BMC blog: Marketing tools and tactics that save time and look great

24 May BMC blog: Marketing tools and tactics that save time and look great

You know the old adage about gauging how long it takes to do something by getting an amateur to do it? Well, it’s true.

We’ve all tried DIY whether at home or in business and wished we’d brought in a professional from the start, not just because they can do it better but also faster.

While we’re all becoming increasingly cost conscious, freeing up our own time makes sense, not least as we can spend time doing what we do best, hopefully well enough to earn money to pay the professionals looking after us.

So while there’s a temptation to dabble, I’d always caution against taking an amateur approach to marketing. Not only can it stick out like a sore thumb, you’re putting the future reputation of your business at risk.

Sure, you can have a go at doing it yourself but even if you have your own in-house marketing team, unless they miraculously possess the skills to do the sort of specialisms that make up modern day marketing, you’re better off calling in people who truly can do things like create brands, design a website, photography, video and podcast production, developing social media strategies and managing PR campaigns.

That said, with a bit of practice and knowledge, most workaday marketing can easily be done with the help of tools that are designed primarily to make our lives simpler – often instantly, sometimes to ‘seize the moment’, and always (I hope) as part of a wider marketing plan.

So, although my first port of call would always be to call in the professionals when possible, getting to grips with the time savers makes sense.

My own favourites include multi-purpose design platform Canva, Mailchimp for e-shots and newsletters, Adobe Premiere Rush for simple video, Adobe Audition for professional podcasting and audio production and PowerPoint for presentations.

We’ve all got used to Zoom and Microsoft Teams to host or attend meetings and webinars and the likes of Eventbrite to take bookings, while business and functionality combine in another standard Adobe product PDF, multi file transfer services like Dropbox and WeTransfer and resizing tools such as PicResize and TinyURL.

Then there are the social media marketing platforms themselves that constantly change and evolve – not just Facebook and Twitter but also LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and, of course, YouTube, which now rivals Facebook as the world’s biggest social media platform.

As for immediacy, WhatsApp and Messenger lead the direct messaging market.

Deciding which ones are best for your business is often subjective but the blend of marketing creation tools to design images for these many and varied platforms is all about making your business look as professional as possible and making life (and marketing) as easy and streamlined for you to do.

That’s why June’s CGM Business Media Club meeting on Friday, June 24 from 10am to midday will focus on our very own favourite marketing tools and tactics specifically to help you promote your own 2022 One Big Thing. Care to join us?

For further information about the club, which is now in its ninth year, visit our Business Media Club page.

To book your seat for this meeting, visit our Eventbrite page.