simple with its drag-and-drop interface and thousands of customizable templates. Easily create on-brand graphics for all your visual content needs. Free to use with the option for paid extras. For non-designers, Canva makes it easy to produce social media graphics, ads, brochures, presentations, thumbnails, banners, and more that look professionally designed. The templates are sized for every platform and easy to customize with your own text, colors, and images. With its massive library of graphics and illustrations, you’ll have all the visual assets you need.
3. Buffer
Buffer lets you easily schedule and publish social media content across multiple accounts. Analyze what content resonates best. Their free plan includes queues for up to 3 accounts. For time-strapped social media managers, Buffer is an invaluable tool. You can upload content and bulk schedule posts to go out at optimal times for each network. Buffer also lets you recycle your top-performing posts. With their analytics, you can see what content does best and fine-tune your strategy.
4. Mailchimp
Mailchimp helps you create, send, and track email campaigns and automations. Their free plan allows up to 2,000 emails per month to under 500 subscribers. User-friendly templates and integrations. For small business owners who want to leverage email marketing, Mailchimp makes it easy to set up and manage campaigns even if you’re new to email. Their template library covers every use case from promotions to newsletters so you can find the right fit. Mailchimp also makes it easy to integrate email with your website, online store, or CRM.
5. ConvertKit
ConvertKit offers an email marketing and automation platform tailored for creators building an audience. Their tools help you engage and grow your subscribers without algorithms. Plans start free and scale as you grow. If you have an online course, membership program, or make income through affiliates and digital products, ConvertKit is worth exploring. Theirautomation workflows help you onboard and nurture subscribers in a personal way. For example, sending segmented content based on their interests or what they’ve purchased.
6. Zapier
Zapier lets you integrate apps and automate workflows to save time. For example, automatically collect subscribers, publish to social, or tag CRM contacts. Pre-built automations means no coding required. Zapier connects over 3,000 apps so the integrations possibilities are vast – making it easier to get different systems working together without manual work. Some common uses include automatically backing up data, managing social media queues, syncing email and contact lists, and triggering follow up emails after certain actions.
7. Ahrefs
Ahrefs provides robust SEO and keyword research tools to analyze competitors and find opportunities. Paid but offers a $7 trial so you can test it out. Great for DIY SEO. For small businesses without big budgets to spend on agencies, Ahrefs provides enterprise-level capabilities to research what content performs best for your industry. You can identify keyword gaps compared to competitors and low competition long-tail keywords to target in your content and optimization strategy.
8. Yoast SEO
The Yoast SEO WordPress plugin handles on-page optimization. It lets you optimize titles, descriptions, alt text, and more. The free version has everything small businesses need. If your website runs on WordPress, Yoast SEO is a must-have. It will step you through optimizing pages and posts so search engines can better parse and index your content. Yoast provides tailored SEO recommendations on how to improve pages. This on-page optimization gives your content a better chance of ranking.
9. Google Analytics
Google Analytics provides powerful, free website traffic and audience insight. Integrating it will inform better keyword and content strategies. Understanding your website visitors is crucial to improve both user experience and search marketing. Google Analytics gives you data on traffic volume, top pages, referrals, conversion funnels, audience geos, devices, and much more. The tool is free and easy to set up making it a no-brainer for small businesses to install.
10. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform supporting scheduling, analytics and collaboration. Their free plan covers 3 accounts while paid plans offer robust analytics. Saves time so you can focus on social strategy. If you manage multiple brand profiles on social, Hootsuite is extremely helpful for scheduling content efficiently. Beyond just scheduling posts, their dashboard lets you monitor brand mentions, engage with conversations, and measure performance. You can also collaborate with team members on approvals and messaging.
With these affordable tools supporting your digital marketing efforts, small businesses can maximize their reach, improve workflows, and operate more efficiently. Try out the options that fit your needs and budget. The best part is many powerful marketing technology solutions today offer free plans or trial periods so you can test them out risk-free. Do your research, build your stack slowly over time, and choose tools that streamline busywork so you can focus on producing great content, reaching your audience, and growing your business.
