Updated September 2020
When you are first getting started with Pardot, the concepts of nurture marketing and marketing automation may be new to you. And, even if you already have a good understanding of these concepts, you may need some new campaign ideas from time to time.
The way to ensure that you are successful when designing Pardot campaigns is to understand the audience that you are speaking to and what types of content will best suit the purpose that you are trying to achieve. Pardot’s automation and segmentation tools allow you to think more intelligently about which messages different groups of your audience should receive, and therefore control their experience.
A nurture marketing strategy is one that incorporates multiple touchpoints with the goal of nurturing a lead to a point of sale or interest.
Marketing automation is the concept of using technology to automate communication with your audience. It allows audience behaviors, such as email opens and website visits, to be tracked, and even trigger subsequent actions.
The best place to start with designing Pardot campaigns is to define the audience that you would like to create a campaign for. This may be new prospects that enter Pardot through a contact form on your website, leads from a recent trade show you attended, or existing members of your database.
When marketing to existing leads, you will have the ability to segment the list based on prospect score, tags, activity, or any field data. Read more on audience segmentation here.
Some examples of target audiences from your existing database may include:
The next step in designing Pardot campaigns is to craft the content and messaging that will resonate with that audience. When designing Pardot campaigns, be sure to incorporate a central call-to-action, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a demo, and tailor your messages to align with that call-to-action.
An important part of this step is determining how many email touchpoints the campaign should have. Is this an audience that will benefit from weekly or biweekly communication? Is this lead at the end of their sales cycle and needs more aggressive communication? Consider your audience, and how many different touchpoints should be assembled.
Crafting effective content often involves informative or educational pieces. These pieces should be related to your call-to-action, but should not be overbearing. For example, if you are marketing commercial loans, you may provide a content piece that contains tips for positioning your business for financing.
This helps to establish you as a thought leader in your space and is a soft nudge to nurturing your lead to the point where they are ready to make a purchase. When your prospects engage with this type of content, it is also typically indicative of their intentions and helps to qualify them as a sales opportunity.
After crafting the messaging, the next step to designing Pardot campaigns is creating digital assets. These will mainly be the email templates that you will need for sending and may involve landing pages that you direct your prospects to during the campaign, or any accompanying downloadable infographics/whitepapers.
When designing Pardot campaigns, remember to convey your call-to-action clearly, and stick to your company’s branding. Also, be sure that you have generated a text version of your email, and include links behind all of your photos. Mobile users especially will expect that they can tap on an image rather than a text link to arrive at the intended destination.
With your audience segmented, content crafted, and design created, you are ready to move from designing Pardot campaigns to building out your workflow in Engagement Studio. In addition to sending out your emails at specific intervals, Engagement Studio allows you to send your prospects down different paths depending on their behaviors, or any of their profile data.
Think about any behavioral triggers such as email clicks or form submissions that may make you want to treat the prospect differently. Or, would you like to have prospects of a particular industry receive a specific case study that pertains to them, while the rest of the prospects receive a more general case study?
Building out a workflow can be overwhelming, so the best advice is to map it out on paper ahead of time. Draw a physical path that you would like your prospects to take, and then take that to Engagement Studio to investigate your options. Read more about building out your workflow here.
As part of the beginning and end of your workflow, consider adding a notification or task for sales reps. This can help them prepare and adjust for incoming inquiries as well as prioritize who they follow up with.
Once you’re done designing Pardot campaigns, building out workflows in Engagement Studio, and everyone involved has had a chance to review it, go ahead and schedule your campaign! Be mindful of the best sending times for your audience, and adjust your workflow accordingly. The Engagement Studio allows you to set specific days and time periods for sending so that your emails will always be delivered at the ideal time for your prospects.
Looking for more workflow ideas? Check out these templates from Pardot.
