Marketing Automation Hacks
B2B marketers are always pressed for time. Marketers build strategies, run programs, manage technologies and teams, so how do we make the most of our time? The goal is to be as efficient as possible while still producing a quality product. Work smarter, not harder.
Marketing Automation Platforms (MAPs) are often referred to as the “Swiss Army Knife” of technology. They are such a powerful tool that there aren’t many things that a robust MAP can’t enable. Modern marketers use MAPs to help streamline processes, reduce errors during production and there are a million and one hacks to make the most of this technology.
Here are a few marketing automation hacks you need to try:
Tokens-
In Marketo, tokens are variables for dynamic content that create a shortcut to a specific value. Tokens can be set for programs, campaigns, leads, etc. If you have common elements across emails, tokens are a great way to not only reduce error but reduce time for editing. If you need to change the value of a token you can do so once, instead of having to manually edit every asset in the instance.
The first name greeting in your emails is a great example of how you can use a lead level token to populate personalized content. However, as a best practice, be sure to set a default value for your lead level tokens in case the lead doesn’t have a value for what your token is referencing.
A blog post by RevEngine states “When used properly, program tokens cut down the time marketing spends creating programs in half (or more).”
Cloning-
Cloning gives users the ability to replicate programs, assets, and lists identically. It reduces the amount of time it takes to build out a program or an email, simply by cloning an existing program or email with identical features. Just be sure to update the information relevant to the new program or asset.
Also as a best practice, be sure to confirm that what you are cloning from has passed through quality assurance tests and is free of errors. If not, you could be cloning multiple mistakes into new programs and assets, therefore creating more work for yourself versus saving time.
Snippets-
Snippets can be a time saver in the production process. Snippets are sections of reusable code and can be used in any editable region of an email or landing page. This is ideal for commonly used elements across multiple assets. Instead of writing new code for each element on each email or landing page, you can use a Snippet to automate the coding across multiple assets.
As Litmus states, “With the help of snippets, you can build emails more easily – and more quickly – than ever before. Spend less time building and troubleshooting emails, and more time creating better email experiences for your subscribers.”
If you are not already utilizing these marketing automation time-savers, you should be. There are numerous resources that can not only explain more in detail what Tokens, Cloning, and Snippets are, but they can teach you how to implement them in your instance. Get some time back in your work week by improving your production process and becoming more efficient with these marketing automation hacks and work smarter, not harder.
Author: Sydney Gordon @SydneyDGordon Marketing Automation Production Associate, ANNUITAS
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