Every week, it seems, vendors introduce new tools for online marketing - from analytics applications to email marketing suites to online video tools. The constant onslaught got us at MarketingVOX thinking: of all these offerings, which do marketers like the best?
We asked around and following are the results of our informal survey.
Online Video
Some, like Marc Siry, SVP of Digital Products and Services for NBC Universal, plugged a product the company in question had decided to deploy - in this case, KickApps' newly launched OSMF App Studio with Adobe. Essentially it's an open-source drag and drop video player application that a website publisher uses to drive traffic.
Siry said it is "by far" the most advanced solution his team has seen for authoring, publishing and managing social video. "It's going to make a huge difference in our ability to quickly build and launch socially powered sites for our brands."
Social Media
For the most part, though, respondents highlighted either free tools or tools they came across in other capacities. Jeff Bodzewski, who has managed word of mouth and social media programs for Infiniti, Midas, Nissan, VCA Hospitals and Cricket Wireless, says his favorite tool is free - IceRocket.
"Social media is so dynamic that it helps to have a quick, flexible resource that can be checked throughout the day to see how online conversations are trending on blogs, forums, Twitter and even MySpace. It's not as comprehensive as say as a Radian6 or Alterian solution, but it's highly effective and the right price."
Analytics
Marc Spector, a principal at Spector Group, a NY-based architecture and design firm, says his favorite tool is Google Analytics for the company's web site.
"Every link is tracked for traffic, length of stay. We target our print and social media, marketing to our strengths and modify those platforms to where we may appear to be weak. Number of clicks, impressions, etc allow us to better understand how our company is perceived."
Email Marketing
Doug Akin, Chief Engagement Officer, with MrYouth, likes Xobni for email marketing campaigns because it so flexible. "It allows you to centralize email exchanges with an individual. I use it a lot to convert someone I am exchanging emails with into a Linked In, Twitter or Facebook connection. I also can see on their dashboard which sits on the side of my outlook, which files I have exchanged with someone, and who else is in the circle on conversation."
Alexandra MacAaron, Creative Director & Queen B at Bdirect Marketing, points to Campaigner, an email marketing tool from Protus IP Solutions, as a good choice for small-to-medium sized businesses that want to do email marketing without having to hire a dedicated person or invest in ad agency services.
"Some of the things that makes Campaigner easier to use than other solutions is that they offer a live introduction webinar, 'Campaigner University' which includes many online tutorials, easy-to-understand response and analytics tools, literally hundreds of templates and the opportunity for 1-on-1 coaching," she says. Bdirect has done ads for Campaigner in the past, but is not working on any project currently, she says. Furthermore, "I've used and recommended two other [email marketing] solutions in the past."
Stay tuned for part two: Miscellaneous
