10 Content Marketing Tools to Consider For Your Brand in 2025
In my opinion, 2025 will be the year of the great content marketing strategy shake-up.
Gone are the days of traditional SEO. And while this is making some content marketers panic, I for one, will be glad to see the back of recipe articles that go through their entire life story before telling me how to bake bread.
But while the content game is changing, the concept of content marketing hasn't. Creating high-quality content that distinguishes your brand from your competitors is potentially more important than ever before.
However, with a plethora of choices and likely a few budget constraints here or there, I've pulled together a list of ten great marketing tools that you can use in 2025 to gain a competitive edge without breaking the bank.
Short on time? Here are the key takeaways
Ahrefs: Excellent for identifying content gaps, keywords to tackle, and competitor analysis.
ChatGPT: A fantastic all-round tool for brainstorming, content ideation, and improving productivity and efficiency.
AnswerThePublic: Provides instant, visual insights into what people are searching for online, helping you create highly targeted and relevant content.
Frase: Excellent for optimising content creation for search engines, as well as offering outline support.
JournoRequest: Offers a direct line to journalists seeking expert insights, enabling you to secure media coverage and build brand authority.
AirOps: Excellent for advanced content flow creation, making the best use of generative AI without overreliance.
Trello: Streamlines project management with its intuitive visual boards, making it easy to organize, collaborate, and track content creation workflows.
Slack: A brilliant tool for quick catch-ups with clients, sub-contractors, staff, and freelancers.
Canva: An excellent design tool that is much easier to pick up than more advanced options like Adobe Photoshop. Works great for any visual content, whether it's articles, social media posts, or even eBooks.
Klaviyo: A brilliant email CRM platform that integrates with other platforms like Shopify and has a great range of templates.
How I Chose These Tools
But before we dive in, I wanted to give a quick summary of why I picked these specific tools and what criteria I used to decide these are great options for marketing teams.
Well, in simple terms, they're tools I've used myself and found quite a bit of success with! One thing I will never do is recommend tips, techniques, or tools that I haven't used. There are already far too many articles out there that promote tools and content ideas to digital marketers simply because they have an affiliate link or because they read a review that said it was good.
Instead, I opted for ten tools that I use every day with my clients and chose a range of tools that support several aspects of the content marketing effort.
For example, you won't see a ton of SEO optimisation tools on here. Sure, I've picked the odd SEO tool and also focused on other tools for video content, content strategy, and other key aspects.
After all, the concept of content marketing is so much more than the odd optimised blog post here and there!
The key criteria I focused on were price, how easy it is to pick up as a complete beginner, and the value I believe it provides users.
10 Content Marketing Tools in 2025
Ahrefs
Link: https://ahrefs.com/
Price (£): £99 per month.
The first tool on this list is Ahrefs, which is probably one that most content leads have heard of, even if they haven't ever used it themselves. Granted, it doesn't necessarily pass the 'price' or 'user-friendly' checks, as it is about £100 a month to get started and can be very overwhelming.
That being said, it is a fantastic tool for anyone interested in improving organic traffic.
Any successful content marketing team needs a tool in their content marketing toolkit that can identify content pillars, as these are the heart of any effective content strategy.
Ahrefs allows you to identify content pillars and so much more. Some of the best features include the content gap analysis, the competitor analysis, and the traffic tracker.
These features are excellent for spotting gaps in your content, identifying where your competitors are seeing success that you can replicate, and rectifying any potential traffic declines before they become significant.
For any company that is serious about brand awareness, a tool like Ahrefs is crucial. Gone are the days of basic SEO for organic traffic. Now, brands need to be cleverer with their approach to organic traffic, creating content that truly resonates with their audience and meets them at the right point in their journey. Ahrefs can help with all that and more.
Ahrefs is a tool that I use for all of my clients. Not just for SEO keyword suggestions, but also for technical SEO audits, content refresh plans, and thought leadership content.
ChatGPT
Link: https://chatgpt.com/
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
I feel like it's impossible to make a list of digital tools and not mention ChatGPT these days! However, while ChatGPT can be an incredible tool for content marketing efforts, it can also be a significant hindrance if used incorrectly.
If you only have a basic grasp of the tool, the best way to use ChatGPT is for establishing a content calendar, content outline and brief creation, and general content brainstorming, or even for CTA ideas. You can do this by simply chatting with the tool back and forth, treating it like a very simple content assistant.
For those who are more comfortable with more advanced generative AI, one excellent technique I have used is to build custom GPTs specifically for each client.
I did this for a client called Fireberry recently, inputting their style guide and other key information, as well as some other significantly detailed prompts. I then used the tool to generate the frameworks of their glossary pages before adding real topical expertise from internal and external sources, adding significant value to please their audience and the algorithm overlords.
You can read the full results as part of my Fireberry case study, but here's a quick snapshot of the results below:
AnswerThePublic
Link: https://answerthepublic.com/
Price (£): £11 per month.
Another excellent tool I constantly call upon for client work is AnswerThePublic. The reason I love AnswerThePublic is that it provides consumer insights in a slightly different manner to Ahrefs.
While Ahrefs is extremely analytical and provides in-depth insights, I don't feel like it's the best tool for painting the whole consumer picture.
AnswerThePublic can fill those gaps, providing users with an easy-to-understand mind map of common questions. For those who are visual learners like me, it's a great tool to better understand your customer's most common questions and queries.
Frase
Link: https://www.frase.io/
Price (£): £37 per month.
When it comes to search engine optimisation, users are spoilt for choice with the amount of tools available in the market. Initially, the main choice was really between Frase and SurferSEO, but now there are plenty of different options to choose from.
So why did I pick Frase? Well, while I do prefer the user interface on offer at SurferSEO, it is also significantly more expensive, costing closer to £100 per month, compared to Frase which is £37.
In my honest opinion, I don't think the features and capabilities justify that price difference, especially given the changes to SEO in recent years.
Now, with more focus on providing users with high-quality content that answers their queries quickly and concisely, publishers and writers do not need to stuff every single secondary keyword into an article.
With that in mind, there is little difference between the two tools (and the others now on the market, for that matter), so I would rather save my marketing budget to spend in other areas, as I think that approach better supports my clients.
JournoFinder
Link: https://journofinder.com/
Price (£): $189 per month
Speaking of changes in SEO, brand authority is another search engine indicator that is becoming increasingly important, especially for brands that are still in their infancy.
In previous years, brands could pump out a ton of SEO-friendly content, and by default, their website DR would increase. While SEO-based content certainly still helps, you also need to factor in other aspects of organic growth, including backlinks and PR.
That's where JournoFinder can help. It puts you directly in touch with reputable journalists, allowing you to get stories out there on other sites, creating more organic traffic, more backlinks, and more traction for your brand.
It's a system I've used to great effect for a few brands, most notably TestGorilla and Originality.ai.
Now, you might be thinking, JournoFinder is not cheap. You're absolutely right, and it isn't a cost that many brands will want to pay. If that's the case, you can try manual outreach, but you'll likely struggle to cut through journalists' noisy inboxes.
Or, you could work with me as I take on that cost and factor it into the services I provide.
AirOps
Link: https://www.airops.com/
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
As you may have noticed, one of my most popular services is AI integrations, where I show content marketing teams how they can use AI effectively without over-reliance.
AirOps is the perfect example of a tool that can help with this approach. For those of you who like email flows or IFTTT formulas, then you'll love AirOps!
Ever use ChatGPT and find yourself constantly reminding it to use those brand docs you shared or to remember to include specific information in its responses?
AirOps allows you to create a detailed multi-prompt template that all your prompts can go through, ensuring ideation stays on track, E-E-A-T is always considered, and any important brand docs are also checked before results are produced.
It's a tool I recently used for Djust.io, allowing us to add specific brand guidance, examples of content already produced (eBooks and whitepapers), and internal links to include. It allowed us to create detailed and brand-related glossary pages that we could then tweak, improve, and publish.
Trello
Link: https://trello.com/
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
Another excellent tool for productivity and content production is Trello. I really like Trello because it offers a visual representation of where each project is up to. Of course, other options like Monday, Asana, and others are available, so this selection is purely based on personal preference.
It's a tool I used extensively to track the performance of content refreshes with Connecteam, as it allowed me to see what had been updated and ensure nothing was missed.
Slack
Link: https://slack.com/intl/en-gb
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
If you're using an agency or freelancers to help with your content strategy, you need to be using Slack. It's far and away the easiest platform for staying in touch with external members of the team, allowing them to provide quick updates and ask urgent questions and keeping everything ticking along as it should be.
It's a platform that I've used with Eleven to handle as many as seven clients at a time, as well as also handling writers and editors for each of those clients.
I have also used it to great effect for brands like Foundr, where the team is based in a completely different time zone. In this instance, contacting one another by email could significantly slow us down, whereas quick messages on Slack in crossover times ensured everything stayed on track.
Canva
Link: https://www.canva.com/en_gb/
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
When it comes to creating high-quality imagery, it certainly doesn't come naturally to me! I had a job once when I was younger where I was tasked with learning how to use PhotoShop, and it’s safe to say I was unsuccessful! Photoshop is incredibly advanced with many great features, but it certainly isn't easy for new users, and definitely not cheap.
that's why I absolutely love Canva. For me, a simple-to-use tool that allows me to create quality designs across the marketing funnel is a must-have, not to mention the fact that it's free!
Klaviyo
Link: https://www.klaviyo.com/uk/
Price (£): Starting at £0 per month.
Lastly, I wanted to add an email marketing tool to this list since it plays such a huge role in the brand's content marketing efforts. Klaviyo is my go-to email service provider for several reasons.
For starters, it's incredibly user-friendly. I've trained clients on Klaviyo in just a few sessions, even when they have no prior email marketing experience. It also integrates with other products seamlessly, making it the ideal tool for eCommerce brands specifically, as it pairs perfectly with Shopify data.
This integration lets brands send real-time emails based on consumer action, allowing them to build out a detailed, hyper-personalised email marketing journey. This is the direct approach I took with Allwear, helping them significantly increase engagement and conversions.
What to learn how I also increased PureGym open rates to over 40% and increased La Redoute email net profits by over £700,000 YoY? Let's chat.
Plus, if you want to learn more about the value of email marketing databases, you can do so here!
Honourable Mentions
I could go on and add more than ten, but I wanted to keep this list as concise as possible. After all, your time is precious, and if you're still reading this, it's very much appreciated! Some other tools that almost made the list include.
Google Docs: Does what it says on the tin, and is much easier for multiple authors (writers, editors, etc) than Microsoft Word (sorry, Bill.)
Hootsuite: Excellent for any social content tool, allowing you to craft and schedule pieces of content specifically for social channels.
Google Analytics: An excellent tool for tracking real-time search volumes and tracking a content marketing campaign.
Why Content Marketing is So Important for Brands
It is undeniable that the world of content marketing is changing. I believe that these ten tools are all well set up to support you through these changes and ensure you have a great content marketing strategy in place for 2025.
Want to ensure your brand has everything in place to have a successful 2025? Get in touch today and let's talk strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Content Marketing
Why is content marketing important?
Content marketing is crucial because it builds meaningful relationships with your audience, establishes trust, and positions your brand as an authority in your industry. It also supports other marketing efforts by enhancing SEO, increasing social media engagement, and boosting lead generation.
How does content marketing work?
Content marketing works by providing valuable information that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. By consistently delivering quality content, you attract potential customers, engage them, and guide them through the buyer's journey, ultimately leading to conversions and sales.
What are the benefits of content marketing?
The benefits of content marketing include:
Building trust and credibility with your audience.
Increasing website traffic and improving SEO rankings.
Generating leads and nurturing prospects.
Enhancing brand awareness and recognition.
Providing valuable information that can lead to higher conversion rates.
