A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Automation

If you haven’t yet discovered the powers of marketing automation, what we’re about to tell you could totally transform your day-to-day work life. We know that as an entrepreneur, you’re constantly busy and there are a tonne of demands on your time. If you’re starting up your own web design business, you’ll have lots to think about and tasks to juggle – and marketing yourself is probably one of them.What’s more, you’ll likely be expected to give marketing advice to customers from time to time – and that’s ok. With our guide to marketing automation, you’ll soon understand what it is, how it can help you and have the inside track on a couple of marketing automation platforms to help you point your web design business clients in the right direction too. Let’s go!

So, what is marketing automation? Marketing automation is a piece of software, or a platform of services, that does some of the heavy lifting for you when it comes to managing multiple marketing platforms. The software will automate some of the tasks which are performed repeatedly – that could mean publishing a blog or posting a social media update, even replying to emails or sending out emails, such as those needed to thank a customer for their order and prompt them to go back and complete their abandoned cart purchase. What benefits does it bring? If you often find yourself struggling to find time to perform certain marketing tasks because you’re focused on running your business, you’ll find the right marketing automation platform to be a real time saver. Not only will it do some of the work for you, it will make dealing with email marketing, social media, blogging and other actions easier and less time consuming. This means they are more likely to get done, which translates to more consistency and a stronger brand presence.Which marketing automation platform should you choose?There are dozens of marketing automation services around and there is no one solution that suits everyone. It’s advisable to take a couple for a test drive to see which one works best for you. That said, there are a few that are consistently rated as being the best by users around the world so, why not start with one of these tried and trusted platforms first? Hubspot: Hubspot is the world’s leading inbound marketing platform and also offers a nifty automation option. It uses a workflow system to automate certain tasks – you can set up an email drip campaign for example and tailor email content and delivery so they are more personalised and more effective – all via automation. It will also help with everyday jobs such as blog and social media post scheduling and landing page creation. Marketo: Marketo has been a front running automation platform for several years. It is generally considered to be easy to set up and get to grips with. You can put it to work on tasks such as email marketing, lead nurturing, search and social media marketing and landing page creation. Act-On: Act-On is an award-winning marketing automation platform and one that’s designed for marketers rather than coders. That means an accessible, personable style. Great for fast growing businesses, it will help you to brand build and nurture leads, automating things like email and landing pages to drive better customer interactions.