Technology has become a huge part of everyone's lives, especially marketers, in the last decade. It seems that everything on a marketing professional's to-do list, from analyzing current lead generation numbers to setting up a new email campaign, requires some type of marketing technology. Due to the complexity of each platform it's easy to end up with a different software for each task, which, let's be real, is a lot of software for a lot of tasks! That's why it's important to start thinking about this early and plan an organized and comprehensive “stack” of marketing technologies. Invest in technologies to create a stack where different platforms perform different functions such as one for social media scheduling, one for analytics, and a CRM software. This requires some careful planning to decide which platforms you really need. Setting up your marketing technologies in layers can also help you maximize your marketing strategy and get the right content to the right place at the right time.
If you're overwhelmed by your marketing technology and want to learn how to create an organized and effective marketing stack, or if you're just getting started on choosing your technology platforms and want to get it right, here's what we're talking about...
“If you don’t plan now, you are likely to end up with a tangle of disparate systems all churning out data – none of which you can combine and measure.”
This article goes over how to plan your marketing technology stack to prevent yourself from being unable to keep track of it all, especially as you add new ones! Also goes over the different types of marketing technologies you should have so that you know what you need to have a complete stack.
“31 percent of marketing executives now report using more than 10 different pieces of marketing technology”
With more options comes more chances for an overwhelming number of technologies on your plate. Never fear! This article will tell you just what you need to evaluate on your marketing strategy to figure out which technologies you need, and which ones get thrown out the window! Choose marketing technologies based on what you want to know and the usability of the platforms.
“While this app was becoming wildly popular with tweens and teens, something else was happening, too. It was transforming from a quiet dark horse into a serious contender in social media.”
Snapchat doesn't have to be just for selfies and funny videos! You can make great use of it as part of the B2B marketing community. This article shows you how many major companies are using Snapchat as a successful part of their marketing strategy, and also gives tips on using it.
Does your company need social media automation on other platforms? Find out in this article.
“Only 3% of marketers say the various marketing technologies they use are easy to integrate with.”
Marketing tech...can't live with it, can't live without it. Most marketers say they don't like using new technologies, yet it's something that is necessary to learn. This infographic is a great visual that lays out just the love-hate relationship between marketers and technology.
“Because of the value it can provide, the martech space is in the midst of an exponential growth curve. The sheer breadth of channels, and number of marketing technology vendors is mind-boggling.”
These statistics will surely make you want to invest your time and money in a marketing technology stack. If you're not sure what exactly a marketing tech stack in the first place, this resource will tell you all about it, and the importance of one, as well as give you the key layers you need to have a complete and effective stack.
“we invited marketers to send in a single-slide diagram of their marketing technology stack, the different marketing software products that they use in their work, organized in a way that makes the most sense to them”
If you love learning via good examples, this is the perfect resource for you. This resource displays the winners of a marketing stack competition so that you only see the best. Use these to get inspiration, ideas, or just to see what tools/layers your could add to your current stack of technologies.
“Four things that I kept seeing come up in the variety of talks that I went to was virtual and augmented reality, image, especially when it comes to image search engine optimization, chatbots, and voice search”
We can't predict the future, but we can try! Predictions on new technologies that could become the next big thing in marketing.
Marketing is no longer about sending out one message to everyone! Nowdays, we need to make sure that we are sending the right message to the right person during the correct stage of the Buyer's Journey. And, in order to properly distribute content to nurture each lead down a funnel, marketers require all the correct technology. That's why setting up a stack can make mundane and time-consuming tasks a breeze with automation, ensuring that every lead gets the attention they need.
If you have any tips or advice about creating the best marketing stack, we're dying to know! Comment below: