Let’s be honest: marketing has always been tough, especially with traditional forms or outreach becoming less effective each year. From defining a target audience to coming up with a compelling message, there are dozens of hurdles to leap on the path to creating a saleable business. In recent years, though, several digital marketing tools have emerged to make some of these efforts easier.
While it’s true that an email marketing platform won’t actually create a product or write the emails for you, and that a social media platform won’t, in and of itself, earn you customers, these tools can go a long way to help your team market more efficiently to your customers.
Here are a few of our favorite digital marketing tools, specifically for consignment shops, and how a few of them can help your store do better business, starting right now.
5 Outstanding Digital Marketing Tools Every Consignment Store Should Use
Whether you’re an established business or just getting started, these five digital marketing tools can help you launch your operations to a new level:
1. Buffer
Buffer is one of the best-known social media management tools out there.
Perfect for scheduling posts, analyzing the performance of those posts, and keeping track of multiple accounts from a single dashboard, Buffer allows you to define a posting schedule, track posts in the Buffer queue, and build a following, without hopping from platform to platform.
The tool offers a free plan, a pro plan (starting at $15 a month), and a business plan (which begins at $99 a month and moves up from there). Even if you’re not sure of the value a social media planner will help your business, give it a shot! It’s free, after all.
2. MailChimp
MailChimp is the world’s single largest marketing automation platform. Ideal for companies ranging from small e-commerce businesses to major online retailers, MailChimp allows you to access the templates, automation tools, and plugins you need to send better emails and see more results.
Whether you’re sending out weekly newsletters or creating a targeted marketing push, MailChimp can help you do it. It’s also free to get started.
3. Canva
If you’re like so many consignment companies out there, you want to excel at digital marketing, but you don’t have a huge budget to hire a graphic designer.
Luckily, Canva is here to help. An easy-to-use design software, Canva allows you to use drag-and-drop templates to create logos, presentations, social media headers, business cards, and more.
Sign up for a business account to save a marketing portfolio, including color schemes, preferred logos, and templates, so it’s always easy to create beautiful graphics with a few clicks.
4. Facebook and Instagram Business Tools
Both Instagram and Facebook offer business tools to help customers get in touch with your company, and neither platform’s offerings should be overlooked.
If you haven’t already converted to a business profile on Instagram, now is the time to do it. Not only will it allow you access to features ranging from contact information to promoted posts, but it’ll also lend some of the authority your brand needs to succeed.
On Facebook, building a business profile will allow you to share services and pricing, promote your contact information, and collect reviews – right through the platform.
5. Unsplash
Unsplash is a high-quality stock photo site that allows you to access free photos for all your digital marketing needs. Stop here for blog header images, backgrounds for social posts, and more. On most photos, attribution is not required and you can simply download them and go.
Better Digital Marketing Starts Here
It can be tough to feel like a real marketer when you’re busy juggling all the ins and outs of a business. Luckily, these five digital marketing tools are here to make the process easier and more straightforward for you. Plug them into your website, use them to boost your social media, or just grab a few free stock photos to perk up your visual game. No matter how you choose to use them, these tools are here to help your company grow, both now and in the future.
