3 Tools Every Marketer Should Be Using

3 Tools Every Marketer Should Be Using

Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by Andrew Dumont in Marketing

If you’ve done any form of marketing, you know how important numbers are to quantifying the success of a campaign. With everything you do, you’ve got to weigh the costs and benefits of each initiative you implement. Understanding that means having the right tools in place to make those decisions.

During my time as VP of Marketing at Tatango, I ran across a hand-full of tools that helped, but only a few that really stood the test of time as a source for gaining relevant information. I’ve listed the top 3 tools below, if you’re not utilizing them, I’d suggest you start.

And just to clarify, the image above is in fact a “toolshed”, but not like the “toolsheds” that can be found on Jersey Shore – just wanted to make sure I cleared that up. :)

Google Analytics – I’m sure many of you are familiar with Google Analytics, it’s one of the most actively used tools in the marketing world. GA (Google Analytics) is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website, featuring in depth tracking of visitor source, number of visitors, location of visitor, etc. On the surface, GA is fairly simple to use, but adds complexity as you delve deeper into the statistics. Much of my time on GA was spent in analyzing site traffic to better conversion rate and monitor PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns. I’ve embedded one of the best tutorials I’ve found on how to utilize the different features of GA. Although it may be kind of boring, play close attention, this tool will be your best buddy as a marketer.

Bit.ly – Ever wonder how many people click on the links you post via Facebook, Twitter, etc.? That’s where Bit.ly comes into play. On the surface, it’s a URL shortener for tweets to allow for more text in those 160 character updates, but it also has quite the analytical backbone. Not only does it track every single person that clicks on the links you post, but it also tells you when they clicked and exactly where they came from. It’s completely free to use and a great tool.

TweetDeck – In the new media world, one of the most important jobs of a marketer is maintaining communication with clients – TweetDeck helps you do that. The use of TweetDeck makes it easy to maintain conversations by alerting you of mentions of company name, competitors or any other phrases you see fit. Not only that, but it allows you to share content to Twitter, Facebook and Twitter all from an easy-to-use desktop app.

Like I said, this is a trimmed down version of the tools I’ve used in the past – but, it is a summary of the best I’ve found. If you’ve got any apps that you feel I’ve left out, please add them to the comment section below.

8 Responses to “3 Tools Every Marketer Should Be Using”

  1. Adam Pearson / @Pearsonify

    28. Jan, 2010

    Great list. I haven’t used TweetDeck to track mentions, but I need to start doing that. Have you used HootSuite or another tool to manage multiple social network accounts in one place? If so, what would you recommend?

    Reply to this comment

    • Andrew Dumont

      28. Jan, 2010

      You’ve definitely got to start using TweetDeck to track mentions, Tweetie is another good alternative as well, if you’ve got a mac.

      I have used HootSuite, it’s a great tool – and I think one of the best out there for management of multiple social networks. However, I don’t like the idea automatically updating all networks with the same content, at the same time. The demographics and type of accepted content varies so much per network. That being said, I’m not too big a fan of a Ping.fm or Friendfeed type service.

      Reply to this comment

  2. karim kanji

    28. Jan, 2010

    I’ve used Tweetdeck but have since moved on to Hootsuite. I use at least 2 different “screens” so having an online tool like Hootsuite suits me fine.

    Bit.ly and Analytics are both great tools too!

    Reply to this comment

  3. Briddick

    28. Jan, 2010

    Don’t use Tweetdeck as much as Hootsuite now. Should check it out!

    Reply to this comment

  4. Gary Pickering

    02. Feb, 2010

    I’m with Briddick, never got much out of Tweetdeck and I really prefer Hootsuite.

    Reply to this comment

  5. Nick

    25. Apr, 2010

    I’ve used Tweetdeck but have since moved on to Hootsuite. I use at least 2 different “screens” so having an online tool like Hootsuite suits me fine.

    Bit.ly and Analytics are both great tools too!

    Reply to this comment

  6. RANDY

    15. Jul, 2010


    Pillspot.org. Canadian Health&Care.No prescription online pharmacy.Special Internet Prices.Best quality drugs. Low price drugs. Order drugs online…

    Buy:Cialis Soft Tabs.Zithromax.Viagra Professional.Cialis.Viagra Super Force.Tramadol.Cialis Super Active+.Viagra Soft Tabs.Super Active ED Pack.Maxaman.Cialis Professional.VPXL.Propecia.Levitra.Viagra Super Active+.Soma.Viagra….

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Reply