In a recent post on how to generate backlinks, we pointed out some tools for finding and fixing broken links. There are actually a lot of useful tools online that B2B marketers can use to make their work easier, many of which are free.
Here are 5 useful tools for B2B marketers:
1. Unsplash: for free and attractive images
Attractive, eye-catching images are an essential part of good design, but one of the biggest drawbacks of good pictures is the cost of licensing. Large professional archives like Getty images have enormous libraries of good images, but you get what you pay for. On the other end of the spectrum, there are free options like Wikimedia Commons. The free options, however, tend to be a mixed bag, since their libraries are often made up of old images or a variety of amateur photos.
Unsplash combines the best of both worlds. Its copyright-free model means that the price is right, but unlike most free options, its library is curated, so you don’t have to spend as long sifting for a professional-grade image.
Or you can use: Shutterstock. Shutterstock is a royalty free image search which offers a wealth of option, though it is not curated like Unsplash. However, it offers a lot of high-quality creative-commons images.
2. Infogram: for easy infographics
Attractive, easily shareable imagery has often been associated with the B2C arena, but most people in the B2B marketplace knows that good design is a necessity here, too.
One of the more popular ways of sharing information is the infographic—they communicate in a simple, clean way that incentivises sharing. Infogram is a platform enables you to easily create, embed, and share infographics, reports, white papers, and more. Infogram offers a basic free model, and offers several higher-level tiers with more features which are reasonably priced.
Or you can use: Piktochart. Piktochart is another sensible choice for making infographics easily. It’s also free, and while it offers some different functionality than Infogram, it should meet your needs.
3. Canva: for making graphic design easy
Speaking of good design, most small- and medium-sized B2B firms don’t have a dedicated design department. Fortunately, you probably don’t need one. Canva is an app that goes a long way towards making up for this deficit. The program offers ready-made templates and design types, as well as easy graphs and photo editing suites. Best of all, multiple users can access the platform, making collaboration easy.
It offers a basic drag-and-drop editor which is free, so your firm can be ready to design without spending anything. It has higher-functionality tiers which are affordable, enabling you to do quite a bit of design if you choose to make the investment.
Or you can use: Snappa. Another affordable graphic design suite which makes layout and photo retouching easy for your team.
4. Leadberry: for lead generation
Leadberry is one of the highest-rated Google apps for lead generation. This B2B app informs you if another company visits your site, and better yet, it provides you with company data, contact information, and analytics. Leadberry makes tracking down emails easy, too. The platform automatically searches social media profiles like LinkedIn and Twitter to locate emails, so you can contact prospects with ease.
One of the more attractive features is Leadberry’s ease of use and its customisable nature. Both reduce the learning curve associated with using a new app.
Or you can use: Find That Lead. This app is great for communicating with prospective customers. Find That Lead enables you to enter a website URL and receive contact information for various staff, to keep the sales process moving.
5. Calendly: for more effective scheduling
Calendly advertises itself as an app that cuts out a lot of the back-and-forth emailing typically associated with scheduling. As far as your team, Calendly offers pages for one-on-one, team-wide, or company-wide meetings, and lets you plan without the tedious work of coordinating via your inbox. Since the platform also streamlines the communications process by cutting out a lot of extraneous work, it also has appealing implications for lead generation.
Like many of the platforms on this list, Calendly has a basic option which is free, and then different tiers offering increased functionality while still remaining affordable.
Or you can use: Gmelius. This is a scheduling app that’s oriented towards Google technology, particularly Gmail. It’s an effective way to streamline communications and scheduling.
BONUS: OptInMonster for optimised lead capture
We couldn't go without mentioning OptInMinster, OptInMonster bills itself as 'the best lead generation software for marketers', and we're inclined to agree. The platform offers a wealth of functions for generating leads, precisely targeting appeals, raising page views, and increasing conversion. It's a powerful tool set that offers a lot of functionality, and it has a 7-day free trial, too. We're confident that you'll like it once you've tried it.
What are some of your favourites?
These are just a few of the tools that we’re happy to recommend for making your B2B marketing efforts more efficient. Best of all, plenty are free, so you can make your job easier at the lowest possible cost. What tools do you like? Let us know by dropping us a comment on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn!