Tuesday Tech Bytes: Unleashing Adobe Marketo Engage Insights Weekly

[Darshil_Shah1]

Hello Marketing Nation!

Welcome to 'Tuesday Tech Bytes,' your weekly source for expert insights on Adobe Marketo Engage.

Let me introduce myself:

I'm Darshil Shah, a Senior Consultant with Deloitte India, with nearly 5 years of rich experience in Marketo. I'm a 2x Marketo Engage Champion (Champion of the Year 2022), 3x Certified Expert, 2x Certfied Architect, 2x Subject Matter Expert, Community Advisor, India MUG leader, and above all, a passionate Marketo advocate!

Join me as I post a range of valuable topics, from optimizing your Marketo experience to best practices, integrations, success stories, and hidden gems over the next few weeks. Tune in every Tuesday for a byte-sized dose of Marketo wisdom!

Our journey over the next 8 weeks will cover themes such as:

• Tips & Tricks
• Best Practices
• Integrations & Success Stories
• Golden Nuggets

I am absolutely thrilled to embark on this journey of learning and growth with all of you.

I warmly invite you to engage with the weekly content posted on this thread by liking, commenting, and sharing. If there are specific topics you'd like me to delve into, please don't hesitate to let me know by posting a comment below.

Together, let's ignite discussions, share invaluable insights, and collectively ensure the resounding success of this program!

[Darshil_Shah1 · Accepted solution]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Tips & Tricks – 1 (Dt. 10/10/2023)

Marketo has an excellent service that automatically deactivates dormant triggered campaigns with no activity in the past six months. This quarterly cleanup is great for optimizing system performance.

However, there's a catch – along with non-operational campaigns (like old event registration campaigns), even operational ones may get deactivated in this process. Marketo does provide notifications a week before the idle-campaign deactivation and after the cleanup. But, in a busy instance with many notifications daily, it's easy to miss them.

One of my first actions in a new instance is subscribing to key notifications via email, including "Idle Trigger Campaign Cleanup." This simple step saves me time by eliminating the need to sift through notifications and lets me focus on building.

As a side note, if you find many operational campaigns listed for idle campaign deactivation, consider whether you truly need them.

Additionally, you can reset the clock on any smart campaign by:

• A person qualifying for the campaign.
• Manually deactivating and reactivating the campaign.

Either action resets the 6-month counter, which can be helpful for operational campaigns marked for deactivation. You can learn all about automatic trigger campaign cleanup in the Experience League product documentation here.

Let me know how you find this week's tech-byte and feel free to add more colors to it and/or share your suggestions. See y'all with another such Marketo tech byte next Tuesday!

Stay Tuned!

[Darshil_Shah1]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Tips & Tricks – 2 (Dt. 10/17/2023) 

Hello again, Marketing Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes," your weekly source of insights into Adobe Marketo Engage. Last week, we delved into the importance of keeping your Marketo instance in top shape through idle campaign cleanup. This week, we continue our journey with a valuable tip that every seasoned Marketo user should embrace: "Being Mindful of Run Single Flow Actions."

The Convenience, But Also the Challenge

Undoubtedly, running single flow actions can make life easier by allowing to swiftly update records. However, once those records are updated, it could become a challenge to track the updates (especially in the long run). Unlike campaigns, where you can reference  campaign members using the "Member of Smart Campaign" filter to identify the people, "Run Single Flow Actions" lacks this bit.

Moreover, as records update, they may no longer qualify for the original smart list. This means that the people you've updated might just vanish from your smart list, making it nearly impossible to retrieve them later, especially if there's no corresponding campaign to guide you (until you build smart list to pull people based on the updates you just made).

The Wisdom in Being Conservative

For these reasons, it's recommended to be cautious about using or allowing others to use "Run Single Flow Actions." It's prudent to consider restricting access to this feature in user roles, especially for non-admin users. There's a permission set avaibale in the "Access Database" category that you can use to restrict users from being able to run single flow actions.

By being conservative with the usage of run single flow actions, you not only protect your data but also ensure a more organized and trackable marketing operation.

Stay tuned for more Marketo insights next Tuesday as we explore additional such bytes to optimize your Marketo experience. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions, and let us know how you find this week's tech byte.

Until next time, keep marketing smart, Marketing Nation!

[Darshil_Shah1]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: IP Address: Dedicated vs. Shared Best Practices  (Dt. 10/24/2023)

Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome back to another edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes," your weekly source of valuable insights into Adobe Marketo Engage. Last week, we discussed the importance of being mindful of "Run Single Flow Actions" in Marketo. Today, we delve into a crucial aspect of email marketing: deliverability.

The Myth of the Dedicated IP

It's not uncommon to hear marketers turning to dedicated IP addresses as the holy grail of email deliverability. While it can indeed be beneficial, let's bust the myth that it's the sole solution to your email deliverability problems.

A Multifaceted Challenge

Email deliverability is a complex puzzle influenced by several factors. From content relevance to sender reputation, it's a multifaceted challenge. Even if you're using a shared IP address, it's not solely about your neighbors' behavior. Your success depends on various elements coming together.

The Bigger Picture

Marketers need to see the bigger picture. Instead of fixating on one aspect like a dedicated IP, you should focus on optimizing all the elements that contribute to your email reputation. This includes:

1. Content Relevance: Are your emails valuable to your recipients?
2. Send Frequencies: Are you bombarding inboxes or maintaining a healthy send rate?
3. Domain Authorization: Is your domain authenticated and trusted?
4. Tenant Discipline: Are you and your email marketing neighbors following best practices?

Dedicated IP: Email Volume Matters

If you're considering a dedicated IP, remember that size matters. For smaller email volumes, a dedicated IP might not be the best choice. With fewer emails, it's challenging to maintain the IP's reputation and keep it "warm" enough for major ISPs. In such cases, it might actually harm your deliverability.

The Long Game

Email reputation isn't built overnight. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Marketers should focus on consistent, best-practice-driven email marketing to establish and maintain a stellar reputation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while a dedicated IP can play a role in improving email deliverability, it's just one piece of the puzzle. To truly enhance your email marketing success, address all the factors that impact your email reputation.

Stay tuned for more Marketo insights next Tuesday as we continue to uncover the intricacies of successful marketing operations.

Until next time, keep marketing smart, Marketing Nation!

[Darshil_Shah1 · Accepted solution]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Exploring Branded CNAMEs for Enhanced Marketing (Dt. 10/31/2023)

Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes." Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of CNAMEs (Canonical Names) and how they can supercharge your marketing efforts with Adobe Marketo Engage.

The Power of Branded CNAMEs

Branding is more important than ever in today's competitive landscape. A branded domain CNAME lets you use a customized subdomain for your Marketo landing pages and emails, adding a touch of professionalism and trust to your marketing initiatives.

Unlocking Marketing Potential

To truly maximize your marketing potential, it's essential to replace the default Marketo domains with custom domains or subdomains that align seamlessly with your brand identity. This small change can yield significant benefits:

• Boost your brand's credibility
• Improve email reputation (for email CNAMES)
• Enhance SEO (for LPs)

Best Practices for Selecting Your CNAME

When choosing a CNAME, consider the following best practices:

• Choose a memorable brand-aligned subdomain
• Keep it simple and concise, making it easier to remember
• Plan for scalability to accommodate future growth, such as additional business units
• Ensure that CNAMES for Emails and LPs are distinct
• Avoid spammy keywords like 'track,' 'link,' or 'free'
• Periodically test the DNS resolution to ensure proper configuration
• Emphasize security with SSL/TLS encryption and HTTPS

I hope this post has given you valuable insights into the world of CNAMEs and provided you with essential tips for selecting the right CNAME for your brand. Remember, every detail counts in your marketing strategy!

Stay tuned for more Marketo insights next Tuesday as we continue to explore the intricacies of successful marketing operations.

Until next time, keep marketing smart, Marketing Nation! 🔥💯

[Zoe_Forman]

Agree branded CNAMES are a key element in Global consistency, and brand awareness along with custom domains, short links etc.

I love the weekly bite-size tips/reminders/ideas and have shared them with my team.

[Darshil_Shah1 · Accepted solution]

Thank you so much, @Zoe_Forman! 🙂

I am super glad to learn that you and your team have been enjoying weekly techbytes! Be on the lookout for an integration-themed tech byte next Tuesday! 😎

[Darshil_Shah1]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Maximizing Marketo Success with Social Integration Strategies (Dt. 11/07/2023)

Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes."

If you've ever wondered why people created by social integrations can't qualify for a smart campaign, despite having all the necessary attributes and data in line with the campaign's smart list criteria and qualification rules, the answer might lie in your Marketo workspaces and person partitions.

It's a well-known fact among Marketo users that a workspace's access to a specific person partition is crucial. If a workspace doesn't have access to a particular person partition, it can't access or process people within that partition. Keep in mind that people cannot belong to more than one person partition simultaneously.

Now, here's the key piece of information: social integrations, including platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, always create new people in the default person partition of your Marketo subscription.

Connecting the dots above, it becomes clear why people may not qualify and flow through a campaign. It could be due to the campaign being set up in a workspace that lacks access to the default person partition.

So, if you are using multiple workspaces and person partitions, it's a wise decision to house campaigns with social triggers and filters in a workspace that has access to the default partition.

P.S. - A Critical Note

On a side note, I can't stress enough the importance of having at least one workspace, preferably the default workspace itself, with the ability to see all the person partitions present in your Marketo instance. I hope this pro tip helps you optimize your Adobe Marketo experience and ensures that your smart campaigns run smoothly.

Watch this space for another techy-tech byte next Tuesday! Keep marketing smart, Marketing Nation!

[Darshil_Shah1]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Maximizing Marketo's API Capabilities with Launchpoint Services (Dt. 11/14/2023)

Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome back to another insightful edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes."

Today, let's dive into the intricate world of Marketo's API functionality and Launchpoint services.

Did you know that Marketo allows users to create multiple services, both custom and native, within Launchpoint for a single API user? While this flexibility exists within the platform, it's essential to understand the implications and best practices associated with this capability.

Here's the crux of the matter: Marketo doesn't impose restrictions on users creating several services under one API user or employing the same service credentials across multiple integrations. However, adopting this approach might not align with recommended practices due to specific considerations.

The access tokens generated using the API service's credentials (Client ID and Secret) are tied to each individual custom service rather than the user. This means that even if two "Identity" endpoint responses are related to the same user, the access tokens and their expiration periods remain distinct if they were created with credentials from different services.

Understanding this key insight proves valuable when managing multiple sets of API credentials within the same integration service. The Client ID serves as an effective means to handle access tokens and their associated expiration periods independently across various integrations.

Nevertheless, it's crucial to stress best practices in API usage within Marketo. It's highly recommended to maintain a separate API user and a corresponding Launchpoint service for each integration. This approach provides granular control over permissions, ensuring meticulous tracking of API usage on a per-integration basis.

By adhering to best practices, marketers can ensure robust control over integrations, maintain security standards, and efficiently manage API usage within Marketo.

Stay tuned for more techy-tech insights next Tuesday!

Keep harnessing the power of Marketo to elevate your marketing strategies, Marketing Nation!

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[Darshil_Shah1]

Tuesday Tech Bytes: Unveiling Marketo's Hidden Gem: Short-lived Preview URLs for Landing Pages (Dt. 11/21/2023)

Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome back to another edition of "Tuesday Tech Bytes."

Today, we're uncovering a relatively overlooked yet immensely practical feature within Marketo: the ability to generate short-lived preview URLs for landing pages, accessible to the wider world without Marketo access.

Did you know that Marketo offers marketers the capability to create short-lived preview URLs for their landing pages? This feature enables a seamless preview experience without the need for access to Marketo itself.

Here's how it works: Simply navigate to the specific landing page in Marketo, head to the "Landing Page Actions" dropdown in the top right, select "URL Tools," and click on "Generate Preview URL." Refer to the snapshot below:

The magic lies in the time-sensitive nature of these URLs. Once generated, they remain valid for 8 hours from the time of creation, allowing stakeholders outside Marketo to view the draft version of the landing page. What's more, any updates made to the draft version are reflected in real time through this preview URL.

This feature comes in handy particularly when seeking approvals from individuals who aren't Marketo users. Imagine the convenience of sharing a temporary preview URL without needing to add them as Marketo users.

While not every marketer might regularly require sign-offs from non-Marketo users, having this option readily available proves invaluable for those instances when external validation is necessary.

It's worth noting that this powerful feature remains somewhat underutilized within Marketo. Despite its practicality, its full potential might not be widely known among marketers.

Stay tuned for more insightful tech tidbits next Tuesday!

Keep leveraging Marketo's versatile features to elevate your marketing strategies, Marketing Nation!