As a marketing project manager, your time means everything. But between balancing client projects and collaborating with team members, managing your time isn’t always easy.
How can you prioritize tasks when your to-do list is longer than the hours you have in a day? How can you make sure deliverables are ready on time?
The truth is, without a system and some solid tools in place, juggling responsibilities can feel like an uphill battle.
To manage your time as efficiently as possible, you’ll need workflows and software that support you.
That’s where marketing project management tools come in.
You can replace outdated practices with productive ones by outlining your operations, creating efficient processes, and implementing tools. Even some of the most successful project managers still have slow processes that aren’t up to scratch.
In today’s article, you’ll learn what marketing project management tools are and how they can benefit your business. We’ll also share what to look for when searching for the right tools, along with eight of our favorites.
What are marketing project management tools?
Marketing project management tools are software tools that can support you in becoming more productive.
They can help you manage timelines, assign tasks, check status updates, communicate with stakeholders, and so much more.
Honestly, there’s no limit to what marketing project management tools can do. As the world continues to become more tech-savvy, we can expect to see better software options on the market.
Solopreneurs, mid-size teams, enterprises, agencies, and in-house creatives use marketing project management tools to manage daily work and communication.
For instance, content marketing agencies use marketing project management tools to communicate and collaborate with team members and clients.
And social media marketing teams use marketing project management tools to plan, organize, schedule, and track content.
Let’s look at the types of marketing project management tools available in 2022.
Types of marketing project management tools
While this by no means is a comprehensive list, here are some marketing project management tools available today:
Work OSs
Teams can use a Work OS to design workflows and manage daily tasks. A Work OS is an efficient way to house all of your project work and communication in one place.
Marketing planning tools
Marketing planning tools help marketing project managers brainstorm, plan, orchestrate and track content. They take the stress out of marketing planning and are practical collaboration tools.
Time trackers
Time tracking tools help organizations track employee time, identify unproductive practices, and reduce time spent on distractions. Time trackers support a healthy work-life balance by helping people make the most of their time.
Note management tools
Marketing project managers use note management tools to brainstorm, track, and organize project notes and to-dos. Note management tools make notes more valuable by integrating them into tasks and schedules to get more work done.
Kanban boards
Kanban boards are all about simplicity. They take the stress out of your day by structuring your tasks in order and using a drag and drop system to complete them. The ability to slide tasks from “to-do” to “done” helps marketing project managers tackle assignments with ease.
Plagiarism checkers
Plagiarism checkers help marketing project managers double-check all content and copywriting for possible plagiarism. With a plagiarism checker, marketing project managers can guarantee that their client work is completely original and avoid costly litigation.
Grammar checkers
Marketing project management teams use grammar checkers to scan their text for punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors. That way, clean and polished content make it to publishing.
Link building tools
Link building tools help marketing project managers build backlinks for their digital PR clients. These tools can help marketing project managers raise their clients’ website authority scores by recognizing linking and guest posting opportunities.
How can software tools benefit my marketing project management company?
Creating content, managing projects, and keeping stakeholders happy is an overwhelming feat without proper tools.
Working with vast amounts of content and having to collaborate with others can feel like you’re running around in circles. But when you have strategic tools that support you, you steer the ship — the ship doesn’t steer you. That means less overwhelm, more organized projects, and a healthier work-life balance.
Here are some ways software tools can benefit marketing project managers:
- Have a better overview of your projects. Access to timeline overviews and high-level visibility helps you ensure you’re always on track to meet deadlines.
- Reduce operational costs with better productivity. This can lead to higher profits. Enhanced productivity also means more productive employees, higher employee engagement rates, and less chance of experiencing burnout.
- Manage stakeholders in one spot. Access past messages, communicate with stakeholders and send project updates without leaving your platform.
- Assign tasks and check progress statuses. Whether it’s waiting on client approvals or checking project statuses, never lose sight of your current tasks and progress.
- Better support for remote and hybrid teams. Marketing project management tools pandemic-proof your business and help remote and hybrid teams stay on the same page.
- Easier to track time spent and mistakes made, so you know how to improve going forward. For instance, maybe you thought backlink planning only takes four hours, but you learn that it takes six hours after tracking it. With this insight, you can plan more accurate scopes and project timelines when your clients ask for link-building services.
What should I look for in marketing project management software?
While the features you’ll look for will depend on your workflows and goals, here are some details we recommend keeping in mind.
Ability to add custom fields
Look for software that allows you to add custom fields. Adding custom fields means you won’t be locked into tabs that don’t apply to your business. For instance, if a field says “notes” but you’d like it to say “due dates,” you won’t be able to change its name without custom field capabilities.
Team collaboration features
Whether you’re a solopreneur managing stakeholders on your own or you have a team, stay on the lookout for team collaboration features. Look for features that allow you to assign tasks, add @mentions, check work, and send task reminders.
Client portal
Choose a tool that has a dedicated client portal — or at least the ability to communicate with clients privately. If you find a tool with a legitimate client portal, see if you can add custom branding so it looks more professional. Make sure the portal allows you to review client history and share project files easily.
Communication features
Look for an app that includes important notifications, reminders, a message center, and a live updates section. If possible, try to find a tool that can house all your communication in one central location. That way, you’re not bouncing around between messaging apps, email, and your project management software.
Marketing support features
Find software that integrates with other marketing tools you use. For instance, see if you can integrate your email marketing tool, social media marketing tool, and content planner in the same spot.
Timeline features
Look for a tool that comes with robust timeline features, layouts, and views. If possible, find one that allows you to filter timeline details by date, stakeholders, and other important information.
Automations
Take a look at your most repetitive work and find tools that can automate those tasks for you. For instance, automate work order summaries, task reminders, and project status updates.
Integrations
Make sure the platform you choose allows you to integrate with systems you already use — or want to use. If possible, choose a platform that integrates with Zapier, so you’ll have access to unlimited integrations.
High-level overview capabilities
Look for a wide array of view options. Make sure the tool allows you to see both macro and micro-level views so you never lose sight of context.
Tracking features
Choose a tool with project tracking features, status tracking, and time tracking. Never lose sight of what’s been done, how long it took, or what’s left to do before wrapping up a project.
Now that we’ve laid the foundation, let’s take a look at eight software tools for marketing project management in 2022.
Robust software tools for mid-to-large-sized teams
If you’re a part of a mid-to-large-sized team, consider looking into the following tools:
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is a productivity tool that allows you to track tasks, assign work, receive work orders, and schedule projects.
We especially like ClickUp for its team collaboration features and intuitive interface.
If you’re looking for robust timelines and enhanced viewing options, ClickUp may not be the right tool for you. But if you’re interested in a platform that’s easy to use and enhances daily productivity, this can be a great option.
Pricing and plans
ClickUp has a Free Forever option, which is great for brands looking to test-drive the platform before investing. It also offers four other options for small, mid-size, multiple, and enterprises. Its plans start at $5 per member per month and go up to $19+ per month.
2. Time Doctor
If you’re looking for the ultimate time tracking and employee monitoring platform, ours is the one.
Time Doctor provides in-depth analytics showing where your team spends the most of their time during every workday.
If you have a team that you pay hourly, you’ll love Time Doctor’s attendance tracker. It breaks down exactly how much time your team spends on a project, task, web page, or client.
With this information, you can make sure you bill clients and pay employees properly. It’s also an effective way to reevaluate time-consuming tasks. In other words, if you’re looking for a productivity amplifier and budgeter, Time Doctor is for you.
Pricing and plans
Time Doctor plans range from $7 per user per month to $20 per month. It also offers custom plans for larger teams and enterprises.
3. monday.com
If you’ve been on the hunt for the ultimate Work OS, then you’ll fall in love with monday.com.
With its robust timeline features, viewing options, and project management templates, you’ll have access to just about any tool you could need. We also love monday.com’s reporting features and its ability to add custom fields.
The only con about monday.com is it can take a bit to set up the right way. While its templates are helpful, they may not always include the exact fields you need. The platform also doesn’t feel as intuitive as some of the others on our list.
In other words, there’s a learning curve with monday.com. If you choose this tool, be sure to set aside ample time for onboarding, platform setup, customization, and team training.
Pricing and plans
monday.com has a Free Forever option, which is great if you want to take it for a spin first. If you’re interested in a plan, they start at $24 per month for three users and go up to $46.73 per month for three users. For enterprise pricing, you’ll need to reach out to monday.com directly.
Simple tools for solopreneurs and small teams
If you tackle projects on your own or run a small team, consider looking into the following tools.
4. Trello
Trello is a Kanban board platform that’s simple to use. The interface feels incredibly intuitive, which is one of the reasons project managers love it.
You can structure your Trello boards however you want, but the traditional layout is a board for “to-do,” a board for “doing,” and a board for “done.”
If you’re looking for a tool you can set up immediately with little to no learning curve, you’ll love Trello.
Trello is also an effective visual tool for marketing project managers who have many detailed tasks to complete every day. With its intuitive drag-and-drop feature, you can tackle your to-dos with less overwhelm.
Pricing and plans
Trello offers a free plan that’s pretty impressive. It comes with most of the features you’d need to run your business, especially if you’re a solopreneur. If you need more than two boards at a time or run a team, then you might need a paid plan.
Paid plans start at $5 per user per month and go up to $10 per month. Trello also offers enterprise plans, ranging as high as $17.50 per user per month for small enterprises and as low as $7.38 or less for large enterprises.
5. Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that eliminates the need for countless tools. It combines wikis, docs, notes, and project management. Each is customizable.
Whether you want to create a marketing roadmap, a to-do list, or a design repository, Notion can help. It can be as simple or as robust as you need it to be, which makes it perfect for solopreneurs or small teams.
If you or your team constantly struggle with information silos, then Notion might be just what you need. Meeting notes, team tasks, updates, and context are easy to find. That means no more confusion or back and forth task questions.
Since Notion is highly customizable, there’s a bit of a learning curve. The good news is they have a few ready-made templates set up from the get-go, which can help put things into perspective.
Pricing and plans
Notion has a free option for individuals and paid plans for teams. Its paid plans start at $4 per user per month and go up to $8 per user per month. If you’re interested in an enterprise plan, contact its sales department for a quote.
6. Chanty
Chanty is a team communication and collaboration platform designed to help teams work together more effectively.
Chanty combines project management, automation, and communication to make teams more productive.
We especially like Chanty for its chatting and instant messaging abilities. In fact, Chanty has an unlimited message history, which is hard to come by these days. You can also communicate using group or one-on-one video/audio calls while sharing your screen.
With Chanty, you can send files, create tasks, assign deadlines, and discuss everything inside the app.
Chanty even has a team workflow Kanban Board in the mix, along with a “Teambook,” which gives you fast access to files, chats, and tasks.
If having access to many communication tools is a priority for you, then Chanty might be just the tool you need.
Pricing and plans
Chanty offers two plans — a free plan and a paid plan that costs $3 per user per month.
Tools for agencies and in-house creative teams
If you run an agency or in-house creative team, check out the following options.
7. FunctionFox
FunctionFox is a simple tool that offers a combination of project management features and online timesheets.
With FunctionFox, you can track time and expenses, manage projects and clients, and keep to estimates. You can also compare estimated budgets to make sure they line up with real numbers.
It also has a nice Gantt Chart feature which lets you schedule project milestones, actions, and meetings in an interactive view.
If keeping project scopes under control is a priority for you, then FunctionFox might be the tool you need.
Pricing and plans
FunctionFox plans start at $5 per user per month and go up to $20 per user per month.
8. Asana
Asana is a complete project management platform that’s great for agencies and in-house creatives. Asana is especially helpful if you need to manage complex projects and large teams.
With Asana, you can easily plan schedules using timelines and calendars and create custom task workflows. You can also visualize your campaign’s progress with custom dashboards.
Something special about Asana is its proofing feature, which lets you send ideas and work to clients for approval. Another special feature is its portfolio management capabilities for large agencies.
If you decide to go with Asana to manage your workload, be aware that there’s a steep learning curve. Asana might be too overwhelming for small teams or simple marketing projects, so be sure it’s the one for you before investing.
Pricing and plans
Asana’s free plan lets you add up to 15 employees for unlimited projects. Its paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month and go up to $24.99 per user per month.
9. Narrato
Narrato is a content creation and collaboration tool that every busy marketing team needs in their tool stack for everything starting from content planning, ideation, creation, optimization to publishing. It is a content collaboration and workflow management platform that replaces most of the disconnected tools content teams usually rely on.
The powerful editor on Narrato has a plagiarism checker and a grammar and readability checker. You can generate automated SEO content briefs, and create your own custom templates and style guides for writers.
There’s an AI writing assistant and topic generator as well.
If you work with a large in-house content team, you would find the collaboration features on the platform very handy, which include on-content comments, messages, and publicly shareable links to content. You can add team members under custom roles and access.
Content calendars and Kanban boards allow you to keep track of each content project’s progress. All your content can be neatly organised under projects and folders on the platform itself.
For agencies, there is also a Client(guest) role and a freelancer payment management module. Content publishers can directly publish content to a WordPress site from Narrato itself.
You can easily set up your account on Narrato and the platform being quite intuitive, there is practically no learning curve. So your team can start using it right away.
Pricing and plans
Narrato has a free plan for Individual content creators or small teams that are just getting started. You can add unlimited guests and up to 3 free members on the free plan. The free plan also gives you access to most of the key features, which is pretty impressive.
Paid plans include Pro at $8 per user per month and Business priced at $18 per user per month. Here you get access to some very useful additional features like Revision History, Whitelabeling, and Automatic SEO content briefs, among other things.
You can also create a custom plan of your own, including only the features you need, for which you will have to get in touch with the Narrato team.
10. ProofHub
ProofHub is an all-in-one project management platform that helps you sort out your work processes, collaborate with your team, and manage your marketing projects seamlessly in one place.
The multiple project views like Kanban and Table view in ProofHub help you customize and manage your tasks according to your work process. The Gantt charts provide you a robust timeline view to better understand task dependencies and project progress. The platform also offers you efficient project reporting and time tracking features to help you track your team’s time and productivity.
The team collaboration features like in-built chat and Discussions that make it easy for teams to communicate and work together effectively. A feature that makes ProofHub stand out from the crowd is the Proofing tool. You can easily review and proof your files in a single click.
Another great thing about ProofHub is that it doesn’t have per-user fees.
Pricing and plans:
The Basic ‘Essential’ plan costs $45 per month if billed annually and a more advanced plan ‘The Ultimate Control’ costs $89 per month if billed annually.
Ready to implement some of the best marketing project management tools?
When you’re a marketing project manager, time is everything.
From onboarding new clients to managing deadlines, you’re stretched thin.
Without carefully outlined processes and efficient tools, juggling responsibilities can feel overwhelming at best.
The good news is there are tools designed specifically for marketing project managers. By lightening workloads and streamlining tasks, software can help marketing project managers handle their time with ease.
To help you implement your own productive systems, we shared some of our best tips, along with eight marketing project management tools that are on the market today. We also walked you through how to choose the right software for your business step-by-step.
For a quick recap, here’s what we covered today:
- What are marketing project management tools?
- How can software tools benefit my marketing project management company?
- What should I look for in marketing project management software?
- Robust software tools for mid to large-sized teams
- Simple tools for solopreneurs and small teams
- Tools for agencies and in-house creative teams
Ready to implement marketing project management tools into your workflows? We hope this article has inspired you to find ways to become more productive.
Can’t get enough actionable tips for your business? Head to our blog for more killer business tips like these.
Brad Smith is the Founder of Codeless (a content production agency) and CEO at Wordable.io. His content has been highlighted by The New York Times, Business Insider, The Next Web, and thousands more.