Tech Stack for Back to "School"

Intro 

Now that summer is coming to a close, and the holidays are slowly approaching, it's time to kick off those marketing campaigns! This tech stack was designed to give you everything you need for the end of the year push. It includes essential software, but also practical items to make your work a little bit more comfortable and easier. 

CMS- Content Management System

Creating content is essential for marketing, especially inbound marketing to build leads, and get organic traffic. But once you create all that content, you need a way to manage it. CMS allows you to control how your content appears on your website and gives you unique tracking mechanisms to see how those who view your content interact with it. CMS is often easy to use and user friendly for those who are not the most technically advanced. We recommend HubSpot CMS as a great addition to HubSpot CRM. 

$25-$1,200 per month

Social Media Marketing Software

If you are looking to jump on social media marketing, or are looking to elevate your social media marketing, then look to software like Hootsuite. Hootsuite allows you to create the posts you want for all major social media platforms. This way, you can create consistent posts that launch at a scheduled time. This is the key to increasing engagement and views.  

$99-$740 per month

Keyword Research/ SEO Software-

Coming up on the first page of Google is essential for digital marketers. But to do that successfully, you will need to do keyword research to make sure your titles and meta description answer questions that people are actually googling. Ahrefs is an example of a great keyword research tool to have in your arsenal. Ahrefs is the second largest website crawler, next to Google. So it will give you accurate results on your keywords.  

$100-$400 per month 

Project Management Tools

While not specifically a marketing tool. Marketers know how important keeping track of projects and following up is. Project management tools like Asana allow you to create tasks and the steps necessary to complete them. It also allows you to delegate tasks to other members of your team. 

$11-$25 per month

Time Tracking Software

As a marketer, you probably strive to be data driven. One of the best ways to be data driven, is to collect data on yourself and your team. Time tracking tools like Toggl allow you to track the amount of time you are working on a certain task, as well as your team. This gives you the power to accurately allot time to new projects based on your history.   

$11-$25 per month

Web Conferencing Software

Given that we are in years into COVID, you are probably already familiar with Zoom. But it can actually be part of your tech stack! HubSpot’s integration with Zoom makes it easy to see how it can be used for marketing. Attendees at Zoom events can be imported to your contact database. Additionally contacts can schedule Zoom meetings using the HubSpot meetings tool. Which is not only great for the sales team, but the marketing team as well for those internal meetings.  

$0-$18 per month

(Book) Inbound Content: A Step-by-Step Guide To Doing Content Marketing the Inbound Way:

Give yourself some time to learn inbound strategy, especially content strategy. By doing some summer reading with this, you can learn how to elevate your content strategy effectively. Author Justin Champion of HubSpot has over a decade of experience in inbound marketing. He gives a great explanation of the methodology, including story telling, long term strategies, and analysis of content.   

$16-$25

Webcam Cover:

As a marketer, you probably have frequent meeting with clients and other coworkers with your webcam. But having your camera pointed at you all day long as you work, could put you at potential risk. As a precaution, many people, not just marketers, put tape over their webcam. Put this can get sticky and messy, instead try this sliding webcam cover! It is very simple to cover and uncover your camera.    

$7

Custom Branded Merch:

Want a fun and easy way to advertise your business? Get some customized merch with your company’s logo on it. Laptop bags, stickers, and water bottles are a great way to publicly display your brand. Give out this merch to team members, you never know who might approach you about your cool merch!    

$10-$40 per item

Cordless Earbuds/Headphones:

If you are reluctant about getting new cordless earbuds or headphones, consider how it can improve your work experience. With cordless headphones, you can hear notifications, calls, pings, even when you are away from your desk making coffee. And if you're listening to music or a podcast, you can take that music with you when you need to stretch your legs.   

Approx $45

EBike

If you’re a marketer in a metropolis where driving can be a nightmare, costly, and environmentally unfriendly, having an easy way to attend meetings across town is a must. An Ebike can serve as a great alternative to car travel when parking is scarce, and it will save you money.    

Approx $800

Coffee Maker

A coffee maker is probably essential for anyone who just enjoys caffeine. But for marketers, it helps to keep us on top of campaigns, new launches, and any problems that arise. I recommend this pour over coffee maker with this coffee bean grinder for coffee with the freshest taste.  

Coffee Maker: $20 

Coffee Grinder: $20

Weekly Moleskine Planner

You are probably already an avid, and advanced user of Google Calendar or some other calendar application. But with digital calendars, have we lost touch with the human side of planning events. For work, I use Google Calendar, but for personal life events I use a weekly planner.I also write my personal goals each week, which is a great way to motivate yourself beyond work. 

$25