Author: Franz Malten Buemann

People love watching videos. Usually a video has more impact than when someone reads a text. Video editing and hiring voice-over talents take a long time, fortunately automating these tedious tasks is possible nowadays. For example with Rollideo, a tool to automatically create videos with auto-generated voice-overs & the exact subtitles. All you need is an input text. Technical users can use the Rollideo API. One of the advantages of the API is that you can quickly make some changes with the input text, the voices or the pictures to create a new version of a video. submitted by /u/FlyNestor [link] [comments]

Hi all, I recently passed the Marketo Certified Associate (MCA) exam ahead of my full-time job offer with an employer in the cybersecurity/ tech industry. I am aware that my company, and more specifically, my current role within marketing at the company value both exams and compensate a certain amount during evaluations accordingly. However, I could not find any information online regarding the MCA cert’s typical pay increase. I was curious if anyone passing either the MCA or Marketo Certified Expert (MCE) exam could give insight as to whether they received any pay increase, and if so, how much? Thank you! submitted by /u/Bridge-Working [link] [comments]

Hi. My name is Nathan and I am a professional video editor. I’ve been selling my editing services for a couple years now and I have gotten pretty stuck with being able to get new clients and not sure how to go about marketing. Not only do I want to learn how to market my editing service, I would like to learn about marketing in general. I 100% want to move into the field of marketing. I just don’t know where to start. I’m looking for someone that has a little bit of free time to help out and show someone the basics of stuff and how to go about marketing. Obviously in life nothing is free, and I am definitely not asking for someone to waste their time helping me. I very well know that editing is a big part of marketing, and if you do marketing as a job I am willing to help you out with video projects and such. I would also be more than willing to do marketing work for you once I get to know the basics. I have a great brain for business and have quite a few ideas that I would be more than willing to share or even start with someone. View this as a possible business opportunity for yourself while helping a guy out. I am more than willing to partner up with someone in business going forward. Thanks for reading, I know this was a ramble on type of post. Discord – nathan137#7859 email – [nathansjohnson16@gmail.com](mailto:nathansjohnson16@gmail.com) submitted by /u/nathan137 [link] [comments]

Has anyone compared Marketo’s Bizible with Eloqua’s reporting suite including their closed loop reporting? What’s your experience with Bizible? Any sort of advice or feedback would be great! Thanks. submitted by /u/zoezzz777 [link] [comments]

Today, audiences expect a lot from the brands they interact with. They want personalized, relevant communications delivered in a format that’s convenient, at a time that suits them.
Email has been an essential medium for this kind of communication for a long time, and at Campaign Monitor, we’ve helped thousands of brands across the world use email to deliver personal, impactful messages to their customers.
And today, we’re excited to add a new medium to the mix as we introduce Campaign Monitor SMS.
A New Way to Connect and Convert
SMS is a powerful, yet simple marketing tool that helps you drive stronger connections with your audience and drive higher conversions for your business. It’s the perfect addition to email – increase the speed of return on your marketing investment by encouraging immediate action from your subscribers. 
Whether you want to boost sales through limited-time offers, maximize contributions to a donation drive, or level up your customer service through satisfaction surveys, combining SMS with email creates additional touchpoints with your audience, drives urgency, and gives you the best chance of increasing engagement and conversion. 
Campaign Monitor SMS is built for busy marketers. Using the same intuitive campaign creation interface as email, you’ll find it easy to get your SMS campaigns up and running fast.

 
Be on the lookout for helpful resources from our team as well. Whether you’re wondering how to capture SMS permission and grow your list, write effective SMS copy, or follow SMS best practices, our team is here to help you along the way.
Get Started With Campaign Monitor SMS
Ready to get started with SMS? Talk to our sales team to get a tour of how SMS works at Campaign Monitor, and learn how you can get started. Oh, and don’t forget to save your seat for our SMS launch event, where we’ll walk through how the feature works, and best practices for getting your SMS campaigns up and running.
 
The post Introducing Campaign Monitor SMS: a New Way to Connect and Convert appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Big Idea or Enduring Question: How to customize columns in Add Products dialog box?  We often come across the requirement to add or remove fields from Add Product or multi-line layouts for opportunity products in lightning experience. For example, Add Products Left in Stock field on Add Product page. Add Corporate
The post Customize Product Multi-Line Layout in Salesforce appeared first on Automation Champion.

It is impressive enough that Colin, Ryan, and Austin Gill, ages 16, 13, and 11 respectively, started their own candle company in 2017. But even more admirable is the mission behind their brand Frères Branchiaux. Sure, the brothers initially came up with the business idea as a way to circumvent asking their parents for more allowance money. But from the very beginning, they wanted their company to stand for an important cause – which is why Frères Branchiaux donates 10 percent of all profits to homelessness. In just a few years, the brothers – along with their parents – have created a flourishing business centered around giving back to their community.A family’s commitment to uplift othersCelena Gill, the boys’ mother, remembers a moment from early on in their business when all three of her sons joined a luncheon with Pathways to Housing DC – an organization dedicated to eradicating homelessness –  and donated an oversized check of $500, one of many of Frères Branchiaux’s charitable contributions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frères Branchiaux Candle Co.®️ (@freresbranchiaux) Living in the Washington D.C. Metro area, the brothers grew up very aware of the homeless community and always wanted to support them. But Celena said it was specifically her 13-year-old Ryan who had a penchant for helping others. “Ryan is really the driving force behind our commitment to give back. He’s always had a big heart. If he saw someone on the street he always wanted to give them money,” she said. And while figuring out ways to help others is not a top priority for most preteens, Ryan said he was motivated by his mom and dad. “My parents have inspired me. Watching them give back made me realize how important it is to help others.”The family’s pledge to uplift the homeless community is a core value for their brand, but they haven’t always had the time to spread that message – a symptom of being a small business with only four full-time employees.“I admit, we need to market this component better on social media,” Celena said. Still, Frères Branchiaux has shared several Instagram posts throughout the years about their charitable contributions. In a 2021 post, the company stated that their monthly donations, “put at least one homeless family in an apartment every month.” The message goes on to say they have donated over $30,000 to help eradicate homelessness and have contributed $2,000 to fight civil rights injustices.Clearly, the word is getting out. Frères Branchiaux’s online reviews are filled with customers who love the candles, but also applaud the company for their social impact, like this comment left on their ‘Love Jones’ candle written by a user by the name Stacy. “We are happy to support a family-owned business who gives back to their community! Xoxo,” it reads. They rely on word-of-mouth advertising, too. Austin said whenever he meets a Frères Branchiaux customer in person he makes sure to tell them that they’re supporting a good cause. As the youngest Gill, he hopes his family’s contributions can one day make lasting change. “My goal is that no one in the world ever has to be homeless,” the 11-year-old said.The ins and outs of donating 10% As they were mapping out the blueprint for their business, the family always knew their candle company was going to include some type of giving back component and they quickly settled upon supporting the homeless community. But they also understood that before they’d be able to donate money, they needed to create products customers would love, which led them to hone in on their candle-making skills. The boys first learned how to craft what would eventually become their signature scents from their mother’s friend, Danita Brooks. When they finally started to see profits, the brothers – eager to help their community – were excited to donate a large portion of their proceeds.“The boys wanted to give back 50 percent of profits at first,” said Celena, who had to remind her sons that donating that much wasn’t a realistic option for their small business. They finally settled in on 10 percent after doing some research and looking at what similar businesses were contributing. In a 2021 Instagram post, they outlined the various ways they give: through online donations, in-kind product donations, providing money directly to those affected, volunteering, and distributing meals to the community. They also clarified that “when we donate money directly, we don’t dictate what the recipient does with the money.”There was a trial and error process when it came time to figure out how often to donate, though. For the first two years, Frères Branchiaux was making monthly donations to various organizations including Pathways to Housing DC, Friendship Place, and The Father Mckenna Center. But starting in 2020, they switched to quarterly donations and felt that was a better strategy for them. Celena acknowledged that sometimes making monthly donations wasn’t always possible, as it depended on the success of each month.  “Some months you just break even,” she said.The family’s vision wasn’t only to contribute donations, however. They always intended to start a jobs creation program until it got postponed due to Covid-19. Now, with the world opening up again, Celena said the company is planning to resume the initiative which would equip people from the homeless community with job-skills training. Eventually, the objective would be for Frères Branchiaux to employ these individuals, providing them with a real opportunity to make their own money. Giving back is clearly embedded in the DNA of Frères Branchiaux. Still, Celena understands that organizing a charitable donation can be overwhelming for some small business owners. Her advice? Take it one step at a time. “Setting the intention is important,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be 10 percent. You can start off by donating one percent. Anything is better than nothing.”For the Gill family, laying out clear, purposeful goals has always been an important strategy for their business’s growth. In a post celebrating their fourth anniversary, they gave customers insight into how they’ve been so successful.  “A key component of achieving our goals is writing them down and creating a strategy,” it reads. “Remember, a dream is a goal that isn’t written down. We wrote them down—now it’s time to reach them!” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frères Branchiaux Candle Co.®️ (@freresbranchiaux) What’s next for Frères BranchiauxFères Branchiaux has already expanded their product line to include room sprays, candle accessories, diffuser oils, and bath salts among other items. They’ve also created various candle collections, including astrology candles, Christmas candles, and a Black History Month collection. And even more exciting, they’ve been in big-box retailers including Whole Foods, Macy’s, and Ace Hardware.A huge moment for them in 2022 was being included in Target’s Black History Month campaign At the time, Frères Branchiaux candles were already selling on Target’s website, but this specific collaboration marked the first time the products were sold physically in-store at almost 900 locations – a very cool experience for the boys. “I was excited that our candles were actually in a [Target] store,” Ryan said. “And I was pretty happy we got one of our main goals accomplished.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frères Branchiaux Candle Co.®️ (@freresbranchiaux) As Ryan stated, the Target deal aligned with the company’s upcoming goals as they hope to make more of a footprint in physical retail spaces moving forward, especially because the pandemic has changed their business model. Specifically, now that customers aren’t at home as often as they were back in 2020, the team has had to reconfigure their marketing strategy since purchasing self-care items may no longer be on top of everyone’s to-do list.“In the past two years, everyone was trying to be comfortable at home,” Celena said. “ Now that people are going out again, it’s about balancing how do we help them recreate that same relaxing experience at home after a long day of work or hanging out with friends?” Not only does Austin hope to see their candles in more retail spaces, but he also wants Frères Branchiaux to be sold in stores all around the world – a lofty objective coming from the 11-year-old. As for Ryan, the middle Gill, no matter what new goals the company achieves next, he said his small business will always revolve around its central mission. “We want to make sure everybody has a home,” he said, “And even before the business, it was always a goal for us to give back and make opportunities for the homeless community and people who are in need.”

Animated GIFs are great additions to your marketing. They’re easy to consume, provide a new way to capture your viewers’ attention, and can have a serious emotional impact.
The best part about GIFs is that they aren’t too hard to make. If you have access to Photoshop and a few minutes to spare, you can create an animated GIF in no time.
In the following tutorial on making animated GIFs, I’m using the Creative Cloud 2015 version of Photoshop, but the steps should be similar in other versions.

How to make a GIF

Upload your images to Photoshop.
Open up the Timeline window.
In the Timeline window, click “Create Frame Animation.”
Create a new layer for each new frame.
Open the same menu icon on the right, and choose “Make Frames From Layers.”
Under each frame, select how long it should appear for before switching to the next frame.
At the bottom of the toolbar, select how many times you’d like it to loop.
Preview your GIF by pressing the play icon.
Save and Export Your GIF.

How to Create an Animated GIF in Photoshop
If you already know how to create a GIF, skip to the section on how to use GIFs in your marketing materials. 
Here’s an example of an animated GIF you might make using this tutorial:
Alright, let’s get started.
Step 1: Upload your images to Photoshop.
If you already have images created …
Gather the images you want in a separate folder. To upload them into Photoshop, click File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack.

Then, select Browse, and choose which files you’d like to use in your GIF. Then, click OK.
Photoshop will then create a separate layer for each image you’ve selected. Once you’ve done that, skip to step two.
If you don’t already have the series of images created …
Create each frame of the animated GIF as a different Photoshop layer. To add a new layer, chose Layer > New > Layer.

Be sure to name your layers so you can keep track of them easily when you make your GIF. To name a layer, go to the Layer panel on the bottom right of your screen, double-click on the default layer name, and type in the name you want to change it to. Press Enter when you’re finished.

Once you have your layers in there and you’ve named them all, you’re ready for step two.
Pro Tip: If you want to combine layers so they appear in a single frame in your GIF, turn visibility on for the layers you want to merge (by clicking on the “eye” to the left of each layer name so only the eyes for the layers you want to merge are open). Next, press Shift + Command + Option + E (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E (Windows). Photoshop will create a new layer containing the merged content, which you should also rename.
Step 2: Open up the Timeline window.
To open Timeline, go to the top navigation, choose Window > Timeline. The Timeline will let you turn different layers on and off for different periods of time, thereby turning your static image into a GIF.

The Timeline window will appear at the bottom of your screen. Here’s what it looks like:

Step 3: In the Timeline window, click “Create Frame Animation.”
If it’s not automatically selected, choose it from the dropdown menu — but then be sure to actually click it, otherwise the frame animation options won’t show up.

Now, your Timeline should look something like this:

Step 4: Create a new layer for each new frame.
To do this, first select all your layers by going to the top navigation menu and choosing Select > All Layers.
Then, click the menu icon on the right of the Timeline screen.

From the dropdown menu that appears, choose Create new layer for each new frame.

Step 5: Open the same menu icon on the right, and choose “Make Frames From Layers.”
This will make each layer a frame of your GIF.

Step 6: Under each frame, select how long it should appear for before switching to the next frame.
To do this, click the time below each frame and choose how long you’d like it to appear. In our case, we chose 0.5 seconds per frame.

Step 7: At the bottom of the toolbar, select how many times you’d like it to loop.
The default will say Once, but you can loop it as many times as you want, including Forever. Click Other if you’d like to specify a custom number of repetitions. 
Step 8: Preview your GIF by pressing the play icon.

Step 9: Save and Export Your GIF
Satisfied with your GIF? Save it to use online by going to the top navigation bar and clicking File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…

Next, choose the type of GIF file you’d like to save it as under the Preset dropdown. If you have a GIF with gradients, choose Dithered GIFs to prevent color banding. If your image employs a lot of solid colors, you may opt for no dither. 
The number next to the GIF file determines how large (and how precise) the GIF colors will be compared to the original JPEGs or PNGs. According to Adobe, a higher dithering percentage translates to the appearance of more colors and detail — but it increases the file size. 

Click Save at the bottom to save the file to your computer. Now you’re ready to upload this GIF to use in your marketing!
Upload the GIF file into any place online that you’d put an image, and it should play seamlessly. Here’s what the final product might look like:

How to Use GIFs in Your Marketing
1. On social media.
Pinterest was the first to enable animated GIFs, followed by Twitter. And by the summer of 2015, Facebook had also jumped on the GIF bandwagon. Then, Instagram changed the game with Boomerang, which lets users film and share their own GIFs. On any of these social feeds, animated GIFs can be a great way to stand out in a crowded feed.
For example, check out how Calm used a GIF of a heart drawing in this quote from Samuel Beckett to add animation to an otherwise text-heavy Instagram post: 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Calm (@calm)

2. In your emails.
Animated GIFs display in email the same way a regular image does. So why not spruce up your email marketing by replacing still images with animated ones?
Not only could this help capture recipients’ attention with novelty alone, but it could also have a direct impact on your bottom line.
For some brands, including an animated GIF in emails correlated with as much as a 109% increase in revenue. Using HubSpot’s free email marketing software is an easy way to accomplish this type of increase on your own site.
Make use of GIFs by showcasing products, making event announcements, or otherwise enticing readers. Check out the GIF below from The Hustle, which showcases various prizes email subscribers can win by referring the Hustle to friends: 

3. On websites and blog posts.
Finally, consider the power of using GIFs on webpages to draw a viewer’s attention to a specific area, or engage a viewer in an otherwise text-heavy post.
Take a look at how Bloomberg uses stick figure animated GIFs in this article on the Beijing Winter Olympic Games:
Now that you’ve learned how to make a GIF, consider using your newfound knowledge to add animations to your website or portfolio.
If you don’t have one, take a look at The 12 Best Graphic Design Portfolios We’ve Ever Seen, & How to Start Your Own. 
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

 

It’s easy to picture the customer journey as a well-traveled, east-to-west road trip, following a single highway from awareness to consideration to purchase.
In reality, people take a lot of detours.

If you want a complete picture of the customer journey, it’s essential to connect your marketing efforts with the tool at the center of it all: your company’s trusty CRM.
While you may be familiar with a CRM, you probably aren’t using it to its full potential. Here, we’ll cover its role in marketing and how it powers great customer experiences.
CRMs are traditionally considered a tool for sales teams to track leads, prospects, and customers. With them, reps can see every interaction a contact has had with a brand — everything from calls with a sales rep to website visits.
But on the marketing side, marketers rarely use a CRM for anything other than creating email lists, if at all. This is a huge missed opportunity.
Think of your CRM as a single source of truth — tracking every customer interaction and painting a clear picture of their journey. Here are the benefits of this:

One central hub for data. Any business, regardless of size, needs a central location for storing data. This makes it possible to identify patterns and see what’s working (and what’s not).
More audience segmentation. You’d never send the same message to every customer — which is why segmentation is so crucial. A CRM can group your audience into segments — such as where they live or when they’re most active — so that you can talk to your audience in a more targeted way.
Optimized campaigns. A CRM tool can connect to your marketing channels, enabling you to see how your channels perform and how your audience is interacting with you.

By putting it at the center of your marketing strategy, you can truly personalize your messaging, create more targeted and meaningful content, and expedite the sales process — helping your entire company grow.
Let’s dive more into this below.
What is the Role of CRM in Marketing?
As I mentioned above, marketing is about more than single, solitary interactions – it’s about building a complete customer experience.
Here’s how CRM can power different areas of your marketing:
1. CRM for Email Marketing
With email and your CRM, you can segment your contacts into different lists based on any CRM data point like location, page interactions, and more. And it doesn’t stop there.
You can add an extra layer of personalization to your emails by sending different CTAs to customers based on your CRM data. By sending relevant, personal emails, you can build trust and provide value to customers and prospects.
A CRM can also help you and your team save time. By connecting email to your CRM, you can avoid exporting and importing lists of contacts into your email service provider (ESP). This keeps all of your contact information up to date while helping your team stay compliant with CAN-SPAM laws.
2. CRM for Social Media Marketing
You probably already know this, but it bears repeating: social media is a two-way street. Producing great content for social — like clever tweets, trendy Instagram photos, and engaging videos — is important, but it’s not enough.
By pairing your CRM with social, you can see how customers engage with your platforms and the conversations they’re having — making you more prepared to interact with them.
A social CRM can also give you an overview of topics, hashtags, and influencers within your audience segments. Then, you can leverage this data to provide timely, relevant content.
3. CRM for Digital Ads
While third-party data helps you reach a broad persona, the first-party data you get from your CRM lets you target a hyper-specific group of people. It allows you to create relevant ads for any audience, no matter what stage they’re at in the buyer’s journey.
For example, you can create a custom audience of all the contacts in your CRM who viewed a certain product. Based on this audience, you can then create an extremely specific ad that provides information about that product to propel them along their buyer’s journey.
This makes a big impact on your customers. Think about how many ads they see in a day. How many of those do you think are actually relevant? By promoting highly targeted ads, your customers won’t be surprised or frustrated when they see one.
CRM Marketing Automation
CRM software is designed to help sales and customer service professionals — but it can also help you perform some marketing tasks.
For instance, in a CRM you can set up email sequences to engage with leads without manually re-creating content. It can also alleviate your workload by taking tedious tasks off your hands, like manual data entry or logging customer interactions on social media.
However, while CRM software can perform some marketing automation tasks, your CRM alone may not be the right solution for all of your marketing. Check out this helpful article that compares CRM versus marketing automation.
Final Thoughts
When marketers leverage their customers’ data for good, they can craft remarkable customer experiences. By combining your efforts with a powerful CRM, you can connect the dots to improve the customer journey.