19 min read

26 Types Of Marketing Software And What They Do

Stephanie Hood

Last updated on Sep 26, 2024

QUICK SUMMARY

Discover all the major marketing software types that you can use for lead generation, lead nurturing, and marketing management. In most cases, a combination will enhance the overall experience and efficiency of your digital campaigns.

Your marketing toolkit will likely blend a few different types of marketing software to better attract and retain customers.

In this article, I’ll cover all the major marketing software types that you can use including lead generation, lead nurturing, and marketing management tools. For every marketing campaign you have, there is at least one marketing tool you can use to enhance results.

In most cases, you can use a combination of several digital marketing tools to enhance the overall experience and efficiency of your digital campaigns.

Jump to a specific type of marketing software here:

What is Marketing Software?

Quickly, to help frame the upcoming list, marketing sodtware is any digital tool that helps you guide a customer through the sales funnel, from awareness to interest, decision, and finally action.

Marketing software will typically focus on one of these sales "funnel" layers and help you speak to the customer in the best possible way depending on where they are in the "Should I buy this?" thought process.

Awareness: Marketing software for awareness might include social media advertising help or market research apps.
Building interest: Marketing software for building interest might include email newsletter tools or influencer outreach.
Decision-making: Marketing software for the decision phase could include apps that trigger a coupon code if the user moves to exit their e-shopping cart or have an algorithm for personalized product recommendations.
Moment of sale: Marketing software for the action (moment of sale) might include payment apps, e-receipt automation, or feedback/review mechanisms.

As you can see, there are plenty of applications for marketing software. Now I'm going to walk you through 26 types of marketing software and outline what they do and how you can utilize them.

Social media marketing has become one of the best ways for entrepreneurs to market their products and services all over the world.

Brands use social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram to run ads and nurture leads in real-time. Social media marketing software might be platform-specific (ie. WhatsApp marketing software for text promotions or customer service assistance) or platform inclusive (ie. general social media scheduling software that pushes posts to multiple sites simultaneously).

Social media marketing software is as vast in focus as the social sites are themselves. Do you want help with targeted ads? Graphic design for posts? Prescheduled posting to better engage your audience? You get to decide this and then pick the software that best suits your needs.

Some examples of social media marketing software include:

Hootsuite
Sprout Social
Sendible
SocialPilot

2. Email Marketing Software

In 2019, 3.9 billion people reported using some form of email platform, and this number is expected to grow to 4.3B by 2023. With email marketing tools, you can update your address list about sales and new products, maintain brand awareness in the minds of past customers, and deliver company information like awards or events to interested parties.

This is a great way to keep in contact with previous customers; after all, it is almost always cheaper to maintain a past relationship than foster a brand new one.

Email marketing software is convenient because it does all the behind-the-scenes coding and design work for you. All you have to do is plug in your information and pick a send date. You can send it immediately or schedule it for later.

Examples of email marketing platforms include:

Mailchimp
Sendinblue
ConvertKit
Constant Contact
Drip
Aweber
GetResponse

Don't forget to plan, test, measure, and revise using email marketing analytics tools built into your software of choice or integrated after the fact. You will want to learn from every win and loss so you can inject this knowledge into your email marketing strategy going forward.

3. SMS Marketing Software

Most businesses have picked up on the potential of SMS marketing, what with the number of time people spend on their smartphones. SMS marketing software is a great way to meet people where they are and build the most personal relationships-after all, receiving someone's private number is an honor!

The best SMS marketing software will be somewhat of a marketing automation platform that neatly packages the information you are trying to send and then delivers it to a designated audience upon your request. Be sure to do your research and come up with an engaging and convincing copy, lest your message is interpreted as spam.

SMS marketing tools can be used to answer customer questions, deliver promotions and coupons, announce events, manage drip campaigns, ask for feedback or poll your audience, or distribute multimedia ads.

Remember that, like email, you must have a user's express written consent to send them SMS marketing items. Have them opt-in in-store, online, or through social media prompts.

Examples of SMS marketing automation tools include:

UltraSMSScript
Sendinblue
Bulk SMS Text Messenger
Trumpia
Atomic SMS Sender
TextMagic

4. Influencer Marketing Software

Influencer marketing remains a good marketing strategy across various business categories. Companies bank on the popularity and credibility of online influencers to act as their brand ambassadors and endorse their products to an audience. When people see that their favorite celebrity (or ceWebrity) is using a certain product or service, it builds a sense of trust in that brand.

In the modern world, influencer marketing has taken a turn from the usual global celebrity marketing system to instead heavily feature people who are only famous within a given geographical area or niche online community. This system includes people who have built a huge social media following and can convince prospects to invest in certain products.

Influencer marketing software helps companies to find, build, and maintain proper working relationships with celebrities and social media gurus to disseminate their marketing content and promote their brand.

Examples of influencer marketing software include:

Pitchbox
Node App
Klear
FamePick
Onalytica
Heepsy
Socialix
Tribe Dynamics

5. Content Marketing Software

You have probably heard the phrase: Content is king. That's because it's true. Content marketing encompasses everything from blog posts to long-form articles, email marketing, social media content, videos, infographics, e-books or whitepapers, press releases, and more.

You'll notice that content marketing links up with some of the other types of marketing we have talked about so far. That's because every marketing style or campaign is going to need to produce content at one point or another.

Content marketing touches everything that you do, which is probably why some teams opt to organize and amplify the creation process using content marketing software. This type of tool will help you brainstorm, design, review, proof, revise, and approve marketing materials for each campaign and platform.

Content marketing software may overlap with whatever tools you are already using. For example, Mailchimp could be considered both email marketing software as well as a content marketing software. This is a great way to get additional value from the tools you pay for or invest time in.

Examples of content marketing tools include:

Feedly
OptinMonster
Tailwind
Buffer
AnswerThePublic
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer
MozBar

Find a full list of content marketing platforms here, along with notes on key features and how to choose the right tool based on your needs.

6. Multi-Level Marketing Software

Multi-level marketing software is designed to address the specific needs of MLM entrepreneurs. There are various multi-level marketing tools designed to cater to their needs-such as streamlining sales, remuneration, distribution, downlines, uplines, training programs, and internal communication.

These network marketing companies need a two-pronged approach, as they are marketing to paying customers just as much as they are to other potential entrepreneurs who might want to join the sales team. MLM software can help ease the burden of navigating so many simultaneous communication streams.

Examples of multi-level marketing software include:

Cloud MLM
MLM Software Central
Rallyware
Infinite MLM Software
MarketPowerPRO
Plexum
Hybrid MLM

7. Affiliate Marketing Software

Without the existence of affiliate marketing and affiliate marketers, most businesses would find it hard to replicate their marketing efforts and reach out to consumers across different geographical locations.

Affiliate marketing allows businesses to bank on the help of affiliate marketers by getting them to market their products and services on the company's behalf. Through affiliate links that are unique to each marketer, affiliate marketers for a given company get commissions or flat rate payments each time a customer purchases a product or service.

Affiliate marketers rely on the audiences they have created across different media such as email lists, blogs, websites, eCommerce stores, and social media where they can strategically place relevant content and link to the company's online store or website.

Examples of affiliate marketing software include:

Referral Rock
Post Affiliate Pro
Scaleo
Partnerize
Circlewise
AffiliateWP
Pepperjam Ascend

8. Digital Marketing Software

Digital marketing involves the use of digital technologies to promote products and services to reach a wider audience across different geographical locations.

This type of software is very versatile and comprehensive, so it encompasses all types of marketing and acts as an umbrella that covers other forms of marketing such as social media marketing, certain forms of content marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing, and more. The rule of thumb is that if it is online, it is digital.

In this category, some of the most popular marketing tools include:

HubSpot
SEMRush
Mapify360
Marketo
Campaign Monitor
AdRoll

See more here: best digital marketing software

9. Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer relationship management software comes into play to help businesses capture, store, retrieve, and use customer data for effective lead management, as well as analyze marketing metrics and data.

Each CRM software helps a business store customer information such as email addresses, location, names, work titles, and company names where they work. Some CRMs can go further and track customer interactions, follow-ups, and more.

Some popular CRM software includes:

Zoho
Freshworks CRM
Salesforce
Keap
Less Annoying CRM

Learn more about eCommerce CRMs here.

10. Marketing Attribution Software

Tracking the entire customer journey from the time the customer first engages with an advertisement to the point at which they buy a product or service becomes easy when companies use attribution software.

This helps find out what hurdles the customer might have had along the way, what influenced their decision to make a purchase, and how they interacted with the company and product throughout the process. It helps identify the areas the company needs to improve on in its marketing platform.

Some common attribution software used for marketing attribution are:

CallRail
ActiveCampaign
Pardot
SharpSpring

Find more examples of marketing attribution software here!

11. App Store Optimization Software

Companies that neglect their apps end up losing a lot of traction in their marketing efforts. The modern customer scours the web for more information about a company or business before they make the crucial decision to buy a product or service.

If you have applications on app stores like the Huawei AppGallery, Google Play Store, or Apple App Store, you need to constantly optimize them so that they rank higher when customers search under their category.

Some of the ways to position your app for better click-through and conversion rates include optimizing the name of the app, store title, icon, description, updates, accompanying screenshots, user reviews, and rating.

For this, you can use popular app optimization tools like:

Adjust
MightySignal
AppFollow
ASOdesk
AppTweak

12. Marketing Automation Software

To best automate your marketing tasks, streamline marketing workflow systems, and measure the results of every marketing campaign, it's best to use a marketing automation tool.

With these tools, you will have a stable and reliable database for all your marketing efforts across different marketing platforms such as email, lead generation, direct mail, social media, digital advertising, and more.

These marketing automation tools are also useful for digital analytics, as they allow you to see the progress and success of the marketing campaign in its entirety across the mentioned channels.

The most effective marketing automation tools include:

HubSpot Marketing Hub
Klaviyo
Omnisend
Thryv
Exponea
RD Station Marketing
ManyChat
Autopilot
Act-On

13. Marketing Project Management Software

You will need the right software to manage your marketing projects. These tools help you plan, implement, collaborate with key stakeholders like project managers, and track the progress of your marketing projects.

Marketing project management software fits marketing teams across various sectors such as marketing consultancy, freelancing, marketing agencies, internal marketing groups, advertising agencies, brand management firms, and event management companies.

The best marketing project management software you'll find is:

Toggl Plan
Basecamp
Brightpod
Filestage
WP Project Manager
Trello
Wrike
Kanban Tool
Podio
Asana

14. Mobile Marketing Software

While most companies focus on web-based marketing platforms, those that capitalize on the mobile phone market reach out to an even wider audience since most people today access the Internet through tablets, smartphones, and other hand-portable communication devices.

Mobile marketing tools are effective in leveraging mobile advertising and outreach through mobile-based apps and browsers. They help track ad engagement data and launch marketing campaigns like push notifications, mobile advertisements, web-based ads, in-game ads, and in-app ads.

Some of the most common mobile marketing tools used by marketing professionals include:

AppsFlyer
Attentive
MoEngage
Braze
WebEngage
Emarsys
Sailthru
SendPulse

Find out more about mobile marketing software here, and review a list of the best options for 2021.

15. Marketing Analytics Software

There's a reason we brought this down as the very last item on our list. Not that it's any less important. No. It's the icing on the cake. Look at it this way. What use would it be to carry out your marketing efforts without pausing to see how you are progressing?

That's where marketing analytics software comes in. It helps you track the progress, success, or failure of every marketing campaign so you can see what works and what doesn't. This is important because, without this, it is impossible to know your weaknesses and areas to improve on.

Through marketing analytics tools, businesses can enhance the return on investment once they identify the most effective marketing strategies and adjust their campaigns accordingly to maximize conversion rates and boost sales.

This is possible since these tools collect marketing data across the campaign's channels and monitor the response and behavior of the target audience. They also analyze the collected results, so it's easy to break them down into a palatable state for a better understanding of the target market.

Among the best out there, you'll find:

Looker
SharpSpring
Pathmatics
TapClicks
AgencyAnalytics
Adverity
Funnel
Force24
Moat Analytics
BlueVenn
Tinyclues
Bright Analytics

See more here: best marketing analytics software

16. Data Visualization Software

When you need to analyze, interpret, and visualize large amounts of data, it’s best to rely on data visualization software. Without this, you’re left to manually sift through and organize loads of complicated data — and that’s before you ever get into analyzing, interpreting, and making the applicable strategic changes.

Data visualization software allows marketing professionals to effectively communicate their findings with other team members, such as sales, customer service, and executive leadership.

Here’s a list of the best data visualization software:

Tableau
Microsoft Power BI
Plotly
Datawrapper
Sisense

17. SEO Software

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to driving targeted traffic to your online store. But if you don’t have a targeted strategy, backed up by the right data, you could be throwing time and money out the window.

SEO software helps with a variety of tasks such as:

Keyword research
Data related to top pages
Competitor data
Rank tracker
Backlinks
Referring domains
Traffic value

“Guess and hope for the best” isn’t a good SEO strategy. You need SEO software to track your performance and guide every move you make.

Top SEO software applications include:

There’s more to social media than posting content. Engaging with your audience is the name of the game, and that’s where social listening software comes into play.

Social listening tools track social platforms for conversations and mentions related to your brand. You can also use this software to analyze findings in search of new opportunities.

Getting started with social listening is simple if you rely on one of these tools:

Hootsuite
Synthesio
Netbase
Mentionlytics
Digimind
Audiense

19. Event Marketing Software

It’s so easy to get caught up in online marketing that you overlook the power of offline events. For example, you may have physical stores as counterparts to your online store. And if you want to plan an event — such as for a new store opening — event marketing software can help.

Benefits include improved engagement, a central tool for communication, and automation.

Top event marketing software solutions include:

Eventbrite
Airmeet
Constant Contact
Cvent
Aventri

20. Design Software

Many marketing strategies call for the use of visually appealing creatives. If you don’t have the skill to manage the process from start to finish, there are design software programs that can help.

Use a software application to edit images and videos. Use it to share your ideas with team members. Use it to save time and money (no more need for a freelance designer).

Check out some of these leading design software solutions:

Sketch
Adobe Photoshop
Affinity Designer
Adobe Illustrator
Canva

21. Keyword Research Software

If your SEO software isn’t quite getting the job done in regards to keyword research, you’re in luck. There are plenty of keyword research tools that can help with tasks such as:

Uncovering new keywords
Checking on competitors
Understanding average monthly search volume

When you target the right keywords, you have a better chance of ranking for those keywords. And when that happens, traffic and conversions are sure to follow.

Here are some of the best keyword research software solutions:

Ahrefs Keyword Generator
Keyword Surfer
Google Search Console
Answer the Public

22. Video Marketing Software

Video can — and should — be a big part of your marketing strategy. It’s one of the best ways to make a personal connection with your audience. Not to mention the fact that many people would rather watch a video than read a blog post.

You can use video marketing software in many ways, such as to:

Distribute video content
Share video content on your website
Edit video content
Create personalized videos for your audience

If you’re ready to get started with video marketing, here are four platforms to consider:

Loom
Vidyard
Vimeo
Wistia

23. Lead Capture Software

One of the primary goals of your marketing plan is to drive qualified traffic to your website. But that’s not the end of the line. Depending on your business, capturing leads may be high on your to-do list.

Lead capture software can help you create forms, surveys, email forms, and more. Start your search by comparing these solutions:

Typeform
Sumo
OptinMonster
Convertflow
HubSpot's Free Pop-up Forms Tool

24. Lead Generation Software

Lead generation software is exactly what it sounds like. The best solutions provide you with everything you need to put you in the best possible position to maintain a steady flow of leads.

Leading lead generation tools help with tasks such as:

Lead data collection
Website visitor identification
Email marketing
Email follow up
Landing page creation
Custom insights
Calendar scheduling

If these are the types of tasks you need help with, here are some software solutions to experiment with:

Leadfeeder
Prospect.io
Hunter.io
Voila Norbert
Boomerang for Gmail

25. Website Optimization Software

Don’t drive traffic to your website and hope that you’re providing a good user experience. Use website optimization software to ensure that this happens. Website optimization software solutions provide features such as:

Heatmaps
Visitor profiles
Conversion funnels
Access to real-time data

If you want to optimize your website for search engines and users, these are the software solutions to consider:

Lucky Orange
ClickCease
Zycada
Kajabi
VWO Testing

26. Video Conferencing Software

There are times — especially in today’s day and age of remote work — when you need to collaborate with people outside of your office. While email, text messages, and phone calls are all helpful at times, video conferencing software makes it feel as if you’re communicating in person.

In terms of marketing, when video conferencing is used as webinar software, it can help you capture leads, generate interest, and record content for distribution.

Some of the leading video conferencing software solutions include:

Zoom
Skype
Google Meet
GoToMeeting
Webex by Cisco

27. Marketing Asset Management Software

Marketing asset management is a specialized category of marketing software that focuses on the organization, storage, distribution, and optimization of digital marketing assets. These assets can include images, videos, documents, logos, branding materials, marketing collateral, and campaigns.

The primary purpose of marketing asset management software is to streamline the entire lifecycle of these assets, from creation to distribution, while ensuring brand consistency and compliance with company guidelines. This type of software is key to management of marketing resources and offers a centralized repository where marketing teams can store, categorize, and access assets easily.

Marketing asset management software is particularly valuable for businesses aiming to maintain a cohesive brand image, improve content reuse, and optimize marketing workflows across various digital channels and marketing campaigns.

Some of the marketing asset management software solutions include:

Adobe Experience Manager Assets
Bynder
Canto
Extensis Portfolio
Brandfolder
MediaValet

More on marketing asset management software: Best Marketing Asset Management Software

The Takeaway

As you can see from the plethora of options above, whatever your marketing plans there is marketing software designed to help. To help you choose the best for you, check out our pick of the best ecommerce marketing tools.

To stay updated on the latest ecommerce and marketing software, plus industry insights, trends, and expert advice from industry leaders subscribe to the ECM newsletter.

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