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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.

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: 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.

 

Big Idea or Enduring Question: How can you automatically add topic(s) to a record? Objectives: After reading this blog, you’ll be able to:  Use record-triggered flow to automatically add topics to a record  Use Get element to find topic id instead of avoid hard coding of Id Use create records
The post Auto Assign a Topic to a Record appeared first on Automation Champion.

I don’t want to build e-mail list now, but I have interesting offer to my audience on TikTok. Which tool is free and allow me to build a simple website when my fan can write his email, confirm it and then get an free e-book. I want to save this emails to my future mailing list. What tool will be best for it? I want to do it for free. I can code some frontend to website, but I need to host it and gather emails for free submitted by /u/jazzymoneymaker [link] [comments]

Over the past few years, TikTok has seen explosive growth, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, by the end of 2022, TikTok is predicted to reach 1.5 billion monthly active users.
But there’s another big player in the game of short-form video — Instagram Reels, which Instagram launched in 2020 to provide a space for Instagram users to post short, ‘snackable’ content that mirrors what you’d see on TikTok.
We’ve already covered the debate of TikTok versus Instagram Reels, so I won’t go into that here.
Instead, I spoke with an Instagram influencer and consultant, Kar Brulhart, who has grown her own Instagram account from 0 to 45,000+ viewers and obtained over six figures in less than 10 months using Reels — all organically.
Here, we’ll cover Brulhart’s tips for how brands can leverage Instagram Reels to reach new audiences and acquire new customers.
But first — why Instagram Reels over TikTok?

The Benefits of Instagram Reels
“A lot of brands think they need to be on multiple platforms in order to have a voice and a presence, but it’s more important to get very good at one or two platforms, and have a voice and message and community there,” Kar Brulhart told me.

She adds, “We forget these platforms are about community, and we have to nurture our audiences in order to get results.”

Brulhart told me she’s decided to put all her eggs in the Instagram basket because she ultimately finds the platform more user-friendly, and there are more features and benefits for a business owner compared to TikTok.
This makes sense: Instagram is owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), which provides users with extensive advertising tools and opportunities. While TikTok is attempting to provide similarly robust advertising capabilities, it’s ultimately still in early stages and has a long way to go.
Brulhart does acknowledge TikTok has its advantages: It can serve as a great way to generate brand awareness and funnel audiences to your website or Instagram, land brand partnerships, and it can help entrepreneurs and brands keep up with trends. Her strategy is to use TikTok to post to TikTok for more brand awareness, identify buzzy trends and sounds, and then leverage that information to reach new audiences on Instagram.
Ultimately, Brulhart told me brands could be leaving money on the table if they aren’t using Reels. As she puts it, “I went from less than 2,000 followers in February 2020 to over 15,000 the next month through Reels, because Instagram is pushing Reels to new audiences. And 75% of the people who find my account are coming from Reels — compared to Stories and posts.”
If you’ve determined Reels is a viable option for your business, you might be wondering how to get started with it. Let’s dive into that, next.
(Note: These tips are from Brulhart — if you’re looking for a more high-level overview or curious how brands are already using Reels, take a look at Everything Marketers Need to Know About Instagram Reels, first.)

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Latina IG Educator & Coach (@karbrulhart)

5 Tips for Succeeding on Instagram Reels, According to a Reels Influencer
1. Find your niche, and post consistently.
Kar Brulhart’s niche is Instagram coaching and growth, so she told me she’s focused her entire content strategy around these two key themes.

“I repeat myself often,” Brulhart says. “People get nervous about sounding repetitive, but you need to repeat yourself often, and constantly remind people of your offers.”

It can be tempting to create content on popular or trending topics even if they’re not a direct match for your product or services, but that isn’t a good idea. Social media marketing isn’t just about attracting an audience — it’s about attracting the right audience.
Additionally, posting often and on a pre-determined schedule can help you see growth on the platform, since social algorithms reward consistency. Brulhart began seeing success when she continued to post often about similar themes that mattered most to her intended audience.
2. Add context in your captions.
“Short video works really well on TikTok — like audio trends, and lip-sync trends — and what you should take away from that is you don’t have to put your entire message into a 15 or 30-second Reel,” Brulhart recommends.
She adds, “Instead, it can be something relatable and inspirational, and then in your caption, you can add that context.”
Consider, for instance, the following Reel, in which Brulhart posts a few quick text phrases in the Reel itself (like “I was bullied by a man in my first job in NYC”), but then elaborates extensively in the caption:

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Latina IG Educator & Coach (@karbrulhart)

3. Be obsessive about your data.
As marketers, we’re already data-obsessed. Data can help you identify what’s working well, what needs improvement, and what should be ditched entirely. And your Reels strategy should be no different.
As Brulhart puts it, “I would suggest looking at your data every seven to 30 days, analyzing it, and figuring out which Reels perform well — then, take that same topic and create a carousel post, and add more context in the caption of that post.”
She says, “Half of your audience isn’t seeing your content at any given time, so be repetitive because chances are, people didn’t see it the first time.”
A brand’s success with Reels, Brulhart believes, lies in the marketing team’s ability to experiment and use data to figure out the strategy that works best for that particular brand. For instance, perhaps your audience is more into trends and relatable content over educational Reels, which is information you can only uncover through analytics.
Brulhart says, “Where I’ve seen the most success with my clients is when they aren’t afraid to pivot and change their strategies because the platform is constantly evolving, and there are always new features so it’s important to consistently test out those new features — especially because Instagram rewards those accounts that jump on the new features early.”
4. Create behind-the-scenes content.
When I spoke with Brulhart about this ‘newfound rise’ in short-form video, she reminded me it’s been a long time coming. For instance, Snapchat first came on the market with short-form video content back in 2012.
“These platforms have democratized video,” Brulhart told me, “and made it cheap and easy and fun to create videos. And it’s who we are as people — we like to overshare, and we like to create videos to share our lives.”
Post-pandemic, social media users are craving more authentic, relatable, behind-the-scenes content from influencers and brands alike.
For instance, in 2020, roughly half (42%) of Gen Zers said they wanted content described as fun— which surpassed Gen Zers’ interest in romantic content (29%) and exciting content (27%).
And, post-pandemic, 34% of HubSpot Blog Survey respondents said they still seek out more positive and uplifting content than they did pre-pandemic.
As Brulhart puts it, “It’s not about perfection or aesthetics anymore — the stories that work the best are those vulnerable, personal, behind-the-scenes content. So don’t be afraid to switch from professional aesthetic to something more approachable and fun.”
One brand that Brulhart admires for their short-form video strategy is Duolingo. The language-learning app goes viral often because they’ve begun using their owl mascot in funny, relatable TikToks (like seen below).

@duolingo apparently can’t hire Dua so here we are
#duolingo
#brandtok
#marketingtok
#DuaLipa
#DulaPeep
#dualingo
♬ original sound – kooze

Humanizing your brand is a vital component of any good social media strategy. The more your audience can relate to your brand, the more they can trust your brand.
However, it’s important to note, you don’t want to copy something just because it’s a trend — it should also make sense for your brand, and feel authentic and real. As Brulhart says, “My biggest failures is when I’m just doing a trend. It doesn’t work — people smell it.”
5. Hire someone to create Reels-specific content.
If you’re interested in taking your Reels strategy to the next level, you’ll want to consider hiring someone with expertise creating engaging short-form videos for social.
Brulhart told me, “If you have the budget, hire someone who has a resume to show you they can create content specifically for Instagram or TikTok (i.e. a Reels video editor).”
If possible, you’ll want to hire someone with a proven track record on Reels who can ensure your content is appropriate for the platform and will perform well.
If you don’t have the budget to hire someone full-time, however, that’s okay, too — in that case, Brulhart told me, “Make sure your brand is tying its Reels back to your business’ content pillars. Don’t make the mistake of just jumping on a trend because it’s funny or cute … What ends up happening is you’ll get an influx of followers, but not the right followers. It’s key to make sure everything ties back to your business objectives.”
Additionally, if you don’t have the budget to hire someone full-time, consider enrolling in Brulhart’s Social Department membership, in which she sends trending audio as well as niche-specific ideas to people every week to save them time on Reels.
You’ll also want to consider how you can leverage other content creators to help tell your story in ways you can’t think of — brand or influencer partnerships can help you with this.
Ultimately, Reels can be an incredibly powerful tool for reaching new audiences and increasing brand awareness and loyalty — but it’s not for everyone. If you’re unsure whether Reels is right for you, test it out for a few weeks and then analyze performance to figure out whether it’s worth your marketing resources.
Who knows? Maybe Reels is the missing piece in your social strategy. 
Feature Image Credit: Kar Brulhart (used with permission)