Marketing automation is hot right now. There are a multitude of companies from HubSpot to a company CashSherpa is writing about today called SharpSpring.

What is marketing automation?

Marketing automation refers to software platforms that help businesses automate their marketing and sales engagement processes to generate more leads, convert those leads to sales and optimize ROI. Marketing automation allows businesses to automate repetitive tasks such as sending emails, maintaining social media, tracking website interactions and handling various other tasks. Marketing automation centralizes all of the features and functions that make up the marketer’s role in an organization.

A marketing automation platform should have the ability to integrate with other sales and marketing tools (CMS, CRM, social media, meeting software and more) to provide a streamlined platform for data management and analysis.

Learn more about Sharpspring

What Does Marketing Automation Software Do?

Drive More Leads
Convert Those Leads into Sales
Maximize Marketing Spend.
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Compare Marketing Automation

SharpSpring Feature List

Email – Put an end to boring, mass email blasts and save time on your marketing strategy. Start conversations that lead to conversions with personalized messages and automated campaigns that respond to user behavior. Use the SharpSpring email marketing platform to track leads “after the click.” Unlike other email service providers, we offer detailed analytics on every interaction – so you can send the right message at the right time, and send your sales team into action with real-time notifications.

Forms – Build, customize and reorder fields effortlessly with the sleek drag-and-drop editor. Our dynamic forms autocomplete fields for known visitors to improve conversion and look great on any site with custom CSS. You can even map fields from 3rd-party and native forms.

Automation – Our powerful, easy-to-use visual workflow builder simplifies marketing automation. Use branching logic to engage leads at critical points in their unique buying journeys. Instantaneously sync information with our built-in marketing automation CRM suite. Set up buyer personas for your products and services, then assign leads to different personas so that you can send automatically targeted messages. Receive a list of each day’s hottest leads right to your inbox, and act at just the right time to convert them to sales. Use SharpSpring’s marketing automation tools to score leads based on engagement, page tracking, fit and more – they even factor in natural lead decay over time.

Visitor ID – VisitorID is one of the secret weapons in our stack of marketing automation tools. Use it to identify twice as many visitors to your site (compared to competing marketing platforms). Use behavioral-based tracking to truly understand what motivates each click. Identify pain points and successful strategies so that your website never stops optimizing. Receive a list of the day’s hottest leads directly to your inbox, and act at just the right time to convert those leads to sales.

CRM – Knowledge is power – and CRM is sales. Use our marketing automation CRM or seamlessly integrate your preferred CRM provider with the SharpSpring marketing platform. Keep integrated data up to speed with instant two-way synchronization. Track opportunities from creation to close with a bird’s eye view of your pipeline. Create custom deal stages, fields, filters and more, to manage sales effortlessly with our marketing automation tools.

Landing Pages – Build powerful landing pages and landing page funnels that transform visitors into leads. Use our simple point-and-click editor to create unique landing pages, or adapt a template from our extensive library. Set up chains of linked landing pages to organize visitors into different funnels. Drive more conversions with dynamic web content that changes based on visitors’ interests and attributes. Deliver results quickly without coding or a developer, and without touching your website – but for those who want total control, you can add your own HTML and CSS code to customize pages even further.

Blogs – Launch a blog in minutes with the blog builder and editor in our marketing automation system. Design, manage and publish posts with ease. Set up collaborations within your team, or create profiles to welcome guest bloggers. Extend the reach of your content with RSS email syndication that automatically sends new posts to your mailing lists. Get more reach out of your content with social media widgets that allow users to share and follow you online. Use SharpSpring’s marketing automation tools to track visitors, find out which content performs best, and target posts to maximize conversions.

Marketing Analytics – Make key decisions with accurate and relevant data. Choose the most important metrics for each campaign and message, then generate custom reports to review your performance. Understand end-to-end ROI and track lead sources – even from offline. Share key information with your team, clients, and customers in a readable and accessible display.

Platform – Connect to hundreds of third-party software providers with SharpSpring’s APIs and Zapier integration. Sync data with your marketing automation CRM systems, keep your content management systems updated and integrate native and third party web forms with our marketing platform. Truly make SharpSpring your own by rebranding emails, notifications, reports, and even the app itself. Store data on our encrypted, secure, and scalable platform.

Social – Go beyond publishing, scheduling, and monitoring. Turn social interactions into meaningful conversations that generate sales and show up in your marketing reports. SharpSpring Social offers all the features you expect from a social management solution, plus powerful conversion tools you can only get from a fully-integrated marketing platform. Trigger automated workflows and score social leads based on interactions, sources, interests and more. Measure end-to-end ROI of integrated marketing campaigns and demonstrate the value of your social media efforts.

Visit Sharp Spring for more info

A new startup called Colluide www.colluide.com wants to fix the Internet with their #fixtheinternet project www.fixtheinternet.net.Colluide is an online consulting/blogging/E-Store startup focused on providing expert advice to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Primary specialties are on launching startups and helping businesses to develop a competitive advantage while maintaining a positive perspective.

Colluide wishes to launch our #fixtheinternet Intagram hashtag contest beginning June 1st. Come on board and fill the Internet with positive and accomplishing social media posts. Colluide is planning a new movement that sets the trend for more positive and virtuous posts. Colluidee wants to create awesome moments and replace the general negativism (break the internet) and vile postings on the Internet. They want to do good for their clients and create more optimism in the world.

Every month of June will be #fixtheinternetmonth. Colluide intends to encourage people to make more conscientious posts on social media. Upload your art, travelling, witty, academic, or achievements through awesome posts of memes, pictures or videos via our website or the Colluide app using the hashtag #fixtheinternet.

Let the positive takeover begin! Become an internet Hall Of Famer by making awesome posts on Instagram to show up on the Wall Of Fame. Use the hashtag #fixtheinternet or #fixtheinternetmonth.

Follow @fixtheinternetchallenge on IG & Fb
@fixtheinternetX on Twitter

Are you looking to turn your business goals into reality? There is a new product development team in LA called LA NPDT that may be able to help. LA NPDT is a cross-functional team of talented engineers, designers, developers, makers, and entrepreneurs. The Team helps to make business dreams a reality by providing a complete range of new product development services from product conceptualization and design to prototyping and marketing.

Sometimes it’s not enough just to have an idea, you need to rely on either yourself or a talented team like LA NPDT to get it off the ground. They offer product development, concept design, prototyping, 3D printing, technical evaluation, training courses, web development, and marketing. They pretty much offer everything. For more information visit: https://lanpdt.com/

Home page

Company History

The Team

“LA NPDT started as a student organization at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. The organization was formed by a Mechanical Engineering PhD student (at that time), Konstantin Dolgan. During his studies, Konstantin gained experience and practical skills by participating in several entrepreneurial, new product development and technology commercialization projects. Konstantin created the LA New Product Development Team with the mission of developing new products, technologies, and app/web solutions with the end goal of commercialization. Within just one year, the Team grew to more than 40 members consisting primarily of LA Tech students and alumni. A wide array of experts were welcomed into the membership including engineers, business majors, artists, physicists, and programmers. By separating the organization into eight distinct departments including R&D, Prototyping, Marketing, IT, Intellectual Property, Public Relations, Human Resources, and Finance LA NPDT was better able to serve its clients.”

Testimonials

“Amazing experience, by far the most professional, punctual, and talented designers I’ve come across. The words are not enough to describe the quality of experience I’ve had with LA NPDT. Thank you so much!” – C&C Spectrum Innovations Catalina Park

“”Very pleased with the outcome of my work. Took the time to work with me with revisions to ensure that deliverable was exactly what I wanted. Will recommend to others.” – Product Developer Brandon Townsdin

LA NPDT looks forward to turning your dreams into reality. It’s rare that one company can take care of so many facets under one roof and execute at such a high level. Consider using their services to help get your business off the ground.

I’ve written about Gravis Marketing services recently, now I’d like to bring Gravis social media tracking, analytics, and influence marketing to my readers attention. Do your own research, I use Gravis Marketing as an example for those business owners that are on the fence as to hire a marketing agency or not. Gravis is a great example of what a full service marketing agency can offer. Check out Gravis Digital Command Centre:

http://www.gravisinsightsaustralia.com/live-blog/2017/2/2/gravis-digital-listening-centre

Why Social Media Marketing?

Anyone can run a social media marketing campaign the question is can you get it to convert? If it’s converting are you tracking what’s working and what is not? This is something a marketing agency like Gravis can help you with. “The GDCC is a development from Gravis Insights Australia (GIA) in partnership with our IT partners Knowledge Partner Professionals (KPP) to deliver our clients the 21st century digital ‘listening’ technology to analyse the sentiments users and the public feel towards their brands.”

I’ve heard social media marketing described like playing the piano. Anyone can make noise, but only a truly talented person can make music. Social media is a tool, just like a piano that takes skill and talent to play well.

What Gravis Command Centre Offers

“Track conversation to find mentions of the brand, products or issues being raised by the public about the brand or products. With social media command centres, each individual module offers a snippet of valuable data related to the product or business throughout the lifecycle of a campaign; whether that be political, corporate or charitable in nature. Rapid response: Allows for rumours to be quashed, issues to be fixed and status updates to be dealt with in real time. Also allows for the counter attack to be delivered when under attack from Opposition brands.”

If you would like to know more about Gravis please see previous blog article. Like I mentioned Gravis is just one of many marketing agencies for businesses and governments. I use them as an example of what a company like this can offer to expand your horizons on what’s possible. It’s up to you if you want to incorporate these tactics in your campaigns yourself or hire someone like Gravis to do it for you.

Are you looking for someone to help with your online marketing? If you answered yes there is a company called Gravis Marketing based in Australia that can help. Visit them at: http://www.gravisinsightsaustralia.com/gravismarketing

As the writer of a gadgets, technology, and marketing blog I am asked time and time again should I hire a company to run my marketing campaigns? I feel if you are talented, have the time, enjoy the process, than by all means DO IT YOURSELF! When I say yes to this questions it’s usually because one or two things. Number one you don’t enjoy anything having to do with marketing and your expertise lay elsewhere. Or number two your company is large enough that spending money on a marketing company makes no significant dent in your company profits.

Arrive at the Gravis Marketing web site and you’ll be greeted with the words, “Relationships, reputation, and results.” I’m using them as an example to illustrate my point. A company like Gravis would be a solid choice for those that meet one or both of the criteria in previous paragraph. Sometimes in order to grow a company the business owner has to get out of his or her own way.

By utilising the full potential of Gravis digital marketing the following can be achieved: “Broadcast your outreach to a wider audience and perform a digital integration with market research. Send simple automated surveys through Smartphone texts, which consumers can respond to with a quick push of a button. Delivery of information campaigns for consumers, clients and/or voters. Connect with votes on a personal basis and capture technically savvy consumers that never pay attention to printed materials.” Gravis Marketing can do everything from creating new web sites, social media channels, or just website copy/digital media copy for existing websites/social media channels.

Connect with Gravis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravisInsightsAustralia/

What Else Can Gravis Do?

VOIP Dialer Software And Headphones

“Gravis can also provide you with an easy to use laptop with the hosted VOIP dialer software and headphones as a turnkey solution. Speak up to 300% more people using the hosted predictive dialer. Hosted predictive dialer has fast and easy setup with no special hardware needed. Only a headset, a computer and internet connection is needed.”

What Can This Gravis Phone Be Used For?

“Political Campaigns, fundraising, telemarketing, get out the vote, lead generation, business to business sales, appointment scheduling, collecting payments, market research, polling, charities, schools, customer service, service desks, appointment reminders, businesses or campaigns which you make many outbound calls, and collections.” The possibilities are nearly endless.

Conclusion

The world is moving faster than ever, choose a company that “knows this world.” Anyone looking for marketing services whether business or government should look into Gravis Marketing. It’s a company that “prides itself on professionalism, ability to adapt, courtesy, and understanding that each client is unique.” A company focused on these core values bodes well for a strong long lasting relationship.

Great Blog Marketing Techniques

Marketing your blog is not all that hard to do. You have to be persistent and want success however if you want your blog to do well. You cannot just make a post and forget about it. You have to continue updating your blog and marketing it so that it will become popular and one that everyone wants to read. There are other ways as well that are good marketing your blog.

Interviewing people and posting it on your blog is an excellent way to market it. Just be sure that the people that you interview pertain to the market of your blog. You want all of your posts to be relevant, including any interviews that you might do. For example, if your blog market was vacuum cleaners, and you did an interview with the owner of Hoover vacuum cleaner; that would definitely pertain to your market. If you do conduct an interview be sure to record the audio and/or video. Create a Podcast with the audio and a Youtube channel with the video.

If you hear any news on the market of your blog, be sure that you post it. Everyone loves news, and event he readers of your blog will appreciate you blogging about the current events in the market that you are blogging about. Something to keep in mind when blogging about the news is the more current the news, the better. No one wants to reread old news, so it is a great idea to try and stay as current as possible when you are blogging about the news. News is a commodity so be sure to take a unique perspective on current events. The blog should be about you, not what others are saying.

Contests are another way that you effectively market your blog. Having contests on various things would be a lot of fun, and something that will keep your readers coming back. Everyone loves to win things, and you can also make the prize that you are giving away relevant to the market you are promoting on your blog.

While good content is something that you will need for your blog, you also want to ensure that it is original content as well. You can market a blog with something that is copied and that you do not own the rights. Plagiarism will get you in trouble with search engines as well as the person that originally wrote the content. Be sure that all of your posts are ones that only you own the rights too. This is a great thing to know and do when you are marketing your blog.

Press releases are also an excellent way to market your blog. Sending out a press release or having one made for you is a great idea. You will find that they are even affordable for most budgets, and some companies offer a package deal for example, if you let us write your press release we will submit it for half price. Who could resist a deal such as that? Especially when you are budgeting and trying to get the most from your funds.

Comments on a blog are also a very important aspect of blog marketing. You will want to be sure that you always answer and acknowledge the comments that are made to your blog as well as others. When you show that you are an actual person that can hold a conversation, you are showing others that you are real and that you really and truly have the best intentions for your blog. Make sure that no comment goes unanswered. This is true on your social media accounts as well. Always respond and interact with your audience. The goal is to build your community of like minded people.

Blog marketing is not hard to do. Just be sure that you follow all of the proven and tried techniques that others are talking about and you wont go wrong. Just don?t give up and keep on marketing because it will pay off sooner or later.