At Globe Runner, we’re constantly presented with marketing tools to review and hopefully adopt. As we soon discovered, there  are hundreds of marketing tools for every conceivable purpose but only a select few are the ones that we just can’t live without. Following are the marketing tools that Globe Runner has perpetually open on browser tabs:

AdWords Editor

PPC Lead Stephanie Bradam says AdWords Editor is “constantly open” on her browser. The tool allows users to make changes in bulk and across multiple accounts, even offline. Apart from the convenience, it’s free — instant brownie points.

Asana

This task management tool is perpetually up on our screens. Asana acts as the central nervous system for the agency, the platform from which we assign tasks, determine work capacity and record time.  “It’s great for listing and tracking tasks as well as figuring out what’s going on,” said account manager Jenna Yoder. One fun feature of Asana is the occasional unicorn that appears when a task is checked off.

Canva

“Just about the easiest way to whip up banners, collages, social media headers and what-have-you” is how director of brand strategy Alicia Kan described Canva. The platform offers excellent pre-sized templates, easy drag-and-drop functionality and, if you’re lacking pictures, the option to buy good looking visuals for $1.

CODA2, Dreamweaver and Atom

Our web developers Daniel Edwards, Johnny Rodriguez and Jeff Baker use these “integrated development environments” (their words) on a daily basis. “All of them are like multiple programs rolled into one,” said Johnny. “It’s just a matter of preference on which tool to use. Since a visual interface is easier for me, I tend to use Dreamweaver.”

Google Analytics

Given that Globe Runner’s core competency is SEO, Google Analytics is always one of the first tools we check everyday to look at the status of clients’ websites. Their performance on Google Analytics tells us whether the strategies and tactics we’re employing are working, whether that be visitors to the blog or sales from e-commerce. Installing Google Analytics on a client’s site is always the first priority whenever we onboard a client, in order for us to work from a common baseline and to provide tangible metrics going forward.

Google Sheets

Sorry Bill Gates, but the sharing capabilities of Google Sheets give it the edge over Excel. “You can share [files] in real-time, with hardly any need to send emails back and forth,” said Ashley Bonner, quality manager. We’ve used Google Sheets for various purposes, from silo documents to content calendars like this one we made for 2016.

Hootsuite

According to Globe Runner’s head of content Zain Haidar, one of Hootsuite‘s main benefits is the functionality for planning and rescheduling social media posts across multiple accounts. “You can plan posts weeks in advance which is great,” he said. (Now if only Hootsuite could improve a rather clunky interface, our joy would be immeasurable.)

Moz.com

Apart from having various tools for 0nline marketing, Moz has an excellent video series we follow called Whiteboard Friday (usually over a Friday team lunch, like the one we’re having in the picture). Topics covered in the videos range from the latest ranking trends to male programmer dress tips. 

Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO is still one of the best introductions to the field to be found. Which is why Globe Runner staff are tasked with reading this guide as part of their onboarding.

PandaDoc

A fairly recent addition to our favorite marketing tools list, PandaDoc eliminates the drudgery and hours involved in proposal writing. The tool allows users to create a library of commonly used content, create templates and automate sending. “It makes it easy for me to collaborate [with others] on a proposal,” explained Globe Runner CEO Eric McGehearty. “It also organizes my sales pipeline.”

Passpack

Before Passpack, we were like every other business: Storing passwords in a common file that could be accessed by multiple internal users. After one too many ‘who changed the password!?’ conversations, we settled on Passpack to be the official repository. “Whenever I forget a password, it’s Passpack to the rescue,” said digital strategist Donnie Hanes. Not only is it convenient, but Passpack’s two-step login gives us an additional, reassuring layer of security.

RGB to Hex

Ever had to recommend colors for websites? Recreate palettes using online logos? Using Pantone colors as a guide is great for print but when it comes to websites, hex codes rule. So if you and your developer can’t agree on the exact shade of blue, use hex codes as a common basis for discussion. RGB to Hex is a simple calculator where you enter the RGB values and it spits out the hex code.

Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is an SEO tool that crawls websites for data such as title tags, meta descriptions and external links. The data is served up in spreadsheet form so a user can easily find errors and issues at a glance instead of manually combing through a site. It’s especially useful for larger sites with hundreds of pages. Screaming Frog is an essential part of every SEO audit we do for clients.

SEM Rush

A must-have for any SEO, SEM Rush shows a site’s organic and paid traffic, keywords it’s ranking for, backlinks, competitive set and more. “It’s invaluable in researching keywords and identifying keyword opportunities,” said quality team lead Brian Meller. SEM Rush also allows domain comparison for up to three properties for quick top-level competitive analyses.

What marketing tools are must-haves in your position? Share them below as a comment.