How Marketing Automation Can Make Life Easier for You and Your Audience

There’s more to an effective marketing strategy than simply producing good content. That’s just part of the foundation. James Cameron’s job wasn’t done when he finished writing The Terminator. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was then faced with the even greater challenges of bringing the script to life and getting butts in the seats. Successfully marketing your business takes much of the same initiative. It involves a comprehensive and ongoing strategy that is constantly evolving alongside your audience and advancements in technology, among other things. Included in that ongoing process is a vast array of repetitive tasks that provide far too many monotonous hours and bottles of Advil. It can grow boring and feel like a waste of time and resources. Unless you’re utilizing marketing automation.

What is Marketing Automation?

Marketing automation is basically what it sounds like — a killer-robot that brainwashes the general public into buying your product. Just kidding. It’s actually a concept that allows you to automate repetitive marketing tasks to effectively and easily reach your target audience via multiple channels. So, basically a killer-robot. 

Marketing automation was originally focused on email marketing but has since grown to encompass a broad range of automation and analytics tools to help draw customers to your brand without much of the unnecessary legwork. You can now create content as far in advance as you’d like and then automate a one-time or recurring schedule to leverage said content and reach your audience with ease at the right time and with the right message. This has simplified modern marketing and added benefits to the business landscape as a direct result of greater technology.

What Are the Benefits of Marketing Automation?

A major upside of marketing automation is the time it saves that would otherwise be spent drafting and publishing content on a daily basis (or even more frequently than that). You’re instead able to draft and schedule content ahead of time so it publishes automatically while you’re focused on other tasks that may be more urgent or demanding, like meeting with clients or sweeping mines. It also saves time spent on targeting by storing recipient lists and habits and thus knowing who to reach. Marketing automation takes human error out of the equation, as well, by eliminating the need to rush content or manually coordinate timing and recipients. The scheduling and analytics features provide a clearer overall view of your marketing plan and allow you to better tailor your communication efforts moving forward.

What Are Some Other Uses for Marketing Automation?

The simplicity and intelligence of marketing automation allow businesses to streamline their sales processes by replacing high-touch, repetitive tasks with automated solutions that will assist in areas like lead generation, segmentation, retention, and more. When executed properly, this method will convert your time previously spent trying to reach a new audience into time spent engaging with your audience and strengthening relationships. It provides the ability to turn your prospects into customers and your customers into advocates. Ultimately, marketing automation provides better results while costing you less time and money.

Marketing automation can be used for both simple and complex tasks. Some examples of what you can do with a marketing automation platform include:

• Post scheduled content on your website or social media
• Send specific emails to specific users on specific days
• Process and nurture leads

When all is said and done, you might have a workflow that looks something like this:

Imagine having to do all that on your own for every new lead. Maybe it won’t be so bad when the computers take over! 

This is Only Part of a Successful Plan

Just as good content can’t stand on its own, neither can the automation of marketing tasks. No one’s going to care if your message is on time but looks like garbage. And a marketing automation platform doesn’t magically create new leads for you. Great marketing requires a solid foundation built around content, branding, quality products, and more, all working together to establish the best possible message from your business. It’s also important to note that marketing automation is not a “set it and forget it” solution. Your campaigns will still need to be tracked and updated to align with your audience’s evolving needs and behaviors. Fortunately, the right system will allow you to track all that and make changes with ease.

Add Marketing Automation to Your Strategy Right Now

Marketing automation eliminates many of the worst aspects of running a business and allows you to reach your audience more effectively in a fraction of the time. Contact Perrill today for full-service digital marketing expertise that will have your business booming like you’d never thought possible.