The latest Marketing Cloud release is live! This is one of the most exciting and long-awaited SFMC releases, Salesforce have jampacked each studio with new enhancements. Here are our top picks of the main changes and updates you should be aware of. Let’s take a closer look at some new features.
Marketing Cloud Journeys and Messages
AMP for Emails
AMP for Email is a new open-source framework that allows customers to interact with messages directly in their inbox in real-time. You can use the new AMP for Email feature for many use cases within Content builder, for example:
- Carousels
- Confirmations and opt-ins
- Real-time data
- Browsing and research
- Appointment booking
Use case:
You are a general practitioner who reminds his patients to come for an annual appointment for a regular health check. Now you can provide the option to book an appointment right from the email when they are ready to visit you. AMP for email will give the option real time with no need to visit your website.
Once a patient selects the date and time, they will receive a confirmation email created from Journey Builder.
Best practices:
- Use an HTML fallback for contacts which email client doesn’t support AMP for Email
- Test the AMP emails with various email clients – AMP emails are supported in Gmail, Yahoo, and Mail.Ru mail clients only.
- Use the standard UI conventions in the emails
Marketing Cloud WhatsApp Messages
In 2021, WhatsApp is one of the most prevalent communication channels in the world and many businesses would prefer it to talk to their customers. Now it’s also possible from Marketing Cloud.
With a new chat messaging feature, you can send only transactional messages. WhatsApp must pre-approve the templates before they can be used (so you don’t sneak promos in there). You can send, for example, information about product shipment, purchase confirmation.
Datorama Reports
One of the struggles with Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the detailed and structured reporting available. The roll-out of Datorama for Marketing Cloud enables both Email Campaign reporting and Journey reporting with visual dashboards. Now you can schedule and share reports via Excel, CSV, and Text or PowerPoint, PDF, and PNG.
Also, there is a possibility of customisable reports with pivot tables using attributes and measures.
The functionality is available as an app in Marketing Cloud, but a Datorama account is built into the background that supports this feature.
Watch the video below for a demo of Datorama for Marketing Cloud.
Marketing Cloud Einstein
Einstein Send Time Optimization for Mobile
Now you can send push notifications at the best time for each and every customer, not just email. Here’s a short explanation on how it works:
Einstein Send Time Optimization analyses previous sends and customer’s behaviour patterns over time and this way can send a message to each individual user at the best time. When Einstein doesn’t have enough information to create an engagement model for a contact, it uses a standardized model. This function keeps you away from manual testing and helps you to increase your customer’s engagement.
Enhanced send time insight
New Einstein functionality that helps you to increase email open rates. Based on historical performance, Einstein feature can predict optimal email send frequency for each customer so that you communicate more with less active contacts and avoid unsubscribes from engaged users. Einstein feature will help you to increase engagement and customer satisfaction.
Marketing Cloud App and Setup
Bring Encryption Keys from Your System to Marketing Cloud
Marketing Cloud Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) is now available to all Marketing Cloud customers. For the privacy-conscious, you can now bring your private key for decrypting files in Automation Studio. You can import, rotate, and revoke your key based on your security and business needs.
Previously you could only use the Marketing Cloud public key for file encryption and private key for decryption.
Marketing Cloud Data Management
Google Analytics Integration
SFMC supported integration with paid Google Analytics 360 for past couple of years. Newly, an integration with free Google Analytics is available from Salesforce Marketing Cloud. From Journey Builder, you can access Google Analytics tracking and reporting.
This version doesn’t include Google Audiences reporting.
Salesforce also announced several minor updates for Social Studio, Pardot and Interaction Studio.
Make sure to learn more about the new features and get to know how Salesforce can help your business to grow with digital transformation process. Meet our leading experts for 1-hour consultation. Book your #ExpertHour with Isobar here.
