11 Must-use modern marketing tools for Microsoft Partners

A modern marketer is only as good as the tools they use. For partners looking to transition to a modern marketing strategy, a well-stocked marketing stack can help you track and improve ROI.

Of course, not all marketing tools are created equal. Knowing which ones will provide clear insight and a simple user experience can be tricky, especially if you don't have the time to trial them all.

Here's a list of must-use modern marketing tools we recommend all Microsoft Partners consider trying today:

Marketing automation & CRM

No marketing stack is complete without an integrated marketing automation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.

HubSpot

HubSpot is an industry leader in the inbound marketing sector. Its marketing and sales software makes it simpler to aggregate, analyse, and segment leads and customers. Using HubSpot's intuitive interface, you can set up and complete various campaigns all from one portal.

An integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM also allows you to align contacts across the two platforms, automatically share new leads with your sales team, and update contact lifecycle stages. HubSpot is a great tool for any business looking to take its first steps towards a modern marketing model.

Marketo

Like HubSpot, Marketo is a marketing automation tool that integrates with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The platform allows you to focus on selling to the right prospects, rather than wasting your time on poorly-qualified leads. As your prospects move through the buyer's journey, you can track their progress, convert them into leads and measure the overall success of each marketing campaign.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Engaging existing customers is just as important as drawing in fresh leads. Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables you to build personalised experiences across various customer touchpoints - from the consideration to purchase stages of the buyer's journey. Providing one, centralised set of CRM tools for employees to use helps them work smarter and more efficiently. Social engagement is also a key part of Microsoft Dynamics, helping you gain real-time insight into your social audience with visual analytics.

Social promotion & sharing

Great content deserves great promotion. Use these tools to amplify your reach on social media.

Buffer

Tired of manually posting content and social updates? Buffer allows you to schedule posts in advance, making it easier to curate and promote engaging articles and images. Use the social queuing tool to share content with your audience at the ideal time of day and get more from each post. You can even queue the articles you browse on the web, offering you an infinite source of new insight.

Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is one of Twitter's most popular add-ons and enables you to customise your social experience. Use it to keep track of specific lists, activity, and searches, so you know exactly what your audience is discussing. For example, you could set up Tweetdeck to listen for mentions of your business in customer tweets and respond to both positive and negative feedback in real-time.

Partner Sociabble

Partner Sociabble is a free Microsoft tool partners can use to publish industry-specific content on social media. Take advantage of a huge curation of Microsoft solutions, industry news and thought leadership articles, by republishing them as your own. With social media fast becoming the most powerful B2B marketing tool, Partner Sociabble can help you attract and engage more customers.

Sprout Social

If you're looking for a complete social media package, Sprout Social offers a comprehensive marketing and management platform. With Sprout Social's social listening tool you can initiate, monitor and join trending conversations at the press of a button. You can also build and track social marketing campaigns, helping you share content, qualify leads, and prove specific ROI.

Video

YouTube

You're probably already aware of the social power of YouTube, which reports a 100% rise in video consumption each year. However, did you know it's great for promoting your products and services in a more visceral way? Since traditional advertising no longer resonates with wary consumers, uploading customer-centric video content to a YouTube channel can help you reach over a third of all internet users.

Wistia

Wistia takes video content creation one step further. Like all marketing assets, video content can be optimised and analysed to boost ROI. Wistia combines SEO, creation and curation in one platform, so you can track and improve your video marketing from start to finish. Through the use of intuitive APIs, you can then share this content on your website or across a range of social platforms.

Sales & advertising

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Social selling is an incredible tool for connecting sellers and buyers. LinkedIn Sales Navigator streamlines this process, using a vast LinkedIn database to link your business with the right customers. Rather than hunting and qualifying your own leads, Sales Navigator does the legwork for you, using sophisticated algorithms to recommend buyers and engage them with personalised outreach.

Microsoft Advertising

While traditional advertising might be dead, PPC (Pay Per Click) is enabling business to advertise across a range of online platforms. Partners can make use of Microsoft Advertising to promote their products or content on Bing and AOL services. Using modern marketing technology, these advertising spaces allow partners to gain insight into the online behaviour of their audience and tailor their promotions accordingly.

With great tools comes great responsibility

While these 11 tools can markedly improve any marketing stack, without the right strategy, you'll struggle to see value. Modern marketers follow three simple steps to continuously improve the success of their investments:

• • Creation
  • Optimisation
  • Analysis

Use a selection of the handy tools above to complete these stage in every campaign you build and get the most out of your marketing assets. For a more in-depth look at the revenue marketing journey check out our Marketing Transformation Toolkit.