Your agency’s marketing efforts are already delivering results for your clients, helping them grow and convert leads into loyal customers.
Now it’s time to take your success up a peg, and it starts with leveraging the right resources. With these solutions, your agency can streamline internal processes, boost productivity, attract and retain more clients, and build lasting relationships.
In this article, we’ll explore 14 essential digital marketing tools, each designed to solve specific challenges so you can focus on what matters most — driving exceptional results for your clients.
What we'll cover
Table of contents
- Ziflow: for collaborative review and approval
- Asana: for project and task management
- Hootsuite: for social media management
- Slack: for daily communication
- SEMrush: for SEO research
- Hubspot: for marketing automation and CRM
- Trello: for visualized project management
- Zoom: for video conferencing
- Sprout Social: for social media analytics
- Mailchimp: for email marketing campaigns
- Miro: for ideation and brainstorming
- Adobe: for graphic design
- Zapier: for automations
- Google Analytics: for website performance tracking
Ziflow: for collaborative review and approval
No matter what type of creative you’re producing, you need an efficient way to review, comment on, and approve materials — without relying on clunky email chains.
Ziflow is an industry-leading tool for collaborative creative proofing. With support for over 1,200 file formats and pixel- and frame-precise feedback, you’ll gather clear responses faster, enabling quicker iterations and fewer revisions.
Ziflow is the best client proofing software for agencies, internal enterprise teams, and everything in between.
Key features
- Centralized platform for all feedback, from design feedback to final approval.
- Cloud-based collaboration eliminates scattered conversations and siloed information.
- Version control keeps teams aligned on the latest file.
- Automated workflows save time and reduce manual errors.
- Marketing compliance ensures on-brand, regulation-ready content.
Pricing
Free for up to two users. Standard pricing is $199/month (15 users), and Pro is $329/month (20 users).
Asana: for project and task management
Asana is a powerful yet user-friendly project management software designed to help teams stay organized and on top of tasks. Its simplicity makes managing even complex workflows more manageable by reducing the chaos of tracking various moving parts. With multiple views and workflow automation, Asana helps teams work smarter, not harder, making it easier to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
It also gives users more capabilities and depth than lightweight tools like Trello but avoids the complexity of products like Wrike, Teamwork.com, or ClickUp, making it a great fit for agencies needing balance in functionality and ease of use.
Key features
- Customizable workflows to fit any project.
- User-friendly interface that design teams love.
- Automation features to save time on repetitive tasks.
- Visual tools for tracking team workloads and progress.
Pricing
Plans start at $10.99/user/month. For advanced features like workflow automation and workload analysis, pricing is $24.99/user/month.
Hootsuite: for social media management
Managing multiple social media accounts — including platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and X — can be a challenge, but Hootsuite helps simplify the process. As an industry-leading social media management platform that’s been around for about as long as the first-gen social media networks, it has a feature depth and support network that others can’t match.
Digital marketing agencies rely on Hootsuite social media management tools to schedule and oversee social media content across multiple channels with ease, keeping campaigns organized and on track.
Whether social media marketing is a core part of your agency’s offerings or an additional service, Hootsuite helps reduce repetitive tasks, allowing your teams to focus on creating meaningful, results-driven content for clients.
Key features
- Advanced scheduling tools for social media marketing automation.
- Tools that speed up content creation and are enhanced by AI assistance.
- Analytics for tracking social media performance, engagement, and social listening.
Pricing
Hootsuite Professional is $99/month for one user and up to 10 social accounts. The Team plan is $249/month for three users and 20 social accounts.
Slack: for daily communication
Slack is a powerful collaboration tool that facilitates one-to-one and team communication. Its channel-based structure helps organize conversations by project or team, ensuring that collaboration is focused and efficient. Whether your users need quick messaging, video calls, or file sharing, Slack keeps everyone connected and aligned.
With its extensive integrations, Slack also enhances team collaboration by connecting with the tools your agency already uses, making workflows seamless.
Key features
- Channels for organizing team conversations by topic or project.
- Slack Connect allows collaborations with external partners.
- Slack AI offers personalized, intelligent responses, channel recaps, thread summaries, and more.
- One-to-one messaging, video meetings, and file sharing in one platform.
Pricing
Slack’s Free plan includes core features with limited message history and integrations. Pro is $8.75/user/month, while Business+ is $15/user/month.
SEMrush: for SEO research
SEMrush is an essential tool for marketing agencies looking to improve their clients’ visibility in search results. It offers a comprehensive suite of search engine optimization (SEO) tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, content marketing strategy, on-page SEO, local SEO, link building (backlinks), and website performance tracking. Its powerful analytics tools provide insights into search rankings, website traffic, and competitor data, helping agencies make data-driven decisions.
Key features
- Industry-leading keyword research tools to guide content.
- Competitor insights to understand what’s driving their success.
- Rank tracking to monitor growth and SEO performance over time.
Pricing
SEMrush offers three plans: $139.95/month (5 projects), $249.95/month (15 projects), and $499.95/month (40 projects).
HubSpot: for marketing automation and CRM
HubSpot is an all-in-one platform that helps agencies manage customer relationships and automate marketing efforts. By streamlining outreach, HubSpot helps you nurture leads, improve client communication, and handle marketing campaigns all from one place.
While the Marketing Hub has a higher cost, the CRM component is completely free, offering plenty of functionality at no charge.
Key features
- Marketing Hub for measuring, optimizing, and automating campaigns.
- 100% free CRM packed with useful tools for managing client relationships.
- AI-powered tools (Breeze) are woven throughout the entire HubSpot ecosystem to improve workflow efficiency and decision-making.
Pricing
HubSpot’s pricing varies by tool. Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800/month.
Trello: for visualized project management
Trello, one of the earliest cloud-based Kanban boards, offers a simple way to visualize and manage tasks. Its drag-and-drop card system makes it easy to track progress through different stages, helping marketing teams stay organized.
Trello’s flexibility is most suited for agencies managing smaller, fast-moving projects, while still offering integrations and automations to enhance productivity.
Key features
- Simple, visual Kanban boards.
- Intuitive Butler service for quick, simple automations.
- Massive library of integrations and Power-Ups.
Pricing
Free for individuals and small teams, with more perks offered in the paid plans; the Standard plan is $5/user/month, and the Premium plan is $10/user/month.
Zoom: for video conferencing
Zoom is a reliable choice for video conferencing, enabling marketing agencies to host virtual meetings and client presentations without technical hiccups.
Beyond video calls, Zoom has expanded to include mail, calendars, AI-generated summaries, and more. Its stability across devices, ubiquity (it runs on almost anything), and a growing ecosystem of tools keep many agencies loyal to Zoom.
Key features
- Reliable video conferencing on almost any device.
- AI companion for meeting summaries and task management.
- Pay for hosts, not participants.
Pricing
Zoom’s free plan is good for one user and has generous features. Zoom Pro is $15.99/user/month (nine users). Business is $21.99/user/month (250 users) and adds more participants, whiteboards, and a scheduler.
Sprout Social: for social media analytics
It’s no secret that social media is a big piece of the marketing puzzle, but how do you know what works and what doesn’t? And how do you prove social ROI?
Sprout Social offers in-depth social media analytics, helping marketing agencies track post performance, measure ROI, and optimize social media strategies. Its AI-driven messaging tools even boost engagement by automating responses.
Key features
- AI-powered tools automate social messages and enhance human responses.
- Publishing tools to improve content and post timing.
- Analytics to track social media post quality and performance.
Pricing
Plans range from $249 to $499 per seat.
Mailchimp: for email marketing campaigns
Email marketing remains one of the most reliable channels, with an average return of $36 for every dollar spent.
Mailchimp is a popular platform for building and automating email campaigns without needing coding skills. The flexible email marketing platform can scale with different agency needs, from small campaigns to more complex, segmented efforts.
Its intuitive interface allows agencies to create highly personalized, conversion-optimized email campaigns and easily track their performance, giving you the power to continuously test and improve. Many agencies use Mailchimp as a part of their own lead generation strategies in addition to their client work.
Key features
- No-code email builder.
- 50+ behavior-based triggers for personalization.
- 99%+ deliverability rate.
Pricing
Mailchimp’s Standard plan is $20/month and scales by the number of contacts and emails.
Miro: for ideation and brainstorming
Miro is a dynamic digital whiteboard app that helps teams with collaborative ideation and brainstorming. If you can imagine it, you can build it — or start from pre-built templates like process mapping, mind mapping, product planning, customer journey mapping, whiteboarding, diagramming, and more.
Key features
- Designed for easy collaboration on any type of whiteboard.
- A vast library of templates to speed up ideation.
- AI-powered tools to quickly convert data into visual diagrams.
Pricing
The Starter plan is $10/member/month. Business tier is $20/member/month.
Adobe: for graphic design
For almost 40 years, Adobe Illustrator has set the standard in graphic design. As part of Adobe Creative Suite, it provides powerful tools built for creating and editing visuals.
Though there is a steep learning curve, it’s the go-to solution for creating high-quality designs. Whether you’re working with vector graphics or enhancing photos, Adobe has the tools to bring your creative visions to life.
Key features
- Advanced drawing tools to create detailed visuals.
- Adobe Generative Fill redefines what’s possible in graphic design.
- Flexible vector graphic creation and editing.
Pricing
Illustrator is $22.99/month. The full Creative Cloud suite is $59.99/month.
Zapier: for automations
Many of today’s SaaS tools integrate with the tools and software your agency already relies on. But where those integrations don’t exist, there’s Zapier.
Zapier connects various applications that don’t naturally integrate, allowing agencies to automate tasks across platforms. For example, if a new lead from your website automatically routes to your CRM tool but doesn’t sync with your project management platform, Zapier can link the two. It automatically sets up a task in your project management tool and notifies the right team member, saving time and eliminating manual work.
Key features
- Connect nearly any app to another.
- Set up powerful automations and workflows across platforms.
- Pre-built templates from other Zapier users for quicker setup.
Pricing
Team plans start at $69/month, depending on the number of zaps you need.
Google Analytics: for website performance tracking
Google Analytics is a must-have tool for tracking your clients’ online presence, including websites and apps. With Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the latest version of Analytics, you can monitor user behavior, traffic sources, and customer journeys, all while keeping data anonymous.
Custom reporting tools provide deeper insights, helping agencies make smarter decisions to improve client results and grow their digital footprint.
Key features
- Event-based architecture can track user data across sessions and devices.
- Predictive metrics to forecast trends and decisions.
- Improved integration with Google Ads.
Pricing
Google Analytics is completely free.
Streamline your agency’s creative review and approval with Ziflow
These 14 marketing agency tools will give your team members the resources they need to deliver exceptional results, improve efficiency, and drive more profitability for your clients — and for your agency.
While adopting all of them takes time, focusing on improving your review and approval processes offers an immediate, impactful win.
Ziflow eliminates the frustration of using generic tools for specialized tasks, making reviews faster, your feedback clearer, and clients more engaged. It’s a straightforward way to enhance your workflow and empower your team.
