The world is changing very quickly. There is more and more information noise, and we, marketers, are already starting to compete with each other for each customer. Now we need such experience and knowledge that old-school marketers could not even dream of! We must be creative geniuses, strategists, tacticians, and even big data analysts. They say that marketing is art and science in one bottle. And it is marketing automation that creates science.
Marketing automation on the Internet is represented by
software platforms that help marketers manage, scale and analyze their activities. (We talk about how to choose the right platform in the article “9 “innocent” misconceptions about marketing automation platforms”) The main idea of automation is to simplify and manage routine processes . These include Azerbaijan Email Database chains based on autoresponders, and planning posts in social media, and keyword searches, and big data analytics. Software can do all this, and faster and better than a person . Software performs processes, collects and analyzes data. And thanks to this, you can determine:
How are you doing compared to your competitors
What content (on networks, blogs, in email newsletters) is in demand and loved by your audience;
When your potential buyer is ready to make a purchase;
How your marketing initiatives impact your company’s revenue.
And finally, by automating routine tasks, you can focus on creative and innovative initiatives .
Renowned author, social media influencer, and blogger with millions of readers, Jeff Bullas talks about this and more in his ebook, 15 Reasons You Should Be Using Digital Marketing Automation . If you’re planning to learn and implement marketing automation in your company, or want to convince your boss that marketing automation is worth investing in, this book is for you!
So, we hand over to Jeff Bullas:
Introduction
Half a century ago, the art of marketing was about creating something bright and memorable. Ideas were born during cocktail parties and brainstorming sessions over lunch. The ideas were based on creativity, based on intuition. Marketing and advertising Buy Email Database List analytics was something of a joke. The main metrics were audience reach, the number of newspapers with ads sold and TV views. Big data analysts – such a profession did not yet exist. Computers and the Internet were something from the realm of science fiction. The only high technology available was radio; television was just emerging.
In the digital reality we live in now, great creatives create within the framework of high technology. This new reality is both amazing and frightening.
Marketing is now both a science and an art
If you are a marketer and want to keep up with the times, or if you run a business and want to dictate your rules and not be left behind, master marketing as a science.
At the same time, digital marketing is both a blessing and a curse. It’s new, it’s complex, it’s constantly evolving. But it’s digital marketing that will give you the scalability and analytics to calculate your return on investment (ROI), which was almost impossible in the past. Yes, it’s hard to master new technologies that will help you beat your competitors in our 24/7 world. But these robot platforms will be able to cut through the noise and give you insights about your customers and competitors. They will be able to show you what works and what doesn’t, in real time. So for you as marketers and your businesses, the choice is stark: new technologies or death.
What is Marketing Automation?
As technology evolved from mainframes to personal computers, software solutions were used primarily by accounting systems and business process management platforms. Payroll, HR, and inventory control were where the platforms came from. But technology for marketing services and departments did not exist in the past. Commercial departments had CRM systems to manage customer relationships, but marketing never had a voice at the high-tech table.
This is changing. In a world of so many
media channels, we need technology to scale and measure. Marketing teams now work with social media, internet and content marketing (in the past, advertising was often done by contractors – advertising agencies). Technology and digital tools are becoming a must for modern businesses and practical-minded entrepreneurs.
Digital marketing automation can take many forms: Mailing Data marketing, social media, and paid online advertising are just a small part of automation. The full list of such technologies and functionalities is too long and confusing. So what are the key reasons to implement, use, and optimize marketing automation systems in your business?
Key Reasons to Automate Marketing
The marketer of the past is more like Salvador Dali than Einstein. An artist… Well, now everything is different. Decisions that were previously made intuitively are now made based on real facts. And that is data. The new generation of marketers does not guess what to do next with marketing and content, but makes decisions based on software and big data.