Best Content Marketing Tools in Comparison

Content Marketing Software: Our comparison lists the best content marketing tools - here you'll find more useful information

Content marketing is without a doubt one of the online marketing disciplines with the most potential today. When done right, users can benefit from a significant increase in customers via digital channels, a powerful positive influence on the branding of the company and not least, a considerable push for search engine optimization. However, a long path must be traversed to reap all these benefits, with many details and interdependencies to consider. Fortunately, there is a huge selection of content marketing software that powerfully assists marketers in achieving their goals.

These are popular content marketing software:

• ContentStudio

• Talkwalker

• Outgrow

• Adobe Experience Manager

• Joomag

• Kapost

• Contently

• Styla

• Curata

• contentbird Software

Good content marketing software offers the following features or advantages:

• It provides support during many phases of content marketing.

• It can be bundled as a package of various individually needed tools and connected with other important company programs.

• Content marketing software includes keyword research application.

• It offers the ability to create and organize content optimally.

• It also includes image, video, and audio content.

• Certain steps can be automated with it.

• It allows users to analyze or control measures taken in the long term.

Why is content marketing software important?

Many companies still practice "content marketing" based on outdated processes - in the worst case, there might even be a lack of strategy. Excel is often the tool of choice when it comes to creating the editorial calendar. Otherwise, standard office software is often used, decisions are made off the cuff and controlling is sometimes an unfamiliar concept. This should not be the case! Content marketing is taking a central position in the marketing mix of more and more companies. The benefits to be achieved with it are too great, or its influences on one's own competitiveness (on the net) are too important to ignore this marketing discipline. To achieve significant successes, it is necessary to precisely serve the online search habits of your own target group and the appropriate channels. Only then can one really benefit from the manifold interdependencies if a clear organization is in place and the impact of the respective measures can be continuously measured or potential adjustments can be precisely identified. These are just a few of the important prerequisites for successful content marketing to be met. Without content marketing tools, the undoubtedly numerous tasks and necessities of this marketing discipline can hardly be managed. In addition, budgets, teams, and departments to be taken into consideration for content marketing in many places are becoming larger and larger (if necessary). However, this does not necessarily make the work easier. Only through a joint working platform not only an efficient approach to direct content marketing processes, but also in the context of other related processes, such as content-related customer inquiries, can be guaranteed. Ideally, everyone affected by content marketing should always know about the respective most important aspects through the content marketing software and possibly its connection with other company-important tools, such as a CRM software. On the one hand, this makes content marketing more efficient, and on the other hand, it contributes to more holistic company structures.

What types of content marketing tools are there?

Basically, two types of content marketing software can be distinguished - stand-alone solutions and suites. Although there are still more specialized tools than comprehensive suites, the "all-in-one solutions" are becoming increasingly numerous in tandem with the success story of content marketing. They typically offer a wide range of features and form the central platform for implementing the content strategy in the company. They make it easier to involve marketing, sales, support, external agencies, freelancers, and other people concerned with content marketing in the respective processes. Ideally, these are strongly economized and ultimately achieve particularly great success. However, for maximum benefits, it must be clear: Suites sometimes offer a collection of features that are otherwise covered only by specialized stand-alone software. In this context, it is important on the one hand to check whether the respective content marketing software suite really covers all requirements or whether specialized programs are needed in addition - but also that not too many functions are on board that might not be needed at all and can possibly form barriers to use. Sometimes it is actually appropriate to choose a modular structure by joining several stand-alone solutions rather than using an extensive content marketing software suite. These are the typical stand-alone solutions in content marketing software:

• Keyword and topic research software

• Content curation tools

• Promotion, retargeting and personalization software

• Content recommendation software

• Text creation and optimization software

• Graphic software

• Video software

• Audio software

• Interactive content software

• Content management systems

• Content distribution software

• Content collaboration software

• Email marketing software

• Marketing automation software

• Social media marketing software suites

• Influencer marketing software & tools

• Web analytics software & tools and monitoring software

Even these specialized tools often have features on board that serve other generally important requirements of content marketing. For instance, email marketing software usually has an analysis or monitoring feature and content management systems normally allow users to create or publish advantageous content directly. Larger suites are mainly SaaS solutions, where the software and the IT infrastructure are operated directly by the developer company of the content marketing software and used by customers as a service. Only comparatively few content marketing tools are also usable on one's own servers. In addition, many modern solutions offer an app for mobile use and are client-capable. Automation, artificial intelligence, and integration are key components that play an important role in modern content marketing software solutions to offer efficient search engine optimization and trial versions.

What useful features does content marketing software offer?

First of all, it should be noted that the content marketing software of choice should match the user's needs as precisely as possible. It is not sensible to simply resort to a system that combines as many automation features as possible, just because one might not want to deal with the topic more extensively or has little time for it. If a suite contains too many features that aren't needed, this is not only inefficient and impedes work with the respective tool, but also a waste of money! An overview of potentially very useful features, which you can basically use to determine how your perfect content marketing tool should be designed, can be found below.

Strategy and research with content marketing tools

Content marketing software sometimes contains very good strategy features. This can be an advantage in certain business contexts, of course. For example, target groups/buyer personas and their customer journeys can be integrated, topic scoring can be done and content can be aligned across departments. Even strategic goals, guidelines, and individual channel strategies can be used. The research functions are just as diverse. A keyword research tool is practically a must-have, as such keywords are a decisive factor for the effectiveness of content marketing. Furthermore, there are features for link-building and influencer research.

Planning and content creation

In the planning area, some content marketing software suites offer a very wide range of functions. Editorial plans and annual topic plans can be created, briefing functions used, budgets calculated or keywords predefined - all this has a lot of potential. There are also here and there a W-questions tool or AI features - for example for topic suggestions. Furthermore, various helpers for content creation are available, which can do significantly more than usual office text processing programs. The possibility of a SEO and readability check of content is particularly promising here. In addition, workflows including release functions, task management and of course a basic content editor are offered.

Content distribution

Often it is ideal if content can be created directly with the content marketing software and also published from it. Many tools offer this function in different variations. There are also corresponding integrations for social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The possibility of direct promotion of content using content marketing software is (still) less common.

Content marketing software interfaces

When purchasing content marketing software, it is often important that it can be integrated into the existing tool mix. Most providers have recognized the great relevance of this requirement today and provide appropriate API interfaces within their systems. For example, Google Analytics, monitoring tools and/or CRM tools can be connected. The possibility of linking with a content management system is also very common. Moreover, there are specific import and export features with which, for example, statistics can be exported.