Picture this: You're a busy bee marketer, running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to keep up with all the different tasks on your to-do list. You're sending emails, posting on social media, creating landing pages, and keeping track of customer data, all while trying to come up with new and innovative ways to engage your audience. It's exhausting, isn't it?
Enter marketing automation! Marketing automation is the buzzword of the moment, and for good reason. It's like having your own personal marketing robot to take care of all those time-consuming tasks for you. Think of it as the ultimate multitasker, freeing up your time to focus on the creative, big-picture stuff.
We’re going to take a deep dive into the world of marketing automation. We'll cover everything from what marketing automation is and why it's important, to the different types of tools you can use for automation and real-life examples of how it's used. Plus, we'll give you some best practices for implementing marketing automation into your own marketing strategy. So sit back, relax, and let's get started!
The Importance of Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is not just a fancy tool, it's a game-changer. By automating repetitive tasks, you can save time and streamline your marketing efforts, allowing you to create more effective campaigns and achieve better results. Plus, it allows you to be more targeted and personalised with your messaging, leading to better engagement with your audience.
What is Marketing Automation?
Marketing automation is like having your very own superhero sidekick. It's a system that uses software and technology to automate repetitive marketing tasks and streamline your workflow. It allows you to create personalised and targeted campaigns, without sacrificing the precious time you need to come up with creative ideas.
Benefits of Marketing Automation
There are a ton of benefits to using marketing automation. First off, it can save you time and money. By automating tasks, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on manual tasks and increase your productivity. Plus, it can help you create more targeted and personalised campaigns, leading to better engagement and higher conversion rates.
Not only that, but marketing automation can help you stay organised and on top of your marketing efforts. By automating your campaigns, you can track your leads and customer data in real-time, giving you valuable insights into your audience and their behaviours.
Types of Marketing Automation
There are different types of marketing automation that you can use to streamline your marketing efforts.
Email marketing automation is a popular type of marketing automation that allows you to automate email campaigns. With email marketing automation, you can create personalised and targeted emails that are triggered based on specific actions or behaviours from your audience.
Social media automation is another type of marketing automation that can help you save time and increase your social media presence. With social media automation, you can schedule and publish posts in advance, monitor your social media engagement, and analyse your social media performance.
CRM automation is also a powerful tool that can help you manage your customer data and interactions. With CRM automation, you can automate customer communication, track customer interactions and behaviours, and manage your customer data in a centralised location.
Finally, landing page automation is another type of marketing automation that can help you create high-converting landing pages. With landing page automation, you can create and test landing pages, track your conversion rates, and optimise your landing pages for better performance.
In summary, marketing automation is a superhero that can save you time, increase your productivity, and create targeted and personalised campaigns. By using different types of marketing automation, you can streamline your marketing efforts and achieve better results.
Marketers can use Zapier (and other similar automation tools like IFTTT, Microsoft Power Automate, and Integromat) to automate various tasks and workflows across different platforms without requiring any coding knowledge. Here are some examples of how marketers can use Zapier:
Automate lead capture: Marketers can use Zapier to automatically capture leads from different sources, such as contact forms on their website or social media platforms, and add them to their CRM or email marketing software.
Social media management: Marketers can use Zapier to automate their social media workflows, such as automatically posting new blog content to social media platforms or creating new social media posts from RSS feeds.
Email marketing automation: Marketers can use Zapier to automate their email marketing campaigns, such as automatically sending welcome emails to new subscribers or sending targeted emails based on specific actions or behaviours.
Task management: Marketers can use Zapier to automate their task management workflows, such as automatically creating tasks in project management tools like Trello or Asana when a new lead is added to their CRM.
Analytics and reporting: Marketers can use Zapier to automate their analytics and reporting workflows, such as automatically creating reports in Google Sheets or Excel when certain criteria are met.
Overall, Zapier and its competitors provide a simple and efficient way for marketers to automate their workflows and save time and resources. By automating repetitive tasks, marketers can focus on more strategic initiatives that drive results for their business but Zapier isn’t the only automation solution.
Tools for Marketing Automation
Email marketing automation tools are like having your own personal email assistant. They allow you to automate your email campaigns, saving you time and ensuring that your messages are delivered at the right time to the right people.
With email marketing automation tools, you can create targeted email campaigns that are triggered based on specific actions or behaviours from your audience. For example, you can send a welcome email to new subscribers, a promotional email to customers who have abandoned their carts, or a re-engagement email to subscribers who haven't opened your emails in a while
An example of email automation is a welcome email series. Let's say you have a new subscriber to your email list. With email automation, you can set up a series of emails that are automatically sent to the new subscriber over a period of time, welcoming them to your brand and introducing them to your products or services.
There are many email marketing automation tools available:
Mailchimp - Mailchimp is a popular email marketing automation tool that is known for its ease of use and intuitive interface. It offers a wide range of features, including email design templates, segmentation tools, and advanced analytics.
HubSpot - HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing platform that includes email marketing automation tools, as well as social media management, CRM, and content marketing tools. It offers a variety of automation features, including lead nurturing, list segmentation, personalisation, and sales automation tools
ActiveCampaign - ActiveCampaign is a robust email marketing automation tool that offers a variety of advanced features, including automation workflows, predictive sending, and dynamic content. It is well-suited for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It’s an all-in-one marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, CRM, and sales automation tools.
ConvertKit - ConvertKit is an email marketing automation tool that is designed specifically for bloggers and content creators. It offers features such as email sequencing, visual automation builders, and landing pages.
Constant Contact - Constant Contact is an email marketing automation tool that is geared towards small businesses. It offers a variety of features, including email design templates, automation workflows, and reporting tools.
Marketo - Marketo is a marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, lead management, and analytics tools.
Pardot - Pardot is a marketing automation platform designed for B2B companies that includes email marketing, lead management, and lead scoring tools.
Infusionsoft - Infusionsoft is a marketing automation platform designed for small businesses that includes email marketing, CRM, and e-commerce tools.
Eloqua - Eloqua is a marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, lead management, and analytics tools.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud - Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, social media management, and analytics tools.
Autopilot - Autopilot is a marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, lead management, and customer journey mapping tools.
Sendinblue - Sendinblue is an all-in-one marketing automation platform that includes email marketing, SMS marketing, and CRM tools.
These are just a few examples of the many email marketing automation tools available. When choosing a tool, it's important to consider your business's unique needs and budget.
Social Media Marketing Automation Tools
Social media marketing automation tools are like having your own social media manager. They allow you to schedule and publish posts in advance, monitor your social media engagement, and analyse your social media performance.
With social media marketing automation tools, you can create a content calendar and schedule your posts in advance, ensuring that you have a consistent presence on social media. You can also monitor your social media engagement and respond to comments and messages in real time. Plus, you can analyse your social media performance to identify areas for improvement and optimise your social media strategy.
An example of social media marketing automation is scheduling your social media posts in advance. Let's say you want to create a social media content calendar for the upcoming month. With social media marketing automation tools, you can schedule your posts in advance, ensuring that your social media channels are consistently updated with fresh content.
There are many social media marketing automation tools available, each with its own unique features and pricing. Here are a few popular options:
Hootsuite - Hootsuite is a popular social media management tool that offers a variety of automation features, including scheduling and publishing social media posts, monitoring and responding to social media messages, and generating reports.
Buffer - Buffer is a social media management tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. It also offers advanced features such as social media analytics and team collaboration tools.
Sprout Social - Sprout Social is a social media management tool that offers a variety of automation features, including social media scheduling, content curation, and audience engagement tools. It also offers robust analytics and reporting tools to help you track your social media performance.
AgoraPulse - AgoraPulse is a social media management tool that offers automation features such as social media scheduling, social media monitoring, and audience engagement tools. It also offers a variety of collaboration and reporting tools to help you manage your social media presence more effectively.
CoSchedule - CoSchedule is a marketing automation tool that offers a variety of features, including social media scheduling, content planning, and analytics. It is well-suited for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
CRM Automation Tools
CRM automation tools are like having your own personal assistant to manage your customer data and interactions. They allow you to automate customer communication, track customer interactions and behaviours, and manage your customer data in a centralised location.
With CRM automation tools, you can automate your customer communication, ensuring that your customers receive timely and relevant messages. You can also track customer interactions and behaviours, allowing you to identify patterns and trends in your customer data. Plus, you can manage your customer data in a centralised location, making it easy to access and use for your marketing campaigns.
An example of CRM automation is setting up a triggered email campaign based on specific customer behaviour or actions. For instance, let's say you have an e-commerce store, and a customer abandons their cart without completing the purchase.
With CRM automation, you can set up an automated email campaign that is triggered when a customer abandons their cart. The email campaign might include a reminder message that encourages the customer to return to their cart and complete their purchase. It could also include a special discount code to incentivise the customer to complete their purchase.
By setting up this automated email campaign with CRM automation, you can ensure that the customer receives a timely and personalised message that is tailored to their specific behaviour. This can help to increase the chances that they will return to their cart and complete their purchase, ultimately improving your conversion rate and revenue. Plus, by automating this process, you can save time and resources that would otherwise be spent manually following up with each customer who abandons their cart.
There are several CRM (Customer Relationship Management) automation tools available in the market. Here are a few popular options:
HubSpot - HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform that offers CRM automation features such as lead scoring, contact management, and sales automation.
Salesforce - Salesforce is a popular CRM tool that offers automation features such as lead management, sales forecasting, and customer support automation.
Zoho CRM - Zoho CRM is a cloud-based CRM tool that offers automation features such as lead management, contact management, and sales process automation.
Pipedrive - Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM tool that offers automation features such as deal tracking, sales forecasting, and contact management.
Insightly - Insightly is a CRM tool that offers automation features such as lead management, contact management, and project management.
ActiveCampaign - ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation tool that also offers CRM features such as lead management, contact management, and sales automation.
Landing Page Automation Tools
Landing page automation tools are like having your own personal landing page designer. They allow you to create high-converting landing pages, test your landing pages, and optimise your landing pages for better performance.
With landing page automation tools, you can create landing pages that are designed to convert visitors into leads or customers. You can also test your landing pages to identify which elements are working and which elements need to be improved. Plus, you can optimise your landing pages for better performance, ensuring that you're getting the most out of your marketing campaigns.
In summary, there are a variety of marketing automation tools available to help streamline your marketing efforts. Whether you need help with email marketing, social media marketing, CRM management, or landing page optimisation, there's a tool out there to help you. So why not let these tools be your own personal assistants, saving you time and ensuring that your marketing campaigns are as effective as possible?
An example of landing page automation is setting up personalised landing pages for different customer segments. For instance, let's say you have an e-commerce store that sells a variety of products to different customer segments, such as men, women, and children.
There are many landing page automation tools available, each with its own unique features and pricing. Here are a few popular options:
Unbounce - Unbounce is a landing page builder that allows you to create and test custom landing pages without any coding knowledge. It also offers features such as A/B testing, dynamic text replacement, and lead capture forms.
Leadpages - Leadpages is a landing page builder that offers a variety of customisable landing page templates, as well as features such as A/B testing, lead capture forms, and analytics.
ClickFunnels - ClickFunnels is a marketing automation tool that offers features such as landing page creation, lead capture forms, and sales funnel automation.
Instapage - Instapage is a landing page builder that offers a variety of customisable landing page templates, as well as features such as A/B testing, lead capture forms, and analytics.
Wishpond - Wishpond is a marketing automation tool that offers features such as landing page creation, lead capture forms, and marketing automation workflows.
Examples of Marketing Automation
Marketing automation isn't just a bunch of fancy words - it's a powerful tool that can help you save time, increase engagement, and boost your bottom line. Here are some examples of marketing automation that you can use to supercharge your digital marketing efforts:
Welcome Emails
Welcome emails are a great way to make a strong first impression with new subscribers to your email list. With marketing automation, you can set up a series of welcome emails that are automatically sent to new subscribers, welcoming them to your brand and introducing them to your products or services. From there, you can nurture these new subscribers with targeted emails that keep them engaged and interested in what you have to offer.
Abandoned Cart Emails
It's a sad truth of e-commerce: sometimes customers add items to their cart and then...poof! They disappear without making a purchase. But fear not! With marketing automation, you can set up abandoned cart emails that are triggered when a customer leaves items in their cart without completing their purchase. These emails can remind the customer of what they left behind, offer them a special promotion or discount, and ultimately persuade them to come back and complete their purchase.
Drip Campaigns
Drip campaigns are a series of targeted emails that are sent to customers over time, with the goal of nurturing them towards a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. With marketing automation, you can set up drip campaigns that are triggered based on specific customer behaviours or characteristics, such as visiting a certain page on your website, or being a member of a particular segment of your customer base.
Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is the process of assigning a numerical value to a customer based on their behaviour and engagement with your brand. With marketing automation, you can use lead scoring to automatically track and analyse customer behaviours, such as opening emails, clicking links, and visiting your website. From there, you can assign a score to each customer that reflects their level of engagement and interest in your brand, and use that information to target your marketing efforts towards the most promising leads.
Social Media Scheduling
Social media is a powerful marketing tool, but it can also be time-consuming and overwhelming to manage. With marketing automation, you can use social media scheduling tools to plan and schedule your social media posts in advance, ensuring that your social media channels are always up-to-date with fresh and engaging content.
Personalisation
Personalisation is the key to effective marketing, and with marketing automation, you can personalise your marketing efforts in a variety of ways. For example, you can use personalisation to tailor your emails and landing pages to specific customer segments, or to show targeted ads to customers based on their behaviour and interests. Personalisation can help you create a more engaging and relevant experience for your customers, which can ultimately lead to higher engagement and conversions.
Let's recap the key points we covered:
Marketing automation is the use of technology to streamline and automate repetitive marketing tasks.
It can be used for a variety of tasks, including email marketing, social media management, and customer relationship management.
Marketing automation can help you save time, improve efficiency, and deliver a better customer experience.
There are many tools available for marketing automation, including email marketing automation tools, social media marketing automation tools, CRM automation tools, and landing page automation tools.
Examples of marketing automation include welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, drip campaigns, lead scoring, social media scheduling, and personalisation.
Now that you know the basics of marketing automation, it's time to put it into action! Here's a call to action for you: Take some time to evaluate your current marketing strategy and identify areas where marketing automation could be helpful. Then, choose a tool or platform to get started and begin experimenting with automation.
In conclusion, marketing automation is an essential tool for any digital marketer. By using it correctly, you can improve your efficiency, save time, and deliver a better customer experience. We hope this introduction has been helpful, and we wish you all the best in your marketing automation journey!