Shortcuts to Better Content
Why do things the hard way when there are so many easy, affordable digital shortcuts available? If you want to harness the power of digital tools and AI to generate great content, we can help. While digital tools can't do it all, some of them can make your job as a content marketer a heck of a lot easier. That's why we are sharing some of our favorite digital marketing tools here.
Capitalize My Title
This is your cheat sheet for capitalizing titles and subheads. Regardless of your preferred style guide, figuring out which words to capitalize in a title or subhead can be a headache. Luckily, you have a free online resource ready to help. CapitalizeMyTitle instantly makes recommendations based on your style preference - Chicago, AP, New York Times, and more. Full disclosure: we use this one all the time.
Otter.ai
Do you do a lot of interviews? Do you need to transcribe meeting notes? Are you using recorded notes as a source for your writing or content? Otter.ai is a paid service that provides pretty good transcriptions, turning a couple of hours of spoken word into text in minutes. While you will have to review and fix errors, it's still a major timesaver. There are a variety of transcription options out there, and they're all pretty inexpensive, so look for the one that offers the features and benefits you need.
Shutterstock
There are tons of stock photo and stock video resources out there. And while you can get some images for free, if you want a wide range of high-quality, high-resolution photos and videos to select from quickly, using paid libraries like Shutterstock makes sense. Be sure you can publish your photos for the intended use (editorial or commercial) and pay attention to usage rights because adhering to copyright law is your responsibility, not theirs.
Rev
This smartphone app allows you to record and transcribe phone calls. To meet legal requirements, the Rev app announces a call is recorded before either party can speak. Whether you’re conducting interviews or taking meeting notes, Rev’s mobile app allows you to use your smartphone to record and transcribe your conversations.
RawShorts
If you need to demonstrate a concept, explain a process, or promote your services, RawShorts can help. RawShorts is an affordable, easy-to-use video graphics program that helps you create professional how-to videos in-house. While you'll need to devote about two workdays to learning and experimenting, once you learn how to use these programs, you should be able to execute an already-scripted video in about five hours. Granted, it's a time suck if that's not your primary job, but, in theory, you could go from concept to finished video in about three working days for just a few hundred bucks out of pocket. And that's definitely much faster and cheaper than hiring out.
ChatGPT
While ChatGPT doesn't replace writing, it is a good content generator. So, if you're stuck on a line or catch yourself using the same phrases too often, try inputting a line or a paragraph into ChatGPT and see what the tool spits out. Many times, it can give you the inspiration you need to start fresh or rethink your approach. However, we don’t recommend cutting and pasting results. Not only must you edit any generated content to eliminate duplicated thoughts, repetitive text, and content errors, but you must also be aware that content provided by ChatGPT may duplicate published content in part or in its entirety, so cutting and pasting may put you at risk for plagiarism.
Let Us Know Your Favorite Digital Tools!
We've been sharing our tools and processes for months (even years!) Now it's your turn. Which tools do you use to make your digital marketing program work better, faster, or more efficiently? We want to know what you love and hate, so add your comments here, or email us with your thoughts.
Want more marketing shortcuts? Check out these articles.
