When creative marketers put their heads together in collaboration, magic happens. But with the increasing push toward remote work and async collaboration, it can be tough to get marketers together. These challenges can lead to creative blocks, slowed progress, and confusing feedback.
But with the right tools, your team can share ideas, track projects efficiently, and turn feedback into actionable steps.
Choosing the best collaboration software for your team is both an art and a science: It demands an understanding of your team's unique needs and the tool's capabilities. Choosing the wrong option will lead to a mushy area where you're not getting the best out of the platform or your team.
Let’s take a look at the features you should look for in a marketing collaboration solution and the top eight collaboration tools for creative teams.
What we'll cover
Table of contents
Top features to look for in marketing collaboration software
A tool is only as useful as its features. Your team’s specific needs may vary, but there are a few things every team needs: quick communication, straightforward content management, streamlined approvals, seamless automation, and robust integrations.
Let’s look at why you should keep these five functionalities at the top of your list.
Real-time collaboration and communication
There’s no collaboration without communication. Whether you’re a large team trying to keep multiple stakeholders informed or a small team coordinating with external vendors, your creative team needs real-time communication tools to collaborate meaningfully. Tools that encourage live editing and integrated chat features further allow team members to work simultaneously without stepping on toes.
Without the ability to communicate in real time, your marketing team faces major roadblocks. But when you make communicating easy, you’ll see your team’s productivity skyrocket.
Centralized content management
Centralized content management is crucial for staying organized and keeping must-have information accessible to team members. Having a powerful system for managing content at your fingertips makes project management much simpler. You’ll never forget where to find an important marketing campaign asset or misplace a document again.
Streamlined review and approval
Your marketing projects run on strict timelines. The last thing you want is for your review and approval process to slow things down. Avoid bottlenecks with structured review cycles and automated notifications to keep project contributors aware of deadlines. Plus, smoothing out any wrinkles in your review processes helps reduce the risk of compliance errors.
Workflow automation
Repetitive tasks clog your work day and steal valuable time you could be using for brainstorming, strategizing, and creating. Automation features take time-draining tasks off your plate so that your efforts can be better used elsewhere. Incorporating customizable automation into your workflows can also shrink timelines so that you get from A to B faster. Ultimately, this helps your business scale, reduces errors, and improves task management.
Integrations with other tools
No singular tool can do it all. You likely already have a suite of tools at your disposal, and when you’re shopping around for collaborative marketing software, you want to consider how that tool can integrate with your existing systems.
For instance, does your CRM connect to your email marketing or social media management platforms? It should! Integrations amp up efficiency so that your team can work faster than ever.
8 marketing collaboration software for creative team success
Choosing a marketing collaboration software will change the way your team works together. No tool will be the perfect fit for every team, so we’ve selected eight top options to consider.
1. Ziflow
Ziflow is the only collaboration platform designed for enterprise creative teams managing complex deliverables. We might sound biased, but whatever your digital marketing needs — whether you’re proofing PDFs, reviewing video ads, or mocking up web assets — Ziflow can help. Simply upload your files, assign reviewers, and implement their feedback within the platform, it’s really that easy.
Here are some additional features of Ziflow that make the platform stand out:
- Centralized location for all feedback with in-line commenting so feedback doesn’t get missed in lengthy email chains.
- Built-in markup tools ensure feedback is clear and actionable.
- Batch Review allows you to proof assets across various media types (with over 1,200 supported media types to choose from!) in one go.
- Integration with dozens of creative apps, including Asana, Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive, and ClickUp.
- Reduced regulatory compliance risk with structured feedback processes and automated notifications for review.
- Streamlined approval processes with automated workflows to keep your projects moving along seamlessly.
Pricing
Ziflow offers a free forever tier. Additional features are available at the Standard tier ($199/month) and Pro tier ($329/month), as well as personalized enterprise options.
2. Slack
Slack is an instant messaging tool for workspaces that simplifies team collaboration. It helps you stay connected in real time, making it perfect for remote teams. Custom channels allow you to carve out online water coolers, separate departmental chatter from general conversations, and quickly share files, send updates, or discuss deadlines with your team.
- Extensive integration capabilities make it possible to receive messages from your favorite apps all in one place.
- Private channels require viewing permissions, keeping proprietary information secure.
- Built-in audio and video calls reduce the need for other communication software.
Pricing
Slack offers a free plan with limited features. Small teams will benefit from their Pro plan ($7.25/month) or Business+ plan ($12.50/month). Enterprise plans are available to make the most of Slack’s full functionalities.
3. Asana
Asana is a comprehensive project management tool that helps teams manage tasks and oversee projects efficiently. Create goals, organize project tasks, and use custom fields and status updates to manage workflows. And with over 300 integrations, Asana seamlessly connects with other tools your team already relies on.
- Reporting dashboards keep all of your data visible, keeping expectations clear for all team members.
- Multiple views, from Kanban boards to Gantt views, help you to visualize projects easily.
- Straightforward automation options allow you to create rules, alleviating your bandwidth of mundane and time-consuming tasks.
Pricing
Personal Asana accounts are free and allow collaboration with up to 10 teammates. Larger teams, up to 500 teammates, can use the Starter plan ($10.00/month per user), and the Advanced plan ($24.99/month per user) offers access to Asana AI, up to 25,000 monthly automations, and time-tracking tools.
4. Canva
Make collaborating on digital assets simple with Canva. This online graphic design software allows you to create beautiful images, videos, and other marketing collateral. This is a fantastic choice for marketing teams that want to work together on designs and don’t need the full functionality of the Adobe Creative Suite.
- Collaborate with team members in real time.
- Templates provide great starting points for fast design work.
- Direct integration with social media platforms makes sharing a breeze.
Pricing
Canva’s free plan offers over 3 million stock photos and graphics to use in their simple drag-and-drop editor. For professionals, the Canva Pro plan ($120/year) offers access to premium graphics. Teams of three or more will enjoy the collaboration possibilities with Canva Teams ($100/year per person) or a personalized enterprise plan.
5. monday.com
For an all-in-one creative solution, monday.com is a popular option. This project management software allows you to track progress with organized task boards, build custom workflows, and connect with team members.
- Assign ownership to tasks and automate hand-offs with simple no-code rules to keep projects moving.
- Track due dates for marketing materials so that nothing gets lost in the shuffle.
- Visualize your projects in over 10 different views to maximize oversight of progress and deadlines.
Pricing
Free plans are available, offering two seats and up to three boards with unlimited docs. Functionality grows with paid plans, like the Basic ($9/month per user), Standard ($12/month per user), and Pro ($19/month per user). Higher-tier plans provide access to tools like time tracking, additional automations and integrations, and comprehensive dashboards.
6. Trello
For creative teams, Trello is a fantastic visual organizational tool. This Atlassian product is a flexible project management platform that encourages clear communication and masterful project orchestration.
- The timeline view keeps due dates visible across teams for maximum accountability.
- No-code automation options and integrations make this a great solution for complex teams hoping to trim down their manual tasks.
- Templates are a fantastic jumping point for board creation, so you spend less time setting up your workspace and more time completing projects.
Pricing
Trello offers a free team plan. Then, prices increase with the Standard plan ($5/month per user), Premium plan ($10/month per user), and an Enterprise plan with flexible pricing options.
7. Zoom
Zoom is a popular video conferencing solution, but its key features don’t stop there. With Zoom, your team stays connected with built-in chat features, a shared calendar, and meeting schedulers so your team can work closely together — even when working remotely.
- Video call with up to 300 participants, no matter their location.
- Use Team Chat to instant message your colleagues, quickly sharing important files and meeting notes.
- Whiteboard allows teams to brainstorm easily without ever leaving the app.
Pricing
Zoom’s free plan is perfect for the average user, but teams should consider their Pro plan ($13.32/month per user) for up to nine seats, or the Business plan ($18.32/month per user) for up to 250 seats. The Business Plus plan ($22.49/month per user) offers additional features, like cloud storage and translated captions.
8. Miro
Many creative teams are visual thinkers, which is where Miro shines. This visual workspace promotes real-time collaboration with countless ways to work together. Brainstorm without barriers, tear down silos, and craft visual workflows.
- Choose from over 2,500 templates to start projects quickly — from retrospectives to mind mapping and more.
- Reduce cross-departmental friction with a centralized location for all assets.
- Utilize their intuitive interface or integrate code for more complex solutions.
Pricing
Get up to three editable boards with Miro’s free plan. For more, consider their Starter plan ($8/month per user), Business plan ($16/month per user), or a custom enterprise solution.
Collaborate on marketing assets seamlessly with Ziflow
When searching for the perfect collaborative creative tool for your marketing team, keep software functionality, pricing, and scalability in mind. Finding the right software will help your team work more effectively, increase your output, and deliver better results.
Ziflow makes collaborating with your team easier than ever before. Ready to work together?
