Marketing automation has become an essential part of successful online marketing. Yet many of you out there may not completely understand this concept, falling prey to a number of incorrect misconceptions about the use of marketing automation software. Before discounting automation and the many rewards it can bring, you should learn the truth behind these misconceptions.
Automated Marketing is Not Spam
Many people confuse automated marketing campaigns with spam campaigns; however, they are actually quite different. The main distinction is that spam is unsolicited. Marketing emails are an "opt-in" by the user with an option that allows the user to "opt-out" at any time. In addition, not all marketing automation is promotional.
Many of the communications sent to users are informative and educational such as newsletters, links to informational downloads, whitepapers, and other useful information; however, the goal of spam is a hard sell on the spot. The objective of any good automated marketing campaign should be to develop a positive relationship with the user, who will hopefully purchase something from you at some point in the future.
Marketing Automation - More Than Email Marketing
Although email plays a significant part in marketing campaigns, marketing automation software does more than simply send out emails. This software enables marketers to create and manage emails, blog and article posting, social media posts, and many other elements in the process.
It also permits filtering and targeting as well as tracks user engagement and responses to produce more fine-tuned messages to send to each individual user based on their specific needs and interests.
Automation is Not Impersonal
When properly managed, marketing automation is anything but impersonal since one of its main goals is to generate personalized responses to user actions. As mentioned previously, this software can be programmed to filter and target users in a variety of ways. It will then respond to each user differently based on interest, actions, and how they engaged with the company’s web and social media sites.
Automation Software Cannot Run Itself
The biggest automation misconception of all is that someone can “set” marketing automation software, then forget it and go on to do other things. While the purpose of this software is to allow you to do more in less time so you can develop better campaigns, it also requires continuous monitoring and input along with frequent adjustments based on campaign results.
Automation does the actual work in delivering material to users according to pre-assigned parameters and schedules; however, every function it performs must be carefully planned. Automation software is also used for A/B testing, which consists of trying and tweaking different marketing strategies to determine which ones are effective.
Marketing automation can help stretch your time further so you can spend more time researching and analyzing to create better marketing plans. It is so much more than the common misconceptions may lead you to believe. Still, in order to obtain the best results with any marketing automation software, it is essential that you learn the full capabilities of your software and take advantage of all its functions!
