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5 free marketing tools your small business needs right now

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This post was written by Micheal Brennan, a guest contributor to the 411.ca blog.  

 

Ready to make your online presence work for you?

If you’re on track to starting your very own business, or you’ve been on the market for a while, but you haven’t yet made the most of the digital world, then it could be time for you to push ahead to the next level. A lot of smaller companies assume digital marketing is a process reserved for bigger organizations who can afford to spend thousands on complex tools and software, but that may not be the case.

In fact, you can market your brand more effectively using a range of strategies online that won’t cost you a single penny. Here, we’re going to look at just 5 of the free marketing tools your small business needs to start using today!

 

1. Facebook Groups

Social media has emerged as a powerful way to expand your reach online without draining your budget. Although there are countless social media platforms out there, Facebook is currently the broadest, and most popular, so it’s a great place to get started.

With Facebook groups, you can target and communicate with your ideal customers, adjusting your reach according to important demographics like age, location, and even gender. Since you control who is allowed into your group, you can even monitor the information that’s shared, then take steps to widen your network slowly, and carefully.

 

2. Design Wizard

Video marketing has become more prominent than ever. As fast-paced customers search for entertainment and information at break-neck speed, video can be easily consumed and processed by the masses. What’s more, if you know how to access the right tools, you can begin using video to your advantage regardless of your business size or budget.

Companies like Design Wizard allow you to enhance your appearance on video sharing platforms like YouTube, by giving you the resources required to create stunning channel art that makes your content even more appealing to your audience.

 

3. SurveyMonkey

The most successful companies in the market right now, are those that know how to evaluate and understand their audience. Since small businesses typically don’t have a huge research budget, surveys and questionnaires might be the easiest way to get your hands on the information you need to create more customized marketing campaigns.

Using solutions like SurveyMonkey, you can design a personalized questionnaire and share it on your website, email receipts, and social media groups. This way, you can gain powerful insights into the people who are most likely to buy from you in the future.

 

4. PikWizard

Customers today don’t want to see a block of text when they arrive on a brand’s website or social media page. Although text can be incredibly informative, it needs to be broken up by beautiful visuals if you want to keep your audience engaged. After all, articles with images get 94% more views than their font-heavy counterparts.

Companies like PikWizard can give your small business access to a huge database of high-quality images you can use throughout all aspects of your web design and content marketing strategies. Whether you want to improve the appeal of your landing pages or make your Facebook posts more eye-catching, PikWizard can help.

 

5. Evernote

Finally, effectively marketing your business to the masses requires a certain level of careful organization. Ideas and concepts can appear in your mind at any time, and if you can’t prioritize and organize your notes, then you might not be able to make the most of the available opportunities.

Tools like Evernote allow you to capture trends, inspiration, and ideas, all while storing the information you need in one accessible location. You can log in to Evernote on your laptop, phone, or tablet, to make finding your ideas even easier.