Inbound or Content Marketing is an approach to marketing that is slowly gaining ground in Slovenia. Companies are more successful in reaching their customers with useful content than with traditional advertising. Every blog, tweet, Facebook post, etc. is an Inbound Marketing activity that needs to be strategically planned, effectively implemented and tracked. We have many other online channels that also need to be tracked.

We rightly want to have a good overview and know how successful each activity is. If we monitor each channel individually, this task is a huge undertaking that is difficult even for the most organised person among us.

Marketing automation helps us manage and implement all online activities in one place. This way, we have constant access to all data and can monitor and adapt each step to the current situation. And in the end, we get a contact list with high- quality leads.

What does marketing automation tool provide?

The purpose of the marketing automation tool is to automate the Inbound Marketing processes which have been previously defined in our marketing strategy. There are many tools on the market to choose from.

The main functions of each tool are:

1. Content Management System (CMS) is already within the marketing automation solution or there is integration with existing CMS solutions such as WordPress.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool: Content must be found; therefore, SEO tool is indispensable. A keyword managing tool is also useful.
3. Social sharing: Content must become subject of debate also on social media. Integrated functionality is useful as it enables sharing and monitoring content on social media.
4. Generating leads: In order to successfully generate leads, we need smart Call to Actions (CTA) and landing pages with forms to convert visitors into leads.
5. Performance data: It is good to know in real time how successful individual content is (blog, e-book, social media post, etc.).
6. Lead nurturing: Royal discipline of any marketing automation tool. Automated email marketing saves a lot of valuable time, while smart lead scoring ensures the quality of contacts we forward to sales.

Marketing automation enables that all online activities are being managed and implemented in one place. Thus, we have constant access to all data, and we are able to closely monitor and adapt each step to the current situation. In the end, we get a contact list of quality leads (Saša Vutkovič, 2016).

When dealing with Marketing Automation tools, you need to be aware about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is an EU legislation that governs all collection and processing of personal data from individuals inside the EU. GDPR requires that you, as a legal entity, only collect personal data from your users for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes, and that you obtain their clear and affirmative consent before doing so (Cookiebot, 2022).

References

Cookiebot. (2022). GDPR and cookies | Compliant cookie use with Cookiebot CMP. Cookiebot. https://www.cookiebot.com/en/gdpr-cookies/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Cent.%2FEast%20Europe%20-%20Generic&utm_content=Cent.%20EU%20-%20ENG%20-%20GDPR%20(Eksakt)

Rodošek, N. (2022). Kaj je avtomatizacija marketinga? Kreativna agencija. https://kreativna-agencija.com/avtomatizacija/kaj-je-avtomatizacija-marketinga/

Vutkovič, S. (2016). Kaj je marketinška avtomatizacija? ISSIMO Group. http://info.issimo-group.com/inbound-marketing-blog-slovenija/kaj-je-marketin%C5%A1ka-avtomatizacija