My Daily Digital Marketing Tools (and How I Actually Use Them)
When you’re running multiple client projects, no two days look the same. One moment I’m troubleshooting a website update, the next I’m reviewing ad performance, and by the end of the day, I’m polishing an email campaign or SEO report.
As a Digital Marketing & Web Manager at Hawn Consulting, I’ve learned that the only way to stay efficient — without drowning in tasks — is to lean on a reliable toolkit. These tools aren’t just software subscriptions. They’re the systems that keep projects moving, clients informed, and results measurable.
Over the past year, I’ve refined a stack of 10+ platforms (plus AI) that I now rely on every single day. Here’s how I use them, not in theory, but in practice — on real campaigns that have brought great results.
Google Analytics (GA4): The Compass
Every project starts with data. Google Analytics is my compass — the tool I check first when something feels “off.”
There was a moment when one client’s traffic suddenly dipped overnight. At first glance, it looked like a disaster. But GA4’s event tracking and anomaly alerts showed me it wasn’t the audience disappearing — it was a broken tag firing incorrectly. Because I had dashboards customized for each client, I could spot the issue in minutes instead of hours.
The lesson?
GA4 isn’t just about reporting traffic. It’s about catching patterns early, asking better questions, and telling the real story behind numbers.
Google Ads: Capturing Intent
While GA4 helps me analyze, Google Ads helps me act. For clients with local services, Ads is often the most direct path from search to sale.
One campaign stood out in the past: by carefully building around intent-based keywords and trimming wasted spend with a negative keyword list, I cut budget waste by nearly a third. That money didn’t vanish — it flowed into higher-performing campaigns, doubling qualified leads.
AI plays a role here, too. Instead of manually drafting endless ad variations, I let AI generate copy ideas, test them in controlled sets, and let the data decide which headlines resonate.
Meta Ads Manager: Turning Awareness Into Action
If Google Ads is about people actively searching, Meta Ads is about sparking interest before they even realize they’re ready.
For a marketing campaign for the Carp Fair in Ontario, we layered prospecting ads with simple retargeting reminders. The creative wasn’t flashy — just a clear “last chance to register” message. Yet the ROI was undeniable: registrations surged in the final days, filling the venue.
Meta Ads Manager is powerful because it allows me to test, pause, and scale without spending all day watching dashboards. Automations handle the busywork; I focus on crafting the story.
Mailchimp: Conversations at Scale
Email marketing often feels underrated, but it’s quietly one of the highest-return tools I use.
For one project, I built an automated “lost customer” flow. It ran in the background, sending friendly reminders to people who hadn’t engaged in months. The result? Nearly 8% of lapsed customers came back — without any extra ad spend.
Mailchimp works because it scales personal communication. AI-assisted subject line testing is like having a copywriter on standby, helping me fine-tune the first impression before the email even gets opened.
Web Builders & CMS: Building Without Reinventing
Not every project calls for custom code. In fact, for many small businesses, speed and flexibility matter more than engineering complexity. That’s why I rotate between Squarespace, Wix, WordPress and Webflow.
Each platform has its strengths, but what they all give me is time. Reusable content blocks and design systems mean I can spin up a professional site in days, not weeks.
For one client, we rebuilt their outdated site with Wix. Within a month, lead volume doubled, simply because the new site guided visitors better. The takeaway: the platform matters less than the system you build on top of it.
Google Search Console: The Truth Teller
Search Console is where the hard truths show up.
It tells me whether a page is actually indexed, if keywords are slipping, or if a hidden technical error is holding things back. For one client, GSC data revealed that a key service page was hovering on page two for months. With a few targeted updates — improved headers, better internal linking — we pushed it to page one and saw immediate results.
SEO isn’t about guessing. It’s about listening to the signals the search console is already giving you.
Zapier: Automating the Mundane
I’ll admit it: I hate repetitive work. Copying leads from one tool into another? Forget it. That’s where Zapier comes in.
One of my favourite automations pulls leads from ads, cleans up the data with AI and feeds them straight into the email system and project tracker. What used to take hours each week now happens in seconds.
Automation doesn’t just save time — it creates consistency. No lead gets lost in the shuffle.
Asana: The Organizer
If GA4 is the compass, Asana is the map. It’s where every campaign, deadline, and deliverable lives.
Running multiple client projects means managing dozens of moving parts at once. Without Asana, things would slip through cracks. With it, I can set recurring reminders, assign tasks to teammates, and even generate AI-powered summaries to keep clients updated in plain English.
It’s not just about staying organized — it’s about staying sane.
Canva and Figma: Designing at Different Speeds
Every marketer ends up designing, whether they admit it or not.
When I need something quick and polished — like a social graphic or a presentation deck — Canva is my go-to. But when a project needs deeper collaboration, wireframes, or prototypes, Figma takes over.
One client project jumped from “idea” to “greenlight” in record time because we visualized the wireframes in Figma. Everyone could see the vision before a single pixel went live. That saved weeks of back-and-forth.
Shopify & eCommerce Analytics: Proving ROI
At the end of the day, clients ask one question: “Did this make us money?”
Shopify analytics connects the dots. It shows which ads, emails, and web updates actually drive sales. For one client, pairing Shopify data with ad reports ended the debate about whether digital marketing was “worth it.” The numbers spoke for themselves.
Data is powerful when it’s translated into business impact. That’s where tools like Shopify shine.
AI: The Glue That Binds It All
Finally, the 11th tool in my stack isn’t a platform — it’s AI.
I use AI daily: to summarize analytics, draft ad copy variations, cluster SEO keywords, and even clean messy datasets. But the key isn’t treating AI as a replacement. It’s a collaborator.
AI accelerates execution, but it’s the human strategy — the decision on why to run a campaign or what story to tell — that makes the difference.
Closing Thoughts
The truth is, tools are just tools. What matters is how you use them, and how they save you time to focus on strategy and creativity.
This stack has helped me deliver measurable growth across multiple projects at Hawn Consulting — from boosting event attendance, to driving qualified leads, to proving ROI in black-and-white sales numbers.
If you’re building your own toolkit, my advice is simple:
- Start with a few essentials.
- Automate early.
- Layer in AI where it saves the most time.
That’s how you go from chaos to clarity in digital marketing.
💭 Now I’m curious — what’s the one tool you couldn’t imagine doing your job without?
Let’s stay in touch! Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
