Project Management Tools Important For Digital Marketing

In today’s cut-throat marketing scenario, project management tools are important for digital marketing. We will discuss project management tools today. But before that let’s gloss over a few important concepts. Digital marketing is an ever-changing and dynamic arena. It is a powerful growth driver for businesses across the globe. The changes may be customer preferences or changing market trends.  There are constantly new and upgraded technology solutions to keep up with as well. For an effective digital marketing strategy, you need to stay ahead of the game. This is possible through constant updating and upgrading of skills. It enables keeping up with the current forward-thinking marketing strategies.

As such, digital marketing requires meticulous planning and the ability to forecast market trends. It calls for quick decision making, persistent and steady monitoring of market trends. An eye for the latest technology innovations to ease the digital marketing process is invaluable.

Creative thinking in itself is a powerful tool enabling digital marketing to scale greater heights and be more result-oriented. UI/UX design, effective content writing, and marketing, ad campaigns, and social media management, all come under the umbrella of digital marketing.

In-depth planning, brainstorming and strategizing go into making a digital marketing strategy a success. An efficient digital marketing agency will have seamless fluidity from one level to another, throughout its digital marketing.

This seamless integration and fluidity in the workflow are impossible to achieve without some great project management tools. Effective project management ultimately leads to the overall growth and success of a business. Juggling and balancing across departments and accommodating for skipped tasks or last-minute modifications can lead to missed deadlines.

Utilizing the right project management tools simplifies the entire cumbersome process. These tools enable digital marketing agencies to work productively and efficiently to achieve the end goals of business growth. So, what are project management tools in the first place?

What Are Project Management Tools?

The name “project management tools” might make you think it is only for project managers. It is definitely not so.  These tools are versatile and cater to the needs of various departments/teams that make for the overall digital marketing. Different tools serve different goals. Utilizing the right project management tool ensures less chaos and is of critical importance.

The project management scenario is changing rapidly. New techniques, challenging market shifts, new tools, and frameworks are constantly making a foray, requiring constant efforts to upgrade to stay ahead.

Ironically, statistics reveal that across the globe, more than 40% of marketing agencies use old methods. They still rely on excel spreadsheets and the result is obviously not satisfactory. These businesses are unaware of the benefits of project management tools and stick to traditional methods.

To survive in an ever-evolving world, where change is the only constant, we must evolve and upgrade the project management tools as well. Sadly, many agencies lack information on project management tools or pick the wrong tool.

This raises the question, which project management tool works best for your agency? You need to have a clear understanding of the project management tools that work for your agency, to get your work more streamlined and align your team with the goal of the digital marketing strategy.

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Project management tools are basically tools that help an individual to organize their work and manage tasks with finesse.  Different tools serve different purposes based on the features offered. For a brief understanding:

• Planning/scheduling tools aid in planning and delegating work and might include folders, templates, workflows, calendars, etc.
• Documentation tools will help with file management, editing, and storage.
• Evaluation tools will include tools that aid in tracking and assessing productivity and growth.

Importance Of Project Overview:

It is imperative to have an overview of the project on hand. Also, transparency across the various levels of the workflow is of utmost significance. Digital marketing projects often include back and forth between different levels like web designers, developers, content writers, marketers, social media managers, and so on and so forth. Without a proper overview, the process can become chaotic, disorganized, and easily lose sight of the ultimate goal.

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Considerations To Choosing Project Management Tools

In a market saturated with project management tools, and new tools making a foray ever so often, how will you choose the tools most relevant to your agency?

While choosing the right project management tools can be both time-saving and speed up your growth prospects, choosing the wrong one will spell disaster and no results!

Take time to review the features and purpose of the tools and decide which tools are important so that your team stays on track and its progress is in alignment with the goals.

There are numerous tools available for the purpose of project management. Your excitement might get the better of you in making a choice.

Keep reminding yourself of the goal and select the project management tools most appropriate. Yes, undoubtedly it is challenging to make the right choice.

Some guidelines to use for consideration of project management tools are:

• Ease of Use: It goes without saying that ease of use should be the primary consideration. Complicated tools will require further investment of time in training the staff on their use.
• Scheduling Tools: Professional scheduling tools go a long way in easing the process.
• Task Management: Tools with task management features to stay on task and on time.
• Ability to Share: The tools should allow for the sharing of the data both internally and externally is of great benefit.
• Real-Time Reporting: Gives you the real-time status of the project on the whole.
• Dashboards and Graphical representations: Best suited to show a representation, especially tools with customizable dashboards.
• Security: Functionality without security is useless, to say the least.
• Customizable: Customizable tools offer a great deal of flexibility.

List Of Some Great Project Management Tools:

In this article, we have compiled for you a list of some great project management tools. These tools each have an easy-to-use interface with unique features. They are sure to help your digital marketing team be on top of their game.

1. Trell0

Trello is a web-based project management tool. Originally created in 2011 by Fog Creek Software, it subsequently formed its own company in 2014. Ultimately sold to Atlassian in January 2017, it has its base in New York. It is a kanban style project management tool. Kanban (Japanese word) is a workflow management method that helps visualize your work and maximize efficiency.

Trello gives you an overview of the project all aspects included, from the various tasks and which member is responsible for which task. It also gives you the real-time status of the current stage of each task and workflow progress. Trello is an excellent project management tool that puts your to-do list into action in seconds. It is more like a pinning board taking a card-based approach.

Features and Benefits:

• It is an easy-to-use and intuitive visual organizational tool. The cloud-based online digital whiteboard enables the entire team to see who is doing what. It gives a shared perspective of the project, the goals, the workflow, and the progress. The simplicity of use of the cards, lists, and boards makes it appealing to non-technical users.
• Task Management and Project monitoring. The project manager can invite as many members within a shared board. There is real-time communication as members across the team post comments and work progress is transparent to all. You can share important files and documents across the team.
• Cross-platform: Its ease of use also lies in the fact that it can sync information across devices, making it possible for members to collaborate at any time from anywhere.
• Automation: Repeated tasks can be automated, a time-saving factor indeed.
• Trello Power-Ups allow third-party integrations to boost your productivity.
• Email integration is yet another added benefit.
• Trello can be used by individuals, teams, schools, families, and any/every kind of organization.
• It supports not just English but Portuguese, French, Spanish, German, and Turkish, among many more languages.
• The simplicity and ease of use make it an extensively used tool across companies big and small, start-ups as well as Fortune 500 companies. Some of its clients include Adobe, Kickstarter, Google, and Fender.

Trello is true to its tagline, “organize anything with anyone, anywhere!”

2. Asana

Asana is another popular cloud-based task and project management tool. It was created in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein. It was born from a need to coordinate more efficiently as a team. The bigger the teams, the greater is the need for better coordination. Asana’s approach is task-oriented. It has a broad set of features offering efficient workflow functionality. It is entirely project-based, in that, the organization of teams is around projects.

With Asana, you can create sections for a project. Within a section, you can create tasks. Each task can then have subtasks. For each task, you can add a description and tag the relevant team members, and comments, and also attach files. In this way, it is task-oriented. Tasks are created to monitor the individual elements of the project.

Furthermore, there are features like the calendar, project progress, files, timeline, and more.

Features and Benefits:

• Recent improvements contribute to making Asana one of the easiest and distinctive user interfaces to work with.
• It is task-based, with simple to-do lists and drag-and-drop features.
• It is better suited for smaller teams.
• The calendar and timeline are of significant benefit to have an overview of where the project stands and monitor the progress with respect to the deadlines.
• Routine task automation, customization, and integration with everyday tools only add to all the other benefits.
• Asana is in use by Deloitte, Airbnb, The New York Times, and NASA to name some.

Asana helps you focus on everyday goals improving your efficiency and goal management.

3. Basecamp

Basecamp is a great online project management tool. It combines all tools that individuals and teams require, on a single platform. This, in turn, leads to lesser confusion, fewer meetings, improved efficiency, and goal achievement. Basecamp grew from “37 Signals,” a web design company, based in Chicago, USA. It has over three million active users. Having been around for two decades now, Basecamp is almost a household name in the project management industry. Though a small team, their tools are very functional.

Features and Benefits:

• User-friendly. Basecamp has an extremely clean and clear, user-friendly interface with a simple workflow platform.
• It has features like task management, messaging and collaboration, file sharing, scheduling, reporting, and universal search.
• With easy, to-do lists and tasks that can be assigned to any user, with the option of adding details like due dates, this one is smooth to work with.
• Following up on overdue tasks, notifications on new tasks and viewing tasks of all projects on one screen render better transparency to the overall project.
• Collaboration is easier with the message board, customization options, sharing file options, comment, and check-in tool that provides regular updates all lead to efficient communication across the team.
• With Basecamp, all members are up-to-date on the progress of the project as a whole. Additional features that amp its value are a real-time group chat, a client access tool, Hill Charts, pings, and universal search.
• Users can customize their needs as per their projects and pick only the tools that they need.
• It is useful for companies of all sizes. Teams of all types whether in one location or virtual can benefit from Basecamp. It supports many other languages apart from English.
• Some of their prestigious clients include Moore Communications Group, Wildlife Trust of India, Shopify, 121 Captions, Newsquest, and Sarwani Systems.

Basecamp is a one-stop solution for greater communication and collaboration, better productivity, and transparency across the team.

4. Workamajig

Workamajig is self-proclaimed, project management software for the creative industry, enabling creative collaboration, finance and accounting, time-tracking, digital proofing, and resource management. It is a web-based project management tool in extensive use by advertising agencies, in-house creative departments, public relations firms, and design firms.

Workamajig is a fully integrated project management system developed by Creative Manager, Inc. based in Anthem, Arizona. It seamlessly integrates project, sales, clients, and resource management into a single dashboard managing multiple facets with relative ease. Workamajig today, helps over 3000 creative teams of varied sizes.

Features and Benefits:

• It is compatible with every device. Tablet, mobile, or desktop. Its responsive web design is compatible across it all.
• With Workamajig, you can collaborate with your team members, clients, and vendors, all on one platform, from anywhere, ensuring no missed communications.
• Seamless integration of data of all departments, be it the CRM, resource management, finance department, or project management department.
• Project managers can avail of tools such as Gantt charts, work breakdown structures, and reporting tools.
• Time-tracking individual tasks, and status reports, sharing drafts with clients, getting their feedback, and auto-generating reports from existing templates are some magnificent features that drastically reduce time and improve efficiency.
• Sales features help import marketing data and turn it into CRM and track opportunities.
• It allows the integration of SmartPlus and Strata (media buying software) for media billing.
• It enables project monitoring and tracking and resource planning.

Workamajig is an impressive all-in-one project management tool taking collaboration to the next level by integrating various departments on a single platform. A sure-shot way to save time and improve efficiency and productivity.

5. Proofhub

ProofHub is a project management tool popular for its versatility. It is a comprehensive tool packed with powerful features that spell dynamism. Founded by Sandeep Kashyap, ProofHub LLC has its headquarters in Walnut, CA, USA. It is valuable for varied organizations, commercial establishments, organizations, individual consultants, and even freelancers.

Features and Benefits:

• ProofHub provides a centralized place for companies to manage their projects and tasks. A real-time reporting tool displays progress and status. Task management and workflow boards that are imperative to any project management tool are easy to use.
• Gantt charts, calendars, templates, and project management tools further simplify the work process.
• It has a very interactive communication platform with built-in chat with private as well as group conversations, eliminating the need for time-consuming meetings.
• The online proofing tool enables the speedy review and approval process and is a great time-saver.
• Additional features include file sharing, document storage, invoicing, estimates, and reporting.
• API for third-party integration, a multilingual UI, customization, white labeling, email-in, advanced security to avoid unauthorized access, dedicated space to make announcements, advanced search, and activity logs are all the other tools that go into making ProofHub a power-packed tool.
• Quickies to use as personal sticky notes and bookmarks to reach frequently used notes faster significantly reduce time consumed.

Proofhub is undoubtedly an easier, faster, and smarter way to accomplish timely project management goals. It is a dynamic collection of smart tools significant to modern-day processes. ProofHub is one tool that can equip you to meet challenges and propel competitiveness and growth.

6. Brightpod

It claims to make “every day feel like a holiday.” It is a marketing communication, content planning, and project tracking system. Brightpod is developed by Synage Software Pvt. Ltd., a web technology company founded by Sahil Parikh in 2005, with headquarters in Mumbai, India. Its main focus is simplicity with power. Brightpod offers a clean yet beautiful interface packed with functional features to get things done.

Features and Benefits:

• Brightpod is especially suited for digital marketing teams and design agencies. It benefits other organizations as well, that rely on the traditional email threads and spreadsheets to update to web-based project management and time tracking system.
• Each project is termed a pod. It gives an overview of each pod and its progress with visual color indicators defining progress.
• It has Kanban boards with task lists and tasks to assess the workflow. Brightpod allows for planning marketing goals and getting feedback.
• Recurring tasks allow for repeating the tasks as defined.
• Workflows complete with features like SEO checklist, email marketing template, twitter routine, social media marketing workflow, Facebook advertising, Linkedin Ads, Google Adwords Campaign, site launch checklist, and more all in one place are almost a boon for a project manager. The best part is that the workflows can be saved and used again for similar campaigns.
• The priority lists and focus tabs let you prioritize individually.
• The editorial calendar enables all members to collaborate, plan, and schedule events. A member can use it personally as well. Time tracking with an in-built timer is a wonderful plus that goes a long way in assessing the individual as well as the overall time spent on the project. This gives many actionable insights.
• It is compatible across devices, has email integration, and supports Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box. It has additional supportive features that ease the workflow process.

Brightpod truly takes the chaos out of marketing collaboration and planning. Its ease of use, simplicity of setting up, and powerful tools make it a great project management tool.

Some Other Noteworthy Tools For Project Management:

There are numerous project management tools out there. The above list is surely not an exhaustive one but one that delves in-depth into the project management tools mentioned. Choosing one that truly suits your needs would stand you in good stead.

Apart from the aforementioned, there are some noteworthy tools such as Jira Software, Podio, Wrike, Skuid, 10,000 Ft. Plans, iMeet, Zoho Projects, WorkflowMax, etc.

Project management as such entails the integration of various departments. A versatile range of workflow requires an equally versatile app/tool to effectively communicate, collaborate, schedule, and achieve goals. Training the staff before implementing it is worthwhile. Regardless of the tool you choose, make sure to try the free versions, check if your goals are in line with the features offered.

Discover which project management tool is best suited for your needs and speed up your productivity and efficiency. Make that move now!