Cloud-based services have become a go-to for businesses, irrespective of their size or which industry they belong to, for streamlining data storage, hosting, operations, and so forth. A study by 451 Research back in 2019 reveals that 90% of all organizations globally use the cloud in some capacity. So the “cloud” has very much become a part of mainstream business operations—and marketing is no exception.
While standard marketing practices involved print media, television, and radio ads, marketing has since largely migrated to the cloud. This shift was likely prompted by the limitations of standard marketing such as the lack of feedback in real-time or the opportunity to collect relevant analytics and data. With cloud-based digital marketing platforms, organizations can overcome these limitations and more, and take their marketing to the next level.
So if you’re looking to make the shift to a cloud-based marketing platform or maybe seeking inspiration for developing a cloud-based marketing platform for startups, we’ve got you covered. Let’s take a look at what cloud-based marketing solutions are and the top 6 best options for your business in 2022.
What is Cloud-Based Marketing?
Cloud-based marketing, or simply cloud marketing, relates to all of an organization’s digital marketing endeavors. It could entail anything, from email campaigns and social media platforms to websites and other online portals. In other words, cloud marketing is a company’s efforts of marketing its services or products via integrated personalized digital experiences on the internet. Customers are targeted on online applications through various advertising methods.
A cloud-based marketing platform helps streamline your cloud marketing efforts by building a number of marketing tools into comprehensive software. It is often designed with automation in mind—automation of the execution, management, analytics, and personalization in digital marketing campaigns. All in all, cloud-based digital marketing platforms are aimed at making marketing more efficient and effective.
Benefits of Cloud-Based Marketing
- Client data at your fingertips: Since digital marketing limits in-person interaction with customers, their data is an asset that needs to be leveraged to get an understanding of their expectations and needs. One of the greatest advantages of a cloud-based marketing platform is that it enables you to store valuable client data in one place and provides easy access to the same.
- Analytics tools for greater insight: The key to creating a successful digital marketing strategy is to adapt and finetune it to the changing demands of your target clientele. To this end, the best cloud-based digital marketing platforms offer in-depth analytics tools that give you valuable insight into how your customers are engaging with your content. You can then leverage this insight to provide more personalized experiences to your customers.
- Enhanced data security: Just as cloud marketing solutions help store all your customer data in one location, it also guarantees the security of this data. Data breaches can have a devastating impact on thriving businesses but shifting your marketing endeavors to the cloud helps eliminate this possibility through features such as end-to-end encryption.
The 6 Best Cloud-Based Digital Marketing Platforms in 2022
HubSpot
Looking to consolidate all your marketing efforts into a singular robust platform? HubSpot can take care of it all. One of the most advanced cloud-based digital marketing systems currently available, HubSpot takes care of every aspect of your marketing that you can think of. Designing and modifying intuitive websites that are responsive across all devices is a breeze with HubSpot’s drag-and-drop feature. From distributing dynamic as well as static HTML messages to creating personalized and attractive landing pages, you can achieve it all using this software.
The platform even makes accurate SEO suggestions to help optimize your content so that it drives traffic and increases conversion rates. HubSpot also helps businesses target the right audiences and generate engaging and attractive calls to action. Our favorite part is the platform’s A/B tests—a tool essential to developing successful marketing strategies. Users are offered a free trial period to get a hang of the platform and see if it fits their use case before investing in it.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has on offer an extensive range of CRM capabilities and other functionalities that can boost lead generation like nothing else. If marketing automation is one of your priorities, you can use ActiveCampaign’s automation builders to build an efficient and smooth automation sequence, no coding required. The software allows users to A/B test email campaigns and also segment their email lists for more targeted email marketing. It comes with a free trial period of 14 days so you can decide if it’s a good fit for your marketing goals.
Marketo
Marketo packs in quite a punch in terms of automation and lead management features. So if you’re looking to ramp up your digital marketing strategy a few notches, you should definitely consider this platform. Marketo, instead of being sold as a complete platform, is separated into a number of products. This makes it extremely flexible as you can only pay for the features that you need and ignore the rest. The interface is intuitive and easy to use.
Setting up the platform is impressively easy and quick, considering how comprehensive it is. Using this software, you can build and automate entire campaigns with a focus on clients or accounts that are most important. Marketo also looks after your company’s mobile, email, and social media marketing needs. It also has support for creating personalized advertisements to make customer interaction more dynamic. We did find, however, that the platform lacks sufficient CRM capabilities which calls for a third-party service for this purpose.
monday.com
Another leading cloud-based marketing platform that can provide your team with the perfect all-in-one collaborative digital workspace is monday.com. Monday.com is incredibly agile in its capabilities and enables businesses to keep tabs on everything from portfolio and project management to managing sales pipelines. Boasting a simple, user-friendly, intuitive interface, the platform is filled to the brim with both basic and advanced features aimed at streamlining workflows. It features integrations with over 30 communication channels like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, email, and Slack, making sure everyone is on the same page at all times.
Gauging progress, assigning tasks, and viewing project statuses become painless and easily manageable using monday.com’s diverse range of marketing tools. It can be accessed across all devices and if that’s not enough, provides phenomenal customer support. All in all, the platform offers a well-rounded marketing experience that can benefit businesses of all sizes.
Semrush
If search engine optimization is high on your digital marketing priority list, Semrush is one of the best cloud-based digital marketing platforms you can get your hands on. It features a host of compelling SEO tools integrated into an easy-to-use, distinctly visual interface. The built-in Writing Assistant helps businesses come up with SEO-friendly articles with optimal readability and originality. Semrush also generates graphs showing your company’s analytics reports and also features modules for keywords, backlinks, and advertising research. Essentially, all your market research needs are taken care of on a single platform.
With 50+ tools, products, and add-ons, Semrush is designed with visibility management in mind. It integrates seamlessly with a number of task management tools including Google products. This service also comes with a social media poster and tracker so you can automate your social media marketing process across multiple channels. What’s more, Semrush offers a free trial period allowing potential buyers to do a test run before investing in a paid plan.
Omnisend
Omnisend has on offer a wide range of omnichannel marketing capabilities that are ideal for polishing and optimizing your marketing endeavors. It brings together social media marketing, email marketing, SMS marketing, and much more to extend your reach to a much wider audience. With an array of built-in email templates, the platform makes it really simple to create customized emails. You can also automate the process of segregating and sending emails to the right recipients.
Omnisend features an assortment of engaging and interactive lead forms including popups, signup boxes, and more. Added capabilities include A/B tests, a Campaign Booster feature, and an efficient content editing tool. The platform also features meticulous analytics reports that businesses can leverage to finetune their campaigns. There is, however, no free trial.
Digital Marketing Made Easy
Cloud-based marketing, if implemented well, can be a game-changer for any organization irrespective of industry or size. The above examples of cloud-based digital marketing platforms can help cover all your marketing strategies and streamline the process to make it more successful overall.
