Author: Franz Malten Buemann

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Not all the content you create has to be 100% original.
Mind-blowing, right? And for you inbound marketers plagued by the incessant demands of content creation, maybe also a little comforting? Now before some of you say “But content curation is lazy.” and “Content curation is why there is so much stuff on the internet,” hear me out.

Sure, curated content is a collection of other people’s content and resources from around the web. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be valuable. Just think about a collection of mint-condition vintage toys. Each toy that comprises the collection is valuable in and of itself — but a collection of many is even more valuable.
We’re going to walk you through how to compile a valuable curated blog post in this post. So, keep reading or jump to the section you’re looking for.

What is curated content?
How to Create a Curated Blog
Content Curation Tips
Curated Content Examples

Curating is a process that’s best known in the art world. Curators choose, organize, and exhibit the work of different artists in galleries and museums. These exhibits usually come together under a common theme or idea.
Curated content follows a similar process. Content curators collect content that aligns with a specific topic, area of interest, or theme. They can use these groups of content to:

Add context to new ideas
Make comments on trends
Highlight the best new content in their niche or industry

Why is content curation useful?
Managing a content calendar is tough. According to HubSpot research, keeping up with the latest trends is a major struggle. For example, 22% of marketers worry about creating engaging content for social media.
Curating content is a proven tactic for generating new and relevant content. It’s a super time and budget saver, but that’s not all. Content curation can help brands develop thought leadership and add diverse perspectives. It can introduce your audience and team to new ideas and help you fill your editorial calendar with useful and exciting content.
But content curation is more than resharing or copying whatever there is to find online. If all you’re doing is quickly throwing together a few pieces of subpar content, then yes, content curation can be lazy. But take the time to curate a lot of valuable pieces of content, and you’ll end up with a collection that’s valuable to both the content consumer and yourself.
Because not only does curation save you the step of creating content from scratch, but it also gives the viewer all that awesome content in one place. Great content curation should complement the original content that comes from your brand. It’s a way to highlight your brand’s role in wider industry conversations. And here’s another thing: Curated content also has a lot of potential to rank well in search. Talk about a win-win-win.
Curating content can add powerful value for your audience. But how can you curate content for your blog? Let’s review the process step-by-step.

How to Create a Curated Blog
Before you start reading, download the free blog post templates so you can follow along and easily create curated posts for your own blog. And don’t forget to check out our additional tips for creating curated blog content at the bottom of this post.
For this post, we’re going to use the “Newsjacking” blog post template. Got your template? Great! Let’s get started.
Plan Your Curated Blog Post
First, take several minutes to plan what you want to write about so that you can stay on topic and keep your readers engaged.
1. Identify Your Audience
Which buyer persona are you writing this blog post for? Complete this field in your template.

2. Identify Your Key Takeaway
What do you want your audience to learn after reading your curated blog post? How do you want to offer unique value with your curated content? You can write quick notes for this section.
3. Identify Which Types of Content You Want to Curate
What content matters to your audience that you don’t have the time or resources to create? Take a look at these ideas for high-performing blog posts. Then jot down the content types or resources you can curate to support your post ideas. Are they videos? Slideshows? Charts and graphs? Links to articles or ebooks?
4. Brainstorm a Few Possible Titles
You don’t have to pick the perfect title before you finish your blog post, but it helps to jot down a few ideas to help keep you focused during the writing process.
At HubSpot, we call this a working title — a title that you can “work” off of that guides your post. This technique can also help you resist the urge to ramble off in a million different directions. Once the post is complete, we usually fine-tune it to ensure the title accurately reflects the post content, grabs potential readers’ attention, and is optimized for search.
Use the space in your template to craft a few possible blog post titles, and then choose one as your working title. Don’t worry about finalizing your title until you’re finished writing and curating.
Featured resources:

Headline ideas for traffic
SEO titles

5. Create an Outline
The typical curated content post consists of:

An introduction: sets the stage for what you plan to address through your collection of curated content
A body: expands on every bullet, list item, step, and example in a logical order
A conclusion: wraps up your post with a brief statement that’s reflective of what your readers just learned

What are all the bullet points you need to cover to introduce your compilation, explain each point, and remind the reader what they just learned? Use these questions to help you create an outline in your template.
Create Your Curated Blog Post
6. Write Your Blog Post
Write the Introduction
When writing your introduction, you want to keep one question top of mind: How can I establish credibility and get my audience to care about the resources I plan to share with them?
Feel free to leave the introduction for last, too. Sometimes it’s easier to introduce your post after you’ve written the real meat of it. When you do write your intro, here’s how we recommend going about it, using this post about motivational Ted talks as an example:

Note: The template content we’ve provided here is not intended to be copied and pasted into every blog post you write. That results in duplicate content for which you’ll be seriously punished in the SERPs.
These templates simply help you start putting pen to paper — or cursor to screen — and help you think through the structure and process of a curated blog post to make the whole writing experience far less painful. We encourage you to incorporate your own original copy.
Write the Body
Remember: The body should follow through with what you promised in the introduction. Your body can be written in paragraphs, with bullets, numbered lists, multiple headings, or a mix of any of these. Feel free to make use of whichever format is easiest for you given the types of content you’re curating.

Just be cognizant of these questions: How many examples do I need to include to make this post valuable to readers? How in-depth do I need to go into each example to make them easier to understand? Can I add any visuals that will make my post easier for my readers to understand and consume?
Write the Conclusion
Your conclusion is where you’ll paraphrase the key takeaway you outlined earlier in the planning stages and/or prompt your reader with a question. Check out this example from a blog post about LinkedIn bio examples:

7. Link to Additional Resources Within Your Post
Sometimes it’s hard to say everything you want to say about a single topic in one post. This is why it’s helpful to your readers to find extra resources you can link to for more detail or credibility.
Linking to other blog posts or pages on your site can result in increased visibility in search engines, page views, and time on site. Besides the links to the third-party content you’re curating, think about what other resources you can reference to strengthen the points made in your post, and then place those links in your post.
When you insert your blog post copy into your blogging platform, create hyperlinks for these resources where they fit best.
8. Finalize Your Title
Revisit your working title and see if you can make it more accurate, specific, sexy, concise, and SEO-optimized.
Need help? Check out this post on writing perfect page titles. Then, put your finalized title in the field on your template.
9. Choose a Call-to-Action (CTA)
At the end of your post, what action do you want your readers to take? Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Request more information? Tweet something? Download something? Buy something? Ideally, the action is relevant to the content they just read. For help choosing the perfect CTA for every blog post, check out this list of CTA examples. Once you’ve figured out what you want people to do after they read your post, you should add that to your template.

10. Editing is Important
Everyone can use a second set of eyes to look over their post before putting it out into the world, so have a friend or colleague look it over. Another thing that will help? This ultimate editing checklist.
Prep Your Blog Post for Publishing
11. Add Your Blog Post to Your Blogging Platform
Now that you’ve gone through the exercise of outlining and writing your blog post, you’ll want to prepare it for publishing.

A simple way to do this is to select and copy your finalized title and all your blog post body copy and paste it into a text editor like Microsoft Notepad or TextEdit on a Mac. Pasting into one of these programs strips your copy of all formatting.
This way, when you copy and paste it from the text editor into your blogging platform of choice, the formatting you apply within your blogging platform should render correctly. That being said, after pasting this into your platform, you should triple-check that your formatting carried over.
Now’s the time to make your blog post more scannable by using:

Headers
Bold text for key points
Hyperlinks
Images
Embedded content like videos and slideshows

Also, if your CTA is a button, don’t forget to add that to your post, too.
12. Add an Image
Every blog post should have an image. At HubSpot, we include at least one photo or image in every post we publish so that A) The content is more visual, and B) When the blog post is shared through social media channels, it’s accompanied by a thumbnail image to entice a clickthrough.
Take a look at our free bundles of downloadable stock photos (general and holiday) to see if any of these royalty-free images will do the trick for you. If you want help deciding which photo to use, check out this quick post about choosing the perfect image for your next blog post. You may also want to check out this article on image SEO.
13. Optimize Your Post for Search
If you’ve spent all this time collecting and annotating your curated content, you’ll want to make sure your post is easily discoverable in search engines. Check out our post about blog SEO for tips on how to do just that.
14. Publish Your Curated Blog

Publish your post, and start tracking its performance.
Content curation objectives should focus on keeping your audience engaged with value-added content. It can help drive increased, pass-along awareness for other brands. These tips will help you make the most of your curated content.
With that in mind, here’s what we recommend for more effective content curation.
1. Keep it high-quality and relevant.
No matter what type of content you’re curating, quality and relevance should always apply. No one wants to access a list of 10 mediocre industry blogs. They want the best. So, the individual content elements you curate should represent the utmost level of quality. You should also explain what criteria you’re using to judge that quality.
Remember: Quality is what separates valuable content curation from mediocre content curation.
Stay reasonably focused on a small handful of themes, but make sure your curated content also reflects the human element.
For example, most curated content on HubSpot focuses on sales, marketing, services, and website development. But you’ll also see content about conversation starters, boredom cures, emojis, and more.
It’s also important to make sure the content you’re curating is relevant to your audience. That aggregated list of funny viral videos may be funny, but if you’re not in the business of humor or marketing, it might not belong on your blog.
2. Pull from a consistent set of sources.
You can find good content just about anywhere. But it can streamline your process if you keep a core set of sources you can count on for consistently good content. You may also want to curate your sources of similarly-themed content.
Before you begin curating, be sure to bookmark a handful of great marketing examples. Topical aggregation sites and newsletters are also great for this. These sources often pull from a wider variety of sources than you may find on your own.
3. Use an automated queuing and distribution system.
This technology helps offer a one-click, easy-to-curate process so you can queue content from your browser.
Many of these tools are customizable. So, you can decide what you want to automate and how to make the most of your content workflow. Any tool that makes it easy to pick content to curate, quickly choose which channels to publish it through, and then automatically space it out over days and weeks is preferable. It’s also helpful to have tools that can help you track how your content is performing.
Featured resources:

Content distribution tools
Marketing automation software

4. Always give credit back to the original creator.
Since curation involves borrowing content from another creator, you absolutely must attribute and link to the original source. Here’s a guide to proper attribution in blog content.
This act of professional respect could also drive more reciprocation and curation of your own content as a result.
5. Post on multiple channels.
Post across channels to increase reach and awareness growth. Multi-channel marketing and cross-posting are essential to content success. This approach can help you save time and make the most of your resources.
That said, don’t go overboard on this (as in, don’t post to 50 LinkedIn groups three times a day). But don’t be afraid to curate good content across social media, blogs, and newsletters at the same time.
6. Figure out a schedule for your curated content.
Content marketing sometimes feels like driving by a house at 35 miles an hour and trying to throw a newspaper into the mailbox. Sometimes it’ll get in, but most of the time it won’t.
You may need to play the numbers game a bit so that a small percentage of your curated content reaches and impacts your intended audience. That said, you can also target the right message to the right audience with a content calendar. This written schedule can help you figure out when to post your favorite content.
For example, if you’re using an automatic distribution system, like a social media calendar tool, you don’t need to find and post new content every day.
To keep your process efficient, plan to schedule posts two or three times a week. This will give you time to go through your reading material and queue up new and interesting stuff.
7. Make instant curation one-click easy from your browser.
There is so much content to consume online that it can be easy to get overwhelmed. But there are ways that you can make your collection process easier and more enjoyable.
Use content curation tools that let you post one-click curated content from anywhere you happen to be reading. You can increase your curating by 2-3 pieces a day this way.
8. Use team tools to increase contributions.
Content curation is sometimes a solo act, but you can create a more diverse and exciting voice for your brand if you bring in other members of your team.
Team collaboration tools make it easy for teammates to suggest their favorite content. It’s also a great way to cut down the time you’d spend curating everything yourself. To make sure that you have a constant stream of new ideas from your team, you may want to create assignments or prompts.
For example, if you want to expand developer content in your curation, ask an engineer on your team to send their favorites once a week. Adding an invite to their calendar can be an easy reminder that simplifies the process for both of you.
9. Spread out posts from the same consistently-good sources.
There are probably a handful of blogs and sources you read on a regular basis. If they have consistently great stuff, they may show up in your content creation more than you intend.
So, stay aware of those habits and try to space them out a bit. Make a point of adding new inspiration to your sources at least once a month. Curating a variety of sources adds to the comprehensiveness and value of your curated blog.
10. Prioritize content from partners and prospects.
As you curate, make an impression on the people you care about most. Content curation is a chance to show your partners and collaborators that you’re paying attention. It’s also a simple way to show that you appreciate their content.
If you’re still building your co-marketing, start by contacting complementary brands. Curating content from brands you appreciate is a great way to begin new partnerships. You can also use your analytics to find your top referrals, talk to customers, or contact members of your team to find new content partners.
11. Add value.
Content curation is more than a quick repost. It’s using other creators’ content as a jumping-off point to build extra value for your audience.
For example, this collection of famous quotes is more than a compilation of inspirational quotations. It breaks the quotes into useful sections for quicker and easier application in marketing. The offer also includes 20+ image templates to effortlessly make these quotes appealing to the eyes. The templates are in square, horizontal, and vertical formats for use in a variety of channels.

It usually isn’t enough just to aggregate. A blog post that lists these quotes probably wouldn’t be as useful. By adding value, you create something brand new that builds on great content that already exists.

Curated Content Examples
HubSpot
HubSpot has more than a useful blog for marketing, sales, service, and website knowledge. It offers how-to guides, product reviews, and original research. The blog is also a great resource for trends and thought leadership.

If you’re still looking for more curated content inspiration, these HubSpot resources are a great place to start:

The Hustle
The Hustle Daily Show podcast
My First Million YouTube channel

The Marginalian
Formerly Brain Pickings, this blog is one of the best-known visions of curated content online. This site combines inspiration from art, science, and literature through the lens of its creator, Maria Popova.

Some of its top posts include:

Joan Didion on Keeping a Notebook
The Gashlycrumb Tinies: A Very Gorey Alphabet Book
What the Popeye Mythology Teaches Us about How Error Spreads

Sparktoro Trending

Sparktoro’s tools focus on audience intelligence, but this side project also offers a lot of value for content curators. It tracks hot topics in marketing based on the number of shares from people in the industry.
HuffPost

This news aggregator has had a pulse on celebrity ideas since 2005. The political sections of this site tend to get the most notice, but the scale of this curated blog makes it a great source of ideas for any curious creator.
but does it float

This curated blog of visual content is a rich resource. Full of photography, illustration, design, and other creative inspiration, this site is a constant source for visual trend-seekers. This is also a good example of content curation from multiple points of view since the blog has two curators.
Buzzfeed

Buzzfeed has been a source of inspiration for curated lifestyle blogs since 2006. With its popular listicles, quizzes, and pop culture stories, it’s also a great source of user-generated content.
If you’re looking for more blog curation examples, check out these lists of the best sales and customer service blogs.
Content Curation Isn’t Just for Blogs and Social Media
Curated content is a simple and fun way to develop engaging and useful content for your audience. It’s a strategy for promoting ideas from your network, an option to keep up with trends, and a solution for the blank spaces in your editorial calendar. So start collecting and adding your own value and insights. You never know what the next secret to growth might be.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How and where do you start when creating a brand new social media channel for your business? #AskBuffer— Jake Pryszlak (@Jakepryszlak) October 19, 2022

It’s a given that social media can drive online awareness for your business, but with the various sites out there, you may be wondering how to efficiently get started when leveraging a social channel for your brand. We received a great user question on this very topic and will try our best to answer it in this edition of #AskBuffer.Along with covering how exactly to start a new social media account for your business, we’ll provide tips that’ll help you make the most out of that channel as well.What to consider when creating a new social channelSetting up a new social channel for your business may feel a bit overwhelming at first, but with the proper preparation, you can have a successful account. Here are some things to consider before you create your new channel.Figure out where your audience isThere are a ton of potential options when choosing which social media site to be active on. From Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok, it’s not always realistic for one business to be posting on five different channels. Instead, you want to be very deliberate when choosing the top-priority social network for your business.To figure out what this main channel should be, you need to learn where your audience spends most of their time online. And in order to do that, you need to have a good idea of your target market. Here are some questions that can help you do so:How old are the people you are trying to reach?Where are they located?What are their pain points?What are their hobbies, interests, and passions?Once you have a clear understanding of the demographic you’re interested in, it’s time to do some research and find their favorite social channels. While it’s true that most individuals are active on several platforms, the data suggests that certain demographics prefer specific sites.For example, Gen Z users are super active on TikTok, YouTube, and even Snapchat, whereas 24 to 34-year-olds make up nearly 40 percent of both Twitter and Instagram users.Picking a channel your audience already frequents ensures you’re being strategic and efficient with your social media posting, and reaching the people you’re most interested in. .Pinpoint the type of content you want to shareOnce you’ve selected which social platform you’ll be using, it’s time to brainstorm ideas for posts. Here are some suggestions for generating content.Create content that fits the platformThe type of media you create will depend on the platform you choose. For example, if your community is on TikTok, you’ll need to create videos, whereas if your priority channel is Twitter, you’d come up with text ideas for tweets and Twitter threads. For Instagram, you’d likely be creating a mix of video and photo content.A good way of gauging what will perform well on a certain channel is to spend time on it yourself! Check out what’s trending and follow some accounts that interest you. Browsing through other content creators’ work can inspire your own creativity.Establish content pillarsContent pillars are topics or themes that can be used to generate posts. They should be relevant to your audience while also connecting back to your brand principles.At Buffer, our content pillars include remote work, social media strategies, our culture, and highlighting sustainable and ethical brands. If you browse our blog and social media channels, you’ll see that most of our content revolves around these core themes.Another way to look at this is to think about what you want to share as a content creator. It can include the following:Helpful adviceIndustry trendsBehind-the-scenes insightsDeep dives into your services or productsQuestions for your followersLong-form contentIt’s not realistic to talk about everything on your account, and oftentimes individuals will follow you because of your specific niche. Therefore, it’s a good idea to come up with three to four content pillars and brainstorm ideas from there.Call out: Have a content idea that you want to play around with? Use Buffer’s Ideas feature to tweak your work until you get it right.Let your brand voice inform your contentYour brand voice is the way you come across to your audience as a content creator. This voice can help inform the type of content you want to share because it includes your company’s core values and principles.For example, if your brand voice is educational, you may want to share content that is more explanatory and informative on social media. If your brand voice is fun and silly, you may post more humorous TikToks and Reels.Don’t think of your brand voice as something that boxes you in, but rather a way to create content that really aligns with your goals as a creator.Think about ways to repurpose your contentAs you’re exploring ideas for social media, we recommend repurposing content. While tailoring content for each platform is a great way to really thrive on a given channel, you can always repurpose your content to fit any social media platform.TikToks can easily turn into Instagram Reels. Static graphics can become video content. Tweets can even be repurposed into images – we recommend Remix for doing this in seconds!Repurposing content is a great way to extend the life span of social media content on your channel.Have a plan for creating and sharing your contentTo really succeed on social media, you need to post consistently. You don’t want to promote a social channel only to use it sporadically. But to post frequently, you need to have a plan to generate and share your content.Gathering the tools and services you’ll need to create and distribute your social media content will help you stay ahead of the game. Here are some of the main tools you’ll want to consider:Image creation: Much of social media consists of aesthetically pleasing images, and luckily there are tons of options when it comes to creating these graphics. Canva is a great service that generates professional-looking images. Pablo and Remix are also convenient options.Video editing: When it comes to video editing services, many social platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, have native video features that are easy to use. We recommend familiarizing yourself with these features until you get the hang of them. If you’re looking for other options, here’s a list of video editing softwares.Scheduling: Getting your posts out into the world is the most important part of this equation! Instead of taking time out of your busy day to upload your various media, write your captions, and publish your posts, we recommend using a tool to schedule these posts in advance. Buffer can do just that for you and more. Start for free today!We also recommend content batching as a way to ensure you always have posts ready to go. With this strategy, you’re essentially working on multiple posts at a given time. By creating content in batches, you’ll be saving time and energy and will end up with weeks worth of content you can schedule in advance.Understand how social media algorithms workTo improve the likelihood of your posts being seen in your followers’ feeds, it’s best to have a solid understanding of social media algorithms. The algorithm can be thought of as rules and guidelines specific to a certain platform that decides which content will be shown on a social media feed and in what order.While every social media site has its own unique algorithm, some best practices are relevant for all social platforms, including:Being an active account that posts original content regularlyUsing trending hashtags and audioEngaging with others on the platformsThis includes replying to comments you receive on your posts, but also interacting with content posted by othersKeeping your videos short and to the point, specifically for Reels and TikToksThe algorithms are complex and depend on multiple factors – including a user’s individual behavior – but some factors are in your control and knowing how to effectively leverage them can improve the chances your content will be seen by your audience.Call out: Finding out the best time to post on the various platforms — including TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter— can help your posts be seen by more of your audienceHave a measurable goal for successOnce you get your social media channel up and running, you should also track and measure its success. This will help you understand what kind of content is working with your followers and what isn’t. If you don’t do so, you’re essentially posting blindly – meaning you’re not analyzing whether your work is resonating with your followers.There are a lot of ways you can approach this. At Buffer, we specifically use engagement rate and impressions as our base metrics when analyzing our posts’ performance.Call out: Check out Buffer’s top social media posts of 2022 and our social media manager’s analysis of why they did so well.Here are some other metrics that you can look at for a given post:LikesCommentsHow often it has been saved or bookmarkedRetweets and sharesExamining all of this data manually can be a bit time-consuming, and that’s where Buffer comes in. With Analytics, Buffer can analyze your social media accounts, create reports that clearly lay out specific trends in your content, and provide a number of recommendations, including the best times to post, suggesting how often you should post, and laying out your best content.Creating social media channels for your brand is a great way to get the word out about your business. We recommend starting small with one to two accounts, and then adding more channels as you grow.Use this quick checklist before you start those new accounts:Figure out where your audience isPinpoint what kind of content you want to shareHave a plan for creating & sharing said contentUnderstand social media algorithmsMeasure and track your social media performanceHave a social media question for us? Use the #AskBuffer and let us know on Twitter!

 

 

Lean Marketing requires efficiency, but such a title may seem outrageous. It turns out, it is not an over-the-top expectation, but actually a solution. You can do this – if you have a proper Workflow. In this article, we will explain what Workflow is, how it works, who is responsible for its efficiency, and ultimately – how to take advantage of it.

Lost productivity and poorly managed leads cost companies over $1 trillion annually. Some of these costs could be avoided with database automation software. (CMO Council). 

In our previous article on our latest feature, we explained the factors driving the incredible growth of Workflow Automation solutions. Here, we want to provide you with a grasp of what a powerful tool Workflow actually is.

 

How do workflows work?

 

Workflows are a part of the marketing automation phenomena, so some context is needed before we can discuss them in detail.

According to Gartner, “A marketing automation system is a system that helps marketers execute multichannel marketing campaigns by providing a scripting environment for authoring business rules and interfaces to a variety of third-party applications.”

Clearly, the efficiency of such a system depends entirely on the competence of its creators. So, what about Workflows?

“Workflow rules let you automate standard internal procedures and processes to save time across your organization. A workflow rule is the main container for a set of workflow instructions. These instructions can always be summed up in an if/then statement.” (Salesforce)

Workflows are simply command structures. We usually visualizing them as a flow because they foresee consequential instructions, that make marketing automation strategies operationally possible. 

What makes up a Workflow?

 

What is a workflow and what does it do?

 

Workflows use an “if/then” structure to execute certain actions when a certain condition is met. An automated Workflow, at least in an eCommerce marketing context, always involves:

Different touchpoints in the customer journeyConditions for steps within the Workflow (these may be user or customer features or behaviors)Actions that are automatically triggered by such instructions, such as sending an email to a contact on a  list or adding a new contact to a list. 

In general, every Workflow is configured like a predetermined set of instructions in a specific order to obtain two objectives: 

To facilitate a visitor’s transition to becoming a customer (conversion) To trigger a circle of lead nurturing, creating greater awareness and increasing purchase motivation. 

At SALESmanago, we consider this to be part of Customer Intimacy.

In summary, Workflows distribute content and personalized (or hyperpersonalized) messages to members of a company database:  

On the different touch points provided by the digital strategy, which correspond to different moments of the customer journeyTo give the decisive impulse to the activation of a conversion With the ultimate goal of creating interactions and, above all, creating Customer Intimacy 

But exactly how do Workflows achieve these goals? What features or actions on the visitor or customer website should trigger what actions?

When addressing these questions, the marketer’s competence is key and can even override the competence of the creators of the marketing automation system.

 

Examples of the Workflow goals and tactics

 

The key factors of a successful, efficient Workflow are:

Clearly defined marketing goalsProven, tested tactics Awareness of the potential of different channels

Let’s look at two examples of expertly crafted Workflows. The first was created by Marcin Ostrowski, a marketing expert who works regularly with such companies as Eurospin or RC Lens.

The marketing goals of this workflow are to increase customer engagement and build customer loyalty. To do this, Marcin uses the Lead Nurturing tactic. Remember, Lead Nurturing is not a goal in itself, it is just a tactic to achieve the goal.

Marcin decided to execute his tactic omnichannel, via:

Email MarketingSMSCustom audience

Details: Lead nurturing begins when a contact is added to the system. We send an introductory email, and then we try to determine the best way to communicate with the contact. Lead Nurturing involves delivering the same content to each lead, divided into installments, using the best channel for that lead. So, we check if the email has been opened. If so, we send two more emails. If not, we check if we have a phone number. If so, we send a message telling the lead that some interesting information is waiting in their email inbox (if the client’s Lead Nurturing is uninteresting, then do not conduct it at all) and then follow up with another email. Then we check if that email has been opened. If so, we send the rest of the content by e-mail, if not, we follow up again via SMS. 

If we don’t have a phone number, we resend the email to make sure the first one wasn’t sent to spam or otherwise lost. If the second email is opened, we end the Nurturing channel. if it isn’t opened, we add the contact to the custom audience list and GAds to increase brand presence without providing nurturing content. For customers with SM Mobile, a separate lead nurturing is created when they install the application. If the customer has his own application, both workflows should run simultaneously.

Another example is a Workflow created by Aleksandra Urban, an expert working with Cenomi Group, Nahdi, Alphorm, and Miss Group. This Workflow has several interconnected marketing goals: Lower customer churn, Increase customer lifetime value, Increase customer engagement, Hyper-personalize customer experience, build customer loyalty.

To do this, the workflow uses the NPS survey tactic, executed via three channels: 

Email MarketingMobile PushMobile Marketing 

Details: Email: After a purchase, we wait (time to be determined) and then check whether the contact has opted-in. If so, we send a message with a link to the NPS survey if not, finish the workflow. After sending this message, we wait (time to be determined) and then check whether the contact has clicked on the previous email (with the link to the NPS survey). If so, we mark the workflow complete; if not, we do not send follow-up. 

SMS: After a purchase, we wait and then send an SMS with a link to the NPS survey. We then wait again before sending a follow-up, and at the end, we add the path end tag. 

Web push notifications: These follow a similar pattern. 

Website personalization: After a purchase, we wait and then launch a WAR, which is designed to display a chat encouraging the lead to provide feedback. We wait and then check whether the contact has visited the page (and thus seen the chat window). If so, we check whether the contact has a tag that the consultant could have manually assigned to him after leaving a review. If the contact has this tag, we finish the workflow. If there is no tag, we run another WAR which is designed to display a pop-up to an NPS survey. If the contact hasn’t visited the page, we add a no-campaign tag. 

Omnichannel: After a purchase, we wait and check whether the contact has subscribed to the newsletter. If so, we send an A/B test email. If not, we check whether the contact has a tag (web push consent). We wait and then check whether the contact has provided a phone number. If so, we send an SMS; if not, we check whether the contact is in SM Mobile. If they are, we send a mobile push; if not, we check whether the contact is saved on NS. If so, we send an e-mail; if not, we run a WAR that opens a chat window encouraging the contact to write a review. We wait and then check whether the contact has visited the URL. If so, we send a web push; if not, we send a follow-up email. At the end, we add the tag of the finished path.

 

Why does it matter who creates a Workflow?

 

While marketing automation software is a solution in itself, Workflow templates created using such software can be brilliant and effective or flawed and ineffective. 

Marketing automation software designers can create a seamless, intuitive interface that allows users to build and execute a Workflow with multiple features, options, and customization possibilities – without coding. But in the end, you will be left alone with the program to do the best you can with your own expertise … or will you?

Modern marketing automation systems require constant development, especially if they are connected to Customer Data Platforms, and the skilled eCommerce experts at Martech work with some of the greatest eCommerce brands in the world. Their Workflow Libraries catalog the most efficient proven marketing tactics and can help companies achieve their most ambitious marketing goals. 

In essence, a Workflow Library allows marketers access to the most skilled marketing experts in the world. Of course, you will need to experiment with the available templates to find the best one for you, but with our modern Marketing Automation Software and Workflow Libraries, you can be sure that you are starting with solutions that not only work, but are responsible for the success of some of the greatest eCommerce brands in the world.

 

 

Take a journey with your buyer and decode their activities, likings, preferences, interests, and lots more: BUYER’s JOURNEY 1. Unaware Stage The first and foremost stage is to make noise and create awareness for your brand and company about what you do, how you do, and lastly, why do you do it. Pro Tip – Specifically for B2C markets, viral giveaways have proven to be very rewarding as these giveaways make way for direct leads, which could also lead to referred leads. 2. Lead Stage Once they know you and people are talking about you, it’s time you check whether they are a good fit for your business. Pro Tip – Use the Dollar Strategy to validate the interest of the leads. What is Dollar Strategy? Ask people to put a dollar into the campaign to reserve a spot and this will guarantee you intent. The ones who put a dollar in your campaign will be the ones who are genuinely interested in your product or service rather than just being here to win something for free. 3. Prospect Stage Once you validate the lead, it is time to turn that lead into a paying customer or a prospect. Pro Tip – Use softwares like Mailchimp or LeadPages, which can help you nurture these leads with drip e-mail campaigns and content upgrades. Once they are in your ecosystem, they can be marketed directly through e-mail campaigns. 4. Customer Stage The journey comes to the ultimate fulfillment only with this step. You have kept in touch with the prospects, nurtured the leads, and now the prospective lead trusts you enough to invest in your product or service. They become the CUSTOMER everyone is looking for. 5. Fan Stage Yes, there’s more to it. While the goal could have met, the journey has yet to end. For a business to run well, you need not only to think about the immediate results but focus on the long-term ones. Further your organic sales through referrals or recommendations, you need to build that extraordinary personal relationship with your customer. This effort will make them fans of your brand, enticing them to buy themselves and get others to buy repeatedly. And voila, this was your buyers journey for you! Remember, marketing and psychology are a match made in heaven. You can not afford to ignore your buyer. And once you find a sweet spot in the heads of your targeted buyer, you will see the difference yourself. Feel free to add in the discussion with your comments. We would love to interact! See you. Happy Marketing! submitted by /u/KiwiTechCorp [link] [comments]

Hi all. I’m wondering what you think are the top 3-5 skills a marketing automation specialist should possess. Look forward to your answers! submitted by /u/james2232 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/chebeatz [link] [comments]