Last week we listed the best content marketing tools for the research phase, first phase of your content marketing cycle.

We mentioned how much content marketing is an opportunity to build an audience in an authentic way, if you’re willing to invest the time to do things right.

Some carefully chosen content marketing software definitely help. To give you the specifics on how it could help and which pieces of software might help, we’ve put together this series of walk-throughs of all the basic functions and tasks required for content marketing, plus which pieces of software to use for each function.

This doesn’t include every piece of software you could use. But it does include the heavy hitters and the most popular tools.

I hope it gives you some ideas for how to better use software in your content marketing. Excel and whiteboards and notepads are all great tools, but we probably shouldn’t be running an entire content marketing department with them.

These are the 6 phases of content marketing:

Caption: Image is from 6S Marketing

Want to understand more about each phase of content marketing, why it’s important and the details about how to do it? Get a copy of ROI or RIP – The Lean Content Marketing Handbook for SMBs. It’s over 80 pages of best practices for developing and executing a content marketing strategy.

This week, we’ll go over the best content marketing tools to help you in your creation phase.

The best content marketing tools for the creation phase.

1.     For text and spreadsheets: Google Docs.

This free software package does it all: You can create, edit and share text documents or spreadsheets. You can also set up surveys and capture responses, and you can save and share large files. Many companies have abandoned Microsoft Office for this cloud-based application suite.

2.     For images and infographics: Canva.

If you need to create or edit an image, Canva should be the first piece of software you try. It has templates for all the major (and minor) social media accounts, plus templates for book covers, posters, letterhead – everything. If you worry your design skills aren’t up to snuff, check in at Canva’s Design School.

3.     For an editorial calendar: Scoopit Content Director.

Good planning supports good content. That’s why the smartest content marketers use editorial calendars. Scoop.It’s Content Director has one built in, because we know how complicated it can get when you’re publishing several pieces a day, and each piece requires input from a whole team of people. 

4.     To make sure your text-based content is correct: Grammarly.

Nothing can deflate the authority of a piece of content faster than one well-placed typo. Grammarly can help. It will also show you usage errors and just generally help you avoid embarrassment. Don’t publish without it.

5.     For SlideShares: Haiku Deck.

SlideShares are like PowerPoint presentation decks that you can embed on web pages. They are a terrific but under-used content marketing format. Haiku Deck is a free tool that lets you make them. It’s also neatly integrated with SlideShare and has dozens of slick templates.

6.     For video editing, sharing and storage: WeVideo.

There are many online video editors, but this one stands apart because it lets a group of people edit and work on videos. You can also save your videos to Google Drive. There is a free version, but the next level up, for $9 a month is probably a better choice.

7.     For a headline analyzer: The Advanced Marketing Institute’s Emotional Value Headline Analyzer.

Headlines make or break a piece of content. We should all spend more time on them. So run a through headline variations through this tool to make sure you’ve got a winner.

Want to work smarter and start generating real results from your content marketing? Find out how to use the new Scoop.it Content Director to help you become a smarter marketer!