TL;DR: From HubSpot to Adobe: the best bundles to subscribe to as a brand manager to facilitate your productivity, automate your marketing, and create amazing but affordable assets.
Managing a brand today is like piloting a spaceship through an asteroid field—you need speed, precision, and the right tools to avoid crashing. The good news? You don't have to fly solo. The right service-subscription bundles are your co-pilots, automating mundane tasks and supercharging your creative output.
We’re diving into the best subscription bundles to streamline your workflow, boost collaboration, and get your brand soaring. Whether you need to crunch data or design a masterpiece, these tools are ready for liftoff.
1. HubSpot Marketing Hub (CRM + Marketing Suite)
HubSpot is your marketing mission control. Think of the HubSpot CRM and marketing suite as an ecosystem where your marketing, sales, and service teams can talk. If you need a solution to get your people and data on the same page, look no further.
HubSpot bundles all the marketing tools you love—email, landing pages, social media, search engine optimization, and more—into one easy-to-use ecosystem. Use HubSpot to attract users, convert users, and have an inbound marketing strategy at scale.
Pros
- All-in-one solution: No need to juggle multiple platforms.
- Superior automation: Automation features are both intuitive and powerful.
- Free CRM: HubSpot CRM is free for life.
Cons
- Steep learning curve: This is an advanced tool with numerous capabilities.
- Pricing variation: Moving from Starter bundle to Professional can be a hefty investment.
2. Adobe Creative Cloud for Teams (Design & Creative Apps)
When it comes to design and creative applications, Adobe Creative Cloud isn’t just any old tool; it’s an industry-standard bundle you should consider. For an industry-grade bundle that will help you create any type of asset—from high-fidelity video content to print and web-based assets—look no further.
Creative Cloud for Teams includes access to 20+ Adobe applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. This subscription version of the tool includes centralized admin controls, 1TB of cloud storage per user, and collaboration tools so team members can share files in a snap.
Pros
- Industry-grade tool suite Easily access essential creative tools used by industry professionals.
- End-to-end solutions Use one tool bundle for all types of assets (video, print, artwork).
- Robust integration Built-in integration between Adobe apps ensures consistency.
Cons
- Cost Not a cheap option for larger teams
- High resource demands You will need sophisticated hardware to run this software suite.
3. Canva for Teams (Design & Brand Kit + Collaboration)
You don’t need an Adobe Photoshop ninja on your team to create design assets. With Canva for Teams, everyone can get in on the design action and ensure all assets are on point for your brand.
Canva for Teams gives everyone on your team access to premium features like the Brand Kit feature that stores the logos, colors, and fonts for your brand. Team members can collaborate in real time on the same designs, and it has magic resize features, tons of stock photos, and templates for everything from social media graphics to presentations.
Pros
- Ease of use You don’t even need to be a designer to master this tool.
- Branded assets The Brand Kit functionality ensures all team members use the same assets.
- Cost-effective This option is a winner even if you are sensitive to cost.
Cons
- Limited editing functionality Not as robust as Adobe
- Generic designs Template features can make all assets look generic if overused.
4. Sprout Social (Social Media Management + Analytics)
Before you start updating and posting across multiple social media channels, you need to listen to what people say about your brand and engage with them! Sprout Social gives you an industry-grade suite of tools to analyze data and engage with people on multiple social media channels.
Sprout Social combines publishing, engagement, analytics, and social listening all in one platform. Its Smart Inbox gathers everything people say across multiple channels in one feed. Its reporting features are also presentation-ready.
Pros
- Smart Inbox Easily manage engagement with followers across multiple channels.
- In-depth analytics Provides useful insights—not just vanity metrics.
- UI design A clean, user-friendly interface.
Cons
- High price point A higher price than most social media management software packages
- Add-on features Social listening functionality only available as a standalone functionality.
5. Hootsuite or Buffer (Social Scheduling & Reporting)
If Sprout Social has too many features for your needs, Hootsuite and Buffer are both robust, tried-and-tested bundles of software that can handle all your social media scheduling needs.
Hootsuite provides advanced scheduling features and monitoring streams, while Buffer offers something simpler, with a queue-based system for scheduling posts and a clean user interface.
Pros
- Power of batching Schedule an entire month's worth of content in one sitting.
- Cost-effective Buffer has a pay-for-what-you-use pricing strategy.
- Integrations Both tools integrate with many platforms.
Cons
- Hootsuite UI design Can feel outmoded and cluttered.
- Buffer constraints Lower-level pricing plans limit functionality.
6. Brandwatch (Brand Monitoring & Social Listening)
Sprout Social will let you engage with what people say about your brand while actively engaging with your audience online. As a brand manager, you also need to listen to what people say when you are not there. Brandwatch is an industry-grade software tool that will identify mentions of your brand across multiple digital platforms.
Pros
- Powerful data Access to a wealth of historical data (millions of social media posts).
- AI-powered insights Need help gaining insights? Its AI analyst will help you effortlessly.
- Great data visualizations Compelling dashboards with awesome data visualizations.
Cons
- Cost An enterprise tool with an enterprise-level price tag.
- Needs an Analyst Requires a trained analyst or dedicated user to operate it.
7. Google Analytics 360 (Advanced Web Analytics)
Knowing who went to your website is great; knowing why they went is crucial. Google Analytics 360 isn’t just any standard tool; it’s the enterprise version of Google Analytics.
Google Analytics 360 gives you unsampled data reports, advanced funnel reporting features, and it integrates with BigQuery—a goldmine if you need insights into scale across all your website user journeys.
Pros
- Data depth: No sampling—get to see all unsampled data in reports.
- Dedicated support: Comprehensive support services (service-level agreements).
- Integration: Directly integrates with the Google Marketing Platform.
Cons
- Steep pricing: The pricing structure might make this inaccessible for most SMBs.
- Overkill: Most brands will find the standard Google Analytics 4 sufficient.
8. SEMrush or Ahrefs (SEO + Content Marketing Suite)
Visibility matters more than anything in the new digital ecosystem. If your brand can’t be found in search engine result pages (SERPs), it does not exist. Use SEMrush or Ahrefs as premium navigational tools for your brand. They will help your content find its audience and give you the insights you need to improve your search engine visibility. With help guiding your creative work, it will be easy to lead from the front.
Pros
- Competitive analysis: Identify keywords that drive traffic to your competitors’ websites.
- Content insights: Use this information to provide your team with compelling content ideas.
- Site testing: Identify issues that affect site performance using automated testing.
Cons
- Learning curve: These platforms provide a wealth of information you’ll need time to understand how best to use.
- Sticker shock: Additional features come at a steep price.
9. Mailchimp Premium (Email Marketing + Automation)
Few marketing channels offer the return on investment (ROI) that email marketing does. When done right, email marketing can transform Mailchimp into a valuable asset that continually generates business.
The Premium Plan unlocks various capabilities: advanced segmentation, comparative reporting, and multivariate message testing so you know which messages resonate best when you deliver them to clients. You can also create complex customer journeys based on what customers do next after receiving emails.
Pros
- Ease of use: A flexible drag-and-drop interface that even the least tech-savvy team member can use.
- Multivariate testing Run multiple tests at once—no more trial-and-error testing!
- Great deliverability rates: Avoiding spam folders is vital!
Cons
- Learning curve: Even as you upgrade tiers, determine subscriber count—be careful of how well your pricing plan aligns with your audience base.
- Limited automation paths: This is not a dedicated automation tool.
10. Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Customer Journey & Engagement)
For enterprise-level brands looking to develop deeper bonds with their customers while scaling their marketing efforts, the Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the destination of choice. Use it to unify every stage of the customer journey—not separate platforms that create gaps in the customer experience.
The Marketing Cloud connects mobile applications, social media channels, websites, and advertising efforts into one powerful narrative. Use its AI tool called Einstein to personalize every interaction customers have across different channels in their journeys.
Pros
- Unparalleled personalization: Create highly personalized messages across all channels.
- Unmatched scalability: Use the platform irrespective of database size without any issues.
- Integrated ecosystem access: Native access to the extensive Salesforce ecosystem.
Cons
- Highly complex tool: Ensure team members have the requisite skills.
- High implementation cost: This is a big-budget tool so plan accordingly.
Ready to Blast Off?
Equipping your team with the right subscription bundles is like upgrading your engines for a deep-space voyage—you’ll go faster, push further, and reach new heights. Take a moment to assess your current bottlenecks and identify where your workflow stalls. Then, choose the innovative tools that perfectly fit your specific mission. Once your toolkit is primed and your team is aligned, you'll be ready to ignite the thrusters and prepare for a spectacular launch!
Cover image Credit: Photo by cottonbro studio on pexels
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