In marketing, as in life, it is important to use the proper tools.
At Fort Lauderdale- and Aspen-based public relations agency Durée & Company, we understand how powerful the right marketing tools can be in targeting your existing audience and acquiring new customers. Today, we are sharing some of our must-have marketing secrets to help you streamline your action plan. These include media monitoring programs, communication platforms, data analysis software and more.
#1 Media Monitoring Programs
Consistent media monitoring is essential for maintaining your business’ positive reputation and staying up to date with the public’s reaction to your company’s presence, statements and products. It is imperative to keep track of what is being said about your brand and who is saying it. Some of our favorite tools include Cision, Talkwalker Alerts and Google Alerts.
- Cision: This cloud-based software has the most complete collection of online news, blogs, social media, print media and broadcast channels, with more than 7 million sources around the world. Cision allows businesses to track brand mentions in real time, and to monitor millions of stories being published daily on the internet. It even has a team of professional service consultants to help you set up search terms for your monitoring account, as well as handy features for producing media recap reports. Cision has a database of over 1.6 million journalists, influencers and editorial contacts. This is a paid-for service that requires a yearlong contract.
- Talkwalker Alerts: A great alternative to Cision, this free service monitors every single mention of your brand and keywords in various forms of media such as blogs, websites, news and social media platforms.
- Google Alerts: If you are looking for an affordable media monitoring tool, you should also consider Google Alerts. This is a free program that operates similarly to Talkwalker, in that it tracks keywords associated with your business or brand.
#2 Internal Communication Platform
Effective internal communication helps to ensure that all team members are working collaboratively to reach the goals of the organization. It is also the best way to grow your company culture and to make your employees feel valued and appreciated. As we work with numerous clients in a variety of categories, Slack is essential to our internal communication at Durée & Company.
- Slack: This is the leading channel-based messaging platform used by millions of people worldwide to communicate with their colleagues. It has transformed business communications and makes brainstorming, sharing client updates and interacting with your internal team seamless. It is also a great alternative to email, enabling employees to cut back on internal emails that clog their inboxes. The platform also integrates your company’s favorite and most frequently used apps for easy access, including Google Docs, Zoom, Dropbox and Outlook.
Unlike other marketing methods, email marketing allows you to stay in touch with your customers on a consistent basis. Email marketing has also been shown to be 40 times more effective in helping companies acquire more customers than Facebook and Twitter combined. Some of the keys to effective email marketing include: creating targeted and personalized content; designing a layout that mirrors your brand aesthetic; and diligently reviewing reporting metrics to learn which aspects of your campaigns are working well and identify where there is room for improvement.
- Constant Contact: One of the most popular email marketing tools, Constant Contact is used by over 5 million customers worldwide and helps small businesses, nonprofits and individuals reach their audience at an affordable price. With 205 billion emails reportedly being sent each day, this is one of the best ways to reach your current audience and also acquire more customers.
#4 Organization Tips
It is vital that your team has an efficient system for organizing both internal and external documents. With the increase of people working remotely in today’s world, it is even more important that your business’ files can be accessed via a cloud software from anywhere in the world.
- Dropbox: This can help keep your team organized and your files under control. With cloud-based software to keep your files accessible anywhere at any time, Dropbox helps your team store all of its files in a central location. This software also makes collaboration among coworkers much simpler, as the whole team has access to the most up-to-date files at all times.
Data analysis is necessary to understand which marketing tools and tactics are benefiting your business and to identify where there is room for growth in your marketing plan.
- Google Analytics: This free software provides data visualization and analyzes website traffic. This data is presented in charts, graphs, lists, pie charts, spreadsheets and more. Google Analytics also makes reporting this data extremely simple, which will allow employees to easily collect, prepare and present any data set or combination of data sets. Reports can be pulled for content relevancy, traffic volume, traffic sources, campaign conversions and date ranges. With this data, you can identify characteristics such as interests and behavior for both your current audience and your target demographic.
And that’s a wrap! Creating an effective and successful marketing plan can be simple if you know which tools to use. If you would like to learn more about crafting the perfect marketing plan for your business, contact the seasoned professionals at Durée & Company. Check out our Dynamo Diary or Instagram page for more insights and #behindthescenes action!
About Durée & Company, Inc.
Durée & Company, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service public relations, marketing and special events firm founded in 1999. The firm has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Aspen, Colorado. Durée & Company serves the corporate, agency and nonprofit arenas for local, national and international clients. Services include public relations, social media, marketing, digital marketing, content development, advertising, special events, branding, radio promotions, affiliate marketing and more. Durée & Company clients include well-known names in yachting, business, real estate, hospitality, travel, cannabis and hemp, wellness and CBD, art and culture, fashion, nonprofit organizations, legal and professional services. Durée & Company is a member of PR Boutiques International™ (PRBI), an international network of boutique PR firms. To learn more, call 954-723-9350; go to dureeandcompany.com; or visit its new, specialized cannabis- and CBD-specific site at cannabismarketingpr.com. Join the social conversation and follow Durée & Company on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at @DureeCoPR, or on YouTube at @DureeAndCompany.