Project management tools are a must for any content marketer looking to scale their content machine. But which one should you use?
Resources abound for comparing project management tools – after all, many of these companies have bottom of funnel content, comparison pages, and pricing guides they’d love for you to read. But those pieces don’t consider the tools specifically through the eye, use case, and job of a content marketer.
This guide walks through each tool and looks at the procs and cons of using them for important content marketing tasks:
- Building a content calendar
- Onboarding freelancers
- Giving other teams visibility into your process
- Customization options
Without further ado, on to the tools!
Asana
Asana is a project management tool that lets content marketers collaborate with teams, create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. It helps with visualization, which makes organization and management much easier.
Pros
Content Calendar
Can you build a content calendar in Asana? Of course. Asana’s visual interface lets you see incomplete tasks and their deadlines. Its content calendar template also speeds up the planning and tracking of content marketing initiatives.
Freelancer Onboarding
You should have no problem onboarding freelance writers and designers. Asana provides a template that can help speed up the onboarding process and get new team members on the same page.
Visibility
A project manager needs to keep every team member up to speed, but that can be a lot for one person to handle. Asana’s content calendar helps with this by allowing for planning and tracking.
Customization
Asana has many customization options, including reports, fields, and views. You can also integrate Asana with software like Dropbox, Google Docs, and Evernote. If that’s not enough, you can use Asana’s API to build integrations.
Templates and Automation
Asana features templates for automating and streamlining content marketing processes. The editorial calendar template also lets you plan and track these processes. Automation even lets you manage things like tasks and due dates.
Cons
Steep Learning Curve
Onboarding might be simple with Asana, but your results may vary after that process. The learning curve is a downside for many, but more technically proficient teams might appreciate the slew of features that Asana offers.
No Time Tracking
Despite Asana’s ability to track so many things, it doesn’t track time. If this is an issue for your team, your only option is to integrate a third-party time tracking app.
Monday.com
Monday.com offers project and portfolio management tools. It allows project managers to centralize projects and optimize their workflow across jobs. Despite its focus on streamlined collaboration, Monday.com has some other tricks up its sleeve.
Pros
Content Calendar
What would a project management tool be without a content calendar? Monday.com gives you a content calendar template that you can use to track and plan your projects.
Freelancer Onboarding
Monday.com handles this process with no problems, and you can easily add someone to the team and monitor their work. You can also use an onboarding template to get freelancers oriented.
Visibility
With Monday.com, you get a clear overview of what’s going on in your content marketing campaigns. The content calendar works in unison with this interface, allowing team members to add, assign, and complete tasks.
Customization
Monday.com offers custom reports, views, and fields. You can also integrate Google Docs and Evernote. With Monday.com’s API, you can even create custom integrations tailored to your content marketing needs.
Templates and Automation
You can automate your content marketing processes with Monday.com’s templates. The editorial calendar template makes monitoring content marketing initiatives easier.
Cons
Task Dependencies
Monday.com has fewer task dependencies than other project management tools. You’re out of luck if you need more than a date. However, it’s still possible to complete tasks in order.
Limited Features
Despite its many features, Monday.com comes with a catch. Low-tier plans don’t offer many of these features. You may find the platform useful, but you’ll have to pay to use it.
Basecamp
Basecamp is the self-described “all-in-one toolkit for working remotely.” If you have team members in different locations, it’s worth a look. Basecamp lets content marketing teams collaborate, track progress, set deadlines, and more.
Pros
Content Calendar
Without a schedule, you can’t accomplish much. Luckily, Basecamp provides dedicated schedules for every project. Your team can use this feature to see what needs to be done.
Freelancer Onboarding
Using onboarding templates simplifies the process. Add team members, including freelancers, and start working on content marketing immediately.
Visibility
Your content marketing campaigns are easy to track with Basecamp’s visual interface. Also, team members can assign tasks from the content calendar.
Customization
A feature called Doors makes customization simple and expansive. It offers over 70 native integrations, but you don’t have to stop there. For example, with Zapier, you have access to over 4,000 other integrations.
Templates and Automation
You won’t find pre-made templates in Basecamp, but you can make custom ones.
Cons
No Time Tracking
Basecamp says it’s working on the feature, but you might not have the time to wait for that.
No Topic Archiving
Basecamp’s topic list can get cluttered if your team is busy. It wouldn’t be a problem, but you can’t archive old topics in Basecamp. This could cause your entire operation to slow down.
Notion
Notion is perfect for project management, but it can extend across many facets of content marketing. Notion can connect almost anything and everyone.
Pros
Content Calendar
You can build a content calendar, or you can use a provided template. This tool helps project managers schedule, track, and change content. You can even view the content calendar as a board if you need a different perspective.
Freelancer Onboarding
By creating templates for team members and freelancers, you can ensure they get acclimated as quickly as possible. With one click, you can see their tasks and notes.
Visibility
Notion’s visual interface makes everything visible at a glance. After a content manager creates a content calendar, they can share it with team members. Those team members can add tasks and check them off as needed.
Customization
Not only is there sufficient customization for content marketing, but it’s also pretty easy. The process is as simple as dragging and dropping to create anything from a dashboard to an entire system.
Templates and Automation
Notion provides templates, among other tools, that can help you optimize your workflow. About 100 of these are free, but most aren’t, which isn’t ideal for some teams.
Cons
Limited Functionality
Some teams, especially smaller ones, can benefit from Notion. Larger teams might find Notion more effective as a task manager. This isn’t outright bad, but your team might find more success with another tool in this article.
Airtable
Airtable connects every aspect of your content management operation. This cohesiveness ensures team members move in the same direction and achieve goals in record time.
Pros
Content Calendar
Airtable allows you to build a content calendar, and you can use a provided template. Project managers can assign, schedule, review, and publish work from Airtable.
Freelancer Onboarding
Airtable’s onboarding template gives everyone what they need and keeps everything in order. This can help you stay organized as you welcome more people to your content marketing team.
Visibility
Despite Airtable’s interface, which is similar to a spreadsheet, it’s a capable project management tool. You and your team can track project progress across every department.
Customization
Airtable primarily focuses on custom interfaces and custom code, both of which have the potential to optimize project management.
Templates and Automation
Airtable offers a well-rounded variety of templates. The included templates are sufficient for many teams, but you can also create templates.
Cons
Learning Curve
Even Microsoft Excel experience might not help here, despite Airtable’s spreadsheet-style interface. Users have reported that Airtable’s resources aren’t much help, either.
Communication
You can leave comments on rows in Airtable, but that’s about it. This limited discussion means your team might spend a lot of time finding answers and resources.
Trello
Besides project management, Trello is handy for many other things, too. Project managers can use it to manage both large and small teams. Automation and customization are also possible with the platform.
Pros
Content Calendar
Trello lets you build a content calendar, and you also have the option of syncing with third-party calendars. If your team uses multiple platforms, this feature could centralize your information.
Freelancer Onboarding
Onboarding is a simple process with Trello and its templates. A template for an employee manual is a great way to give freelancers and new team members the essential information.
Visibility
Trello’s boards, lists, and cards add transparency to projects and processes. Both project managers and team members can use these views.
Customization
Trello’s most useful features include custom workflows, fields, and lists. Depending on their needs, project managers can edit or build their own.
Templates and Automation
It’s easy to create a template for future content marketing. However, you can also use an existing template. There is also an automation system in Trello that allows you to input commands and set rules.
Cons
Lack of Features Without Upgrades
The free version of Trello is more of a trial version for some teams. You won’t get access to things like a chart view and Trello-Jira integration without handing over some money. Butler, the automation tool, also lacks features in the free version.
Limited Scalability
Small, limited-work teams seem to benefit most from Trello. As your team and processes grow, it becomes more complicated. Although you can make it work with some effort, other tools make it much simpler.
Plenty of Options, Tons of Opportunities
Are you still unsure of which project management tool to choose? Maybe you just need a few trials first. After all, nothing beats hands-on experience.
While you focus on that, we could lend a hand with your content marketing. Click here to learn how Verblio can help you grow your business.
