With the first quarter of 2024 already behind us, the importance of content marketing and content marketing tools has never been more relevant. From SEO analysis tools, AI generators, stock footage, and audio for video content, the number of options on offer out there is seemingly endless. This can make it quite difficult for customers constantly bombarded with ads to know the good ones from the bad.
To make things easier for you, here’s our top pick of the best tools for content marketing spread across four of the most common and in-demand categories of content marketing in 2024.
SEO Tools
Here’s our pick of the top SEO content marketing strategy tools:
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the oldest and most popular content marketing analytics tools alongside Moz and Semrush. The accuracy of its data gives Ahrefs an edge over its peers, both new and old, making it one of the best enterprise content marketing tools. It’s used by some of the biggest US and global companies, including AT&T Inc, MANPOWER, AcadeMedia AB, Conneqt Business Solutions, and more.
Considered one of the best fully-featured SEO tools capable of performing a wide range of functions from keyword research to competitor analysis, it’s not without its downsides either. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of Ahrefs:
Pros
– Deep search algorithm that combs for keywords not only in Google but 9 other mainstream search engines.
– Allows keyword analysis at a granular level by tracking local keyword rankings, no matter how small the search volume.
– It’s a great tool for broken link building which is invaluable when it comes to aged domains.
Cons
– There is no free trial version that prevents new users from experiencing the full breadth of experience Ahrefs can provide.
– Their customer support is considered one of the worst despite their high-quality offering. This aspect often turns off potential customers who know how good the tool is.
– Pricing is a bit high compared to its peers, with the Lite Plan starting at $99 a month, which is quite steep for an entry-level package with a limited reporting range.
Question DB
Let’s face it, the biggest question in any content creator’s mind whether it be video or written content is ‘What’s going on in the audience’s mind?’ Question DB helps you do just that by understanding the audience’s intent behind keywords and common search terms.
This content marketing research tool allows you to strategise both your SEO and content strategies by organically integrating the audience psyche into your content. The tool is highly geared towards query/question-type keywords, bringing you the latest trends and niches with ease and simplicity.
Pros
– For an unlimited idea generator, the $10 subscription fee is money well spent if you know what you are doing.
– Useful for both search engines and video platforms like YouTube.
– Gauges audience intent quite accurately.
Cons
– Since the tool relies on data scraping and integrates it in a single database, you never know when it was last updated.
– Not a complete replacement for more complex content marketing planning tools.
Video Content Tools
Here’s our pick of the best video content marketing tools:
Mixkit
When it comes to trending content, there is no denying that video content is king. And to make that video content appealing and enticing, a lot of audio, effects, and, B-roll footage are a must. This is where Mixkit comes to the rescue, providing a gigantic gallery of stock footage, audio, sound effects, video effects, and more for both rookie and veteran video content creators.
They even offer a bevvy of free royalty royalty-free stuff to give users a taste of what they can have with the paid subscription. Simply put, if you’re a video editor or into video content creation, a Mixkit subscription is a must-have!
Pros
– Thousands of unique stock footage, audio, and effects that can be used for all kinds of video content.
– Easy user interface that allows you to browse through different categories of content seamlessly.
– Unlike many similar platforms, Mixkit provides separate licensing for each of their assets, ensuring there are no chances of copyright issues in the future.
Cons
– Currently, the platform provides no stock images which is a real bummer. Still, it’s understandable as licensing and copyright issues are more complex when it comes to images than their typical offerings.
– While their large library consists of 50,000+ assets, they have proven to be quite slow in adding new ones compared to their peers.
– The lack of customer support is the biggest con of Mixkit. They provide no customer support at all, not even by email.
Canva
Though it may have started out as a simple drag-and-drop image editing tool, Canva has evolved much since the old days and now one of the best content marketing tools that provides a wide range of designs, effects, backgrounds, and text templates for video content as well. The interface is as simple as ever, allowing you to customise brilliantly designed custom title cards, animated logos, and more for your video content.
And the best part is, a lot of the good stuff is free, probably because they started these new tools just recently. So take advantage of the good free stuff while you still can before they’re paywalled which always ends up happening for these kinds of subscription-based tools.
Pros
– Easy drag-and-drop and typing interface allows you to customise your video content with ease.
– Allows you to collaborate and share content with other Canva users very easily.
– As of now Canva is constantly adding new assets to their library, and their offerings are quite different from other similar service providers in the market.
Cons
– Offering a generous amount of free stuff, the paid subscription can be quite costly for some.
– Font customisation options are limited to only a few generic options.
– No offline mode to fall back on when you don’t have internet.
AI Tools for Marketing Content
Here’s our pick of the AI tools for marketing content:
JasperAI
If you want to use an AI tool to aid and enhance your content and copywriting, then JasperAI should be the go-to AI tool for you. A fantastic text content generator that surpasses ChatGPT in terms of tone, writing style, and clarity. All these qualities will enhance your articles, social media, scripts, and more with clear results.
And that’s just half the magic- the other half is its amazing ability to translate text from a multitude of languages in English while understanding the subtlety and nuances of those languages. This allows you to incorporate new information and data into your content that you previously didn’t consider before. As far as text-generation AI tools go, Jasper AI is one of the best tools for content marketing.
Pros
– Greatly improves productivity when you get used to the general interface to create scripts, outlines, and more allowing you to create content fast.
– Connectivity to the internet allows you to look up current, accurate, real-time information, which can be easily used as a search engine using JasperAI’s command function.
– The tools provide for multiple functionalities such as Paragraph generator, Content improver, Blog post topic ideas, Blog post outline, Google Ads headline, and Explain it to a child
Cons
– Most of the best features, including the Command feature, is paywalled behind the Boss Plan subscription.
– Unable to generate ideas on complex and technical topics unless specific prompts are provided.
– The feature for detecting plagiarism is there, but it charges you extra outside of your subscription.
Midjourney
One of the best image generation content marketing AI tools in the market, Midjourney can cook up any sort of image you want within seconds with a simple text prompt. You can customize and stylize the generated image further with other tools and features on the platform that are very beginner-friendly and help you streamline your work process.
However, if you’re a professional and know the ins and outs of more advanced prompts like color correction, transplant background, change aspect ratio, etc you can create truly top-notch content that provides a bang for your buck. You can find countless Midjourney prompt guides online, so once you get a subscription you can unleash your creativity to its full extent.
Pros
– An easy-to-use interface that’s both efficient in design and beginner-friendly, allowing new users to quickly learn the tool’s ins and outs.
– Get highly accurate results with minimum prompt usage unless you want to be more detailed and specific on what you’re trying to generate, for example, an animated avatar for a video.
– Allows advanced users to finetune the specifics of the generated image with advanced prompts and commands.
Social Media Tools
Here’s our pick of the social media content marketing tools:
Hootsuite
If you’re a Social Marketing specialist then there’s no doubt that you’ve heard of Hootsuite. Since its inception, it has rapidly become the number one social media content tool generator not only scheduling and posting social media posts but creating images, social media copies, and real-time analytics that go a long way to put it ahead of its many competitors.
This tool is particularly useful if you’re an agency owner running multiple social media channels for multiple clients. Hootsuite allows you to streamline your work process and schedule content publication in advance, leaving you with time and energy to follow up on other more important tasks.
Pros
– Highly dependable and streamlined social media content creation platform that offers a wide plethora of options for users.
– Excellent subscription model with unlimited posts for all plans. Only features are paywalled behind the more expensive subscription options.
– Grammerly and Canva are integrated by default with Hootsuite allowing you to enjoy paid features of both with your Hootsuite subscription.
Cons
– Not much focus is given to video content generation tools which can prove to be an excellent and alluring option to both current and new users.
– No free trial options available to get a feel for the tool and decide whether you want to go with it or not.
– Customer support can sometimes even take days to get a reply to a simple query.
ConvertKit
Email marketing can be a nightmare of a chore, but a necessary one for marketing and outreach. Fortunately for you, ConvertKit is here to simplify all things email marketing for you. Made with ease of use in mind, this feature-rich email marketing tool allows you to split your target demographic into different categories.
This allows for more customisable e-mail and newsletter campaigns that more beginner-friendly but less advanced tools like AWeber can provide. If you want to up your business’s email marketing game with content marketing tools for business, then ConvertKit is the best option you can go for at a reasonable budget.
Pros
– Simplified and streamlined features allow you to execute multiple campaigns with ease without the steep learning curve usually associated with these kinds of tools like Keap.
– The tool is geared for video content creators and bloggers to ensure their valuable outreach attempts don’t end up in the spam folder.
– The pricing is affordable and fair and a subscription even comes with a welcome gift of a free landing page plan.
Cons
– Not ideal for e-commerce email campaigns and blogs as the interface and features are not designed with that niche in mind.
– While the automation features are great, the design templates on offer are poor in quality, so you need to have your own template designed before starting a campaign.
– The subscription price is a bit high compared to what it offers.
Final Thoughts
And with that, we end our list of the top 8 content marketing tools through the different types of content marketing for creators. The subscription plans for some of these tools might not be cheap, but we promise you it will be well worth the investment if you use them properly. What are your thoughts on this list? If you know better alternatives comment below!
Feeling lost? Talk to Leading Solution today for a free consultation and we can come up with a digital marketing plan together.
About the Author
Yi Jie is the director of Leading Solution, a company that specialises in digital marketing and SEO services in Singapore. With a strong background in SEO and online marketing, Yi Jie has been instrumental in helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) achieve remarkable growth through tailored digital strategies.
Yi Jie holds a Bachelors in Business (Marketing) degree from Nanyang Technological University(NTU) of Singapore, and has 9 years of experience in the digital marketing industry since 2015. Being solely focused on digital marketing and SEO allows him to understand and witness the impacts from search engine algorithm changes over the years, allowing him to stay ahead of other generic marketing companies.
Notable Achievements
Under Yi Jie's leadership, Leading Solution Pte Ltd has achieved numerous milestones, including:
- SEO Success: Helping multiple clients achieve top rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs), leading to increased organic traffic and higher conversion rates.
- Innovative Campaigns: Developing and executing successful digital marketing campaigns that align with clients' business objectives and deliver tangible results.
- Industry Recognition: Helping Leading Solution being recognised as a top digital marketing agency in Singapore, for its expertise, reliability, and excellence in service delivery.
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