The Tools + Resources I Couldn’t Live Without As A Marketer

*Sponsored content by Incogni*

I’ve worked in marketing for almost a decade, and while I still absolutely love it, it can be a lot to manage, especially as a one-person-band. On any given day, I could be creating content, planning social media campaigns, jumping on calls, writing reports, or basically anything else that comes up. It’s busy and unpredictable, which is why I’ve built up a toolkit that keeps everything running smoothly and most importantly, keeps my sanity in check. 

Some of these tools are practical, and others are resources that get me through the working day. Together, they’re a match made in heaven and they’ve created a little ecosystem that helps me to do my best work, consistently, without burning out. 

Resource: Newsletters 

I’m often asked how I manage to keep up with social media updates, and how I actually manage to write them every week. Firstly, a little bit of privilege because I have the time to read through them all and curate a list of the most important social media updates you need to know. 

(Fun fact: I actually started writing them because I was tired of reading through 500-word articles, with a million advertisement pop-ups, just to read the one sentence that actually mattered. So I created an easy-to-digest format to try and save marketer’s time.) 

But I’m mostly able to keep up with everything going on by checking my usual news sources (Social Media Today, The Verge, TechCrunch) and subscribing to these incredible newsletters: 

• ICYMI by Lia Haberman: A brilliant weekly summary of the biggest social media stories, as well as brand social and creator marketing news, and audience insights.

• Geekout by Matt Navarra: Packed FULL of insider news and updates. 

• Link in Bio by Rachel Karten: A mix of thoughtful insights and clever examples of brands doing social media well.

• The Social Tea by Annie-Mai Hodge: Okay, yes, this is my newsletter but it’s your favourite social media updates, straight to ya inbox, what more could you want? 

  
  

These three save me hours of research and make sure I never feel out of the loop.

Tool: Planable 

A common misconception is that I make a living off of my personal brand, and the community I’ve built at Girl Power Marketing. But I actually do the groundwork of being a social media manager + strategist, and I absolutely love it. 

My worst habit used to be not having a social media scheduling platform, and no joke, I would upload everything manually. For all of my clients. And myself. A nightmare, right? 

But this year, I’ve been using Planable and it’s improved my workflow and productivity so much. I’m able to do all my usual scheduling across multiple platforms, but my clients being able to see how the content will look when it goes live, give specific feedback with annotations and text-suggestions? Whew! It’s been a big win for both myself and clients. 

Tool: Incogni 

[AD] As a marketer, my work (and my life) is almost entirely online, which makes protecting my personal information a priority. That is why Incogni is a key part of my toolkit.

Incogni automatically deletes my personal information from data broker websites and people‑search databases. It’s a fully automated service that works in the background but the benefits are endless. 

• Reputation: Incogni helps remove my personal details from data broker lists, keeping my professional image clean and on my own terms. And it even adds my profile to suppression lists when possible, preventing re‑listings. 

• Fewer Spam and Scam Distractions : Since Incogni began removing my data from broker sites, the spam calls and scam emails have noticeably decreased. That means I can keep my focus on client work, not deleting garbage.

• Privacy You Can Rely On: My entire career is online, which makes my personal information especially important to protect. Incogni sends automated removal requests and continual scans across hundreds of brokers, and updates me with progress reports to keep me informed. 

  
  

A tool you don’t see, but you absolutely feel the difference.

Resource: Spotify 

Spotify is basically my colleague at this point. If I’m trying to get to inbox zero, or catch up on a bit of admin, I’ll pop a podcast on to keep me company. My current rotation includes: 

→ The Rest is Politics

→ Stuff You Should Know

​​→ Parenting Hell

→ Dead Meat

But unpopular opinion: I can’t concentrate with a podcast on. So when I’m working on creating content, looking through contracts, or writing up a social strategy, I’ll put on a bit  I’ll put on a bit of Hans Zimmer or The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. And if you’re wondering about the latter, yes, it’s all year round. 

And because I couldn’t resist, I even made a playlist just for social media managers — you can find it here.

Resource: Keeping a content graveyard 

I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, and it’s something I wish I implemented sooner. But essentially if your content has flopped, or not performed the way you expected, keep it in a content graveyard – whether that’s in a folder on your desktop, in a Google Drive, whatever feels easiest. 

Then come back to it in a month or two, and give it a fresh look. Think about: 

→ If the caption, or hook, could be better + reworked to be more engaging

→ Whether the design could be tweaked to catch, and keep hold of your audience’s attention 

→ If the content is more timely now, than it was three months ago 

Make your content work harder, and stretch further. We all know that social media moves fast, no one is going to remember (probably) that you posted this piece of content before. And you might just find it lands better the second, third, or fourth time around.

Tip: You can do this with your best performing content too! Repurpose it, refresh it, and stretch it further. 

At the end of the day, the tools you choose should do two things: make your job easier, and protect your headspace. For me, that looks like newsletters that save hours of scrolling, Planable keeping client campaigns neat, Spotify making admin bearable, and my content graveyard giving old ideas a second chance.

But the one I’m most grateful for is Incogni. Knowing it’s constantly removing my personal data from broker sites gives me peace of mind that no matter how much of my work and life is online, my privacy is protected. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes support that lets me focus fully on the part of marketing I actually love.

At the end of the day, the right toolkit isn’t about having more tools, it’s about having the right ones that help you keep your sanity.