Let’s Review 3 Journeys for Enhancing Fan Engagement

Objective

In today’s dynamic digital landscape, engaging fans and fostering product comprehension are paramount for any organization, especially in the competitive realm of sports entertainment. As a seasoned marketing professional with a passion for driving results, I’ve spearheaded initiatives aimed at increasing fan engagement and product comprehension through personalized journey activation. Through 3 compelling case studies focused on NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket, I’ll demonstrate how a proactive approach to streamlining workflows and enhancing engagement strategies can yield tangible results, including heightened awareness, increased subscriptions, and amplified revenue. Join me on this journey as we delve into the intricacies of personalized journey activation and its transformative impact on fan experiences.

 We started with 3 goals:

  • Increased awareness, product comprehension, subscriptions, and revenue for NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket.
  • Enhanced integration of partners into fan journeys.
  • Improved scalability and effectiveness of 1:1 engagement efforts, particularly with Clubs.

These case studies highlight the proactive approach that I took to streamlining workflows and enhancing fan engagement strategies, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for team projects and initiatives.

Background

Management’s strategic vision centered on elevating fan engagement strategies to new heights by integrating a myriad of innovative initiatives into their journey activation plans. At the forefront of these efforts was a laser-focused approach to enhancing awareness, subscriptions, and revenue for flagship offerings like NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket. Recognizing the pivotal role that personalized journey activation plays in shaping fan experiences, management embarked on a journey to revitalize engagement strategies and deepen connections with their audience. Leveraging cutting-edge techniques and industry best practices, they sought to create immersive and tailored experiences that resonated with fans on a deeper level. Through meticulous planning and execution, the goal was to not only capture attention but also foster long-term loyalty and advocacy among fans, ultimately driving sustained growth and success for the organization.

My Approach

In my role with the NFL, I was tasked with crafting mobile modals through OneSignal, a pivotal component of our engagement strategy. However, my approach to this task went beyond mere execution; it involved a strategic mindset aimed at maximizing impact and resonance with our fans. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, I meticulously analyzed user behaviors, preferences, and engagement patterns to tailor each modal to specific segments of our audience. This approach allowed me to craft personalized messages, subject lines, and descriptions that resonated deeply with users, driving higher click-through rates and overall engagement. By leveraging data-driven insights and a keen understanding of our audience, I was able to create modals that not only captured attention but also fostered meaningful connections with our fans, ultimately contributing to the success of our engagement initiatives.

Here’s 3 examples of campaigns requiring the incorporation of modals and mobile components:

This campaign includes an in-app modal scheduled to appear on Thursdays, which are non-game days. The purpose of this modal is to provide an informative introduction to NFL+ for potential customers.

In-App Modal on Thursday (Non-Game Day):

  • Purpose: Informative introduction to NFL+ for potential customers.
  • Content: Welcome to NFL+. Provide information on what NFL+ includes to entice users.
  • Action: Guide users to explore more about NFL+ features and benefits.

The content of the modal would likely include a welcoming message to NFL+, along with details about what NFL+ offers, such as access to live games, exclusive content, and other features. The goal is to entice users by highlighting the benefits of NFL+.

The action prompted by this modal is to encourage users to explore more about NFL+ features and benefits. This could involve providing a link or button within the modal that directs users to a page where they can learn more about NFL+ and potentially sign up for a free trial or subscription.

Overall, the campaign strategy aims to leverage in-app modals to effectively introduce NFL+ to potential customers, educate them about its features, and ultimately drive them towards taking action to learn more or sign up. The campaign’s purpose is directly aligned with its content and calls to action – purpose is the throughline that brings everything back around together. 

In-App Modal on Sunday (Game Day):

  • Purpose: Excite users for Sunday game-day action.
  • Content: Focus on Redzone for premium subscribers, highlighting all-day action. For basic subscribers, focus on SNF matchup to create excitement.
  • Action: Encourage users to tap and access Redzone or SNF matchup on NFL+.

For the “In-App Modal on Sunday (Game Day)” campaign, the goal is to excite users for the game-day action happening on Sundays.

The purpose of this modal is to generate excitement among users for the Sunday game-day action.

For premium subscribers, the content of the modal focuses on Redzone, highlighting the all-day action available to them. This could include mentioning the various games and highlights that Redzone offers throughout the day.

For basic subscribers, the modal shifts the focus to the Sunday Night Football (SNF) matchup. The content emphasizes the excitement of the upcoming SNF game to create anticipation and engagement.

The action prompted by this modal is to encourage users to tap and access either Redzone or the SNF matchup on NFL+. This could involve providing a direct link or button within the modal that directs users to the respective content on the NFL+ platform.

Overall, the campaign aims to leverage in-app modals on Sundays to engage users with the exciting game-day action, whether they are premium or basic subscribers, and drive them to access the content on NFL+.

Churn Risk Strategies

Basic Subscribers:

Previously Active for at Least a Week with Low Current Week Activity:

  • NFL.com Visit: Provide game-day matchups or evergreen content to spark interest in current or upcoming matchups.
  • NFL App Visit: Deliver modal focused on matchup excitement or primetime matchups.
    Premium Subscribers:
  • Previously Active for at Least a Week with Low Current Week Activity:
  • NFL.com Visit: Offer game-day matchups or evergreen content, emphasizing Redzone excitement.
  • NFL App Visit: Present modal to excite users for Redzone action.

Basic Subscribers:

Previously Active for at Least a Week with Low Current Week Activity:

NFL.com Visit: For basic subscribers who have previously shown activity but have been inactive in the current week, providing game-day matchups or evergreen content on NFL.com can reignite their interest in current or upcoming matchups. This content could include highlights, player interviews, or analysis to engage them.

NFL App Visit: Delivering a modal focused on matchup excitement or primetime matchups within the NFL app can grab the attention of basic subscribers. By highlighting the excitement of upcoming matchups or key games, this approach aims to re-engage them with the content.

Premium Subscribers:

Previously Active for at Least a Week with Low Current Week Activity:

NFL.com Visit: Offering game-day matchups or evergreen content on NFL.com is still relevant for premium subscribers with low current week activity. However, the emphasis here should be on exciting features like Redzone coverage to cater to their premium subscription benefits and retain their interest.

NFL App Visit: Presenting a modal within the NFL app that excites premium subscribers for Redzone action can be particularly effective. Since premium subscribers have access to Redzone, focusing on this feature in the modal can remind them of the exclusive benefits of their subscription and encourage them to explore Redzone content.

In summary, these churn risk strategies aim to re-engage both basic and premium subscribers who have shown low activity by providing tailored content and modals that align with their subscription level and preferences, ultimately reducing churn and retaining their interest in the NFL platform.

Outcome

In conclusion, the strategic incorporation of mobile modals within the NFL’s engagement campaigns exemplifies the power of personalized and targeted communication in driving fan interaction and fostering brand loyalty. By analyzing user behaviors and preferences, crafting tailored messages, and strategically guiding users towards desired actions, these campaigns effectively leverage the mobile platform to enhance fan experiences and deepen connections with the NFL brand. Whether introducing potential customers to NFL+ on non-game days or exciting fans for Sunday game-day action, each campaign aligns its purpose, content, and calls to action to create meaningful interactions with users. Moving forward, embracing this personalized approach to engagement will continue to be instrumental in maximizing the impact and resonance of marketing initiatives within the dynamic landscape of sports entertainment.

0
Owned Campaigns
0
Different CRMs
0 M+
Sendable Database

Some data lived on Salesforce for running reports, building dashboards, or cross referencing data.

Some email builds were built directly in SFMC while others were pushed via API. Social Studio component too.

Used mainly for ad hoc email sends and relegated to a small subset of fan communications.

The majority of my workload is spent in Adobe Journey Optimizer building out fan journeys and filtering through data.

Adobe Experience Platforms powers everything we do from content hosting to reporting and campaign execution.

Modal creation for SMS and in-app messaging. Creating, building, and activating modals for mobile comms.

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager is my go-to for filtering and sifting through lists and fan data.

For a time, there were several IPs that needed to be monitored and managed to increase reputation issues.

Managing and creating queries to pull data from multiple tables for list sends. Buildin these skills daily.

Creative Workflow Streamlining for Promotional Campaigns

Intro

I’ve never been a sports fan, but imagine my surprise when NFL recruiters started leaving voicemails about a possible contract with the league’s marketing department. I knew it would be time to roll up my sleeves and prepare to dive into new platforms, new data models, and a unique business model to follow. The work was simply marvelous, albeit extremely time consuming. Transitioning from Salesforce’s ecosystem back to Adobe was tough, but training from both Salesforce proper and additional training resources made the learning journey exciting. As one of 3 Fan Journey Managers for the entire league, I also landed the responsibility of managing League journeys over journeys for the 32 teams! If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work for one of the world’s most renown organizations, here’s what a typical day looked like as a Fan Journey Manager. 

There’s a harsh but eye-opening reality that comes with producing world-class marketing campaigns for organizations like ESPN and the NFL. Behind the glitz and glamour of America’s favorite pastime lies a battlefield of fierce competition, relentless deadlines, and unyielding expectations. For those aspiring to venture into the realm of technical marketing roles with within sports leagues, this journey promises not just excitement and opportunity, but also a grueling test of skill, resilience, creativity, and time commitment. Strap in as I help peel back the curtain on the reality of navigating the high-stakes world of NFL marketing.

On a Tuesday

7:00 AM – Kickoff Meeting with Creative
I start the day with a meeting to touch base with Creative. We dive into the status of our Shop promotions, discussing the involvement of our third-party implementation partner. It’s crucial to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the need for unique codes and respective responsibilities. Its here that we get aligned on any creative assets that need to be created for outgoing emails, SMS, or in-app messaging deployments. We also take time here to look over all pending LucidChart campaigns, touch points, and timelines for any launches. 

8:30 AM – Touch Base with Business Intelligence
Experiences with list generation will always vary based on role and industry. I’ve had a ton of jobs where my team, CRM, would be responsible for pulling and generating lists, however in the same token I’ve had the opposite where we’d coordinate with business intelligence teams for list acquisition. Weekly meetings with business intelligence actually help organizations across the board as teams become more digital facing. In my experience, cross-functional teams will always have non-technical personnel who benefit from data transparency. Team members can manage their own roles better when there’s some understanding of how the data works, what it looks like, and any timetables associated with said data. These are all questions that get answered by the good folks in business intelligence in most cases. In sports, these meetings help us understand how we process real-time fan data. 

9:15 AM – Modals for In-App Messaging
Next, I typically join forces with my colleagues to manage OneSignal Modals for in-app messaging. Apps and events like NFL+, NFL Sunday Ticket, and the NFL Fantasy app are managed by PCM, People Cloud Manager, Adobe Journey Builder, and OneSignal. Without going into the nitty gritty, we manage channel deployments from the league to the 32 teams using an array of different software tools that integrate with the teams’ different tech stacks, So, for instance, we’re triggering email journeys to Salesforce Marketing Cloud and HubSpot from event triggers within Adobe Journey Builder. These triggers require all the moving parts to be set up ahead of time, hence our meeting to discuss the build time and resources for OneSignal modals. Essentially, my job entails updating modals’ content imagery, copy text, and calls-to-action, then updating those modals’ triggers within Adobe Experience Platform API. 

10:00 AM – Aligning the Creative Workback Schedule
After the modals are set up, management ensures that creative due dates align seamlessly with our workback schedule. Real-time data dependent campaigns require a coordinated song and dance between Campaign Ops, Creative, and Business Intelligence. A part of my job required maintenance and management of a productivity worksheet called the Creative Workback Schedule. We place the spreadsheet in a public folder for all to review any due dates required for creative assets. So, I list all the outgoing emails, texts, and in-app comms in the spreadsheet along with any anticipated due dates, deadlines, etc. to ensure that all teams are always informed on creative availability. 

I took the liberty of suggesting an additional column in the Creative Workback Schedule to accommodate a new identification code for reference between campaign LucidCharts. While it may seem like a small addition, this new column made it significantly easier for the creative team to differentiate each communications deployment across the Lucid and Workback Schedule. Prior to my suggestion, teams were consistently running into confusion between which asset referred to which campaign; my addition made it visually apparent at a glance. 

1:30 PM – Measurement Optimization
In the afternoon, our focus shifts to enhancing fan engagement strategies. We brainstorm ways to better measure awareness, product comprehension, subscriptions, and revenue related to NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket through journey activation. Its here that I get to flex my Salesforce Marketing Cloud expertise by running reports on historical sends, analyzing Journey effectiveness, and making recommendations on what we can be doing to enhance the fan journey. Durning my tenure, I made suggestions that optimize the data acquisition process as well as recommendations on how we leverage data in future audience segmentation. As a Fan Journey Manager, I made a consistent effort to ensure that my contributions work towards optimizing the omnichannel messaging strategy as well as team’s understanding of the league messaging strategy. A great example here involves our initiative to decrease team outreach in lieu of league messaging. We walked a tight rope between helping league teams understand that less communication can be more in the realm of engagement, while also helping them maintain the autonomy of their organizational email strategy. 

2:45 PM – Optimizing Partner Activation
We explore methods to incorporate partners into our fan journeys without overwhelming our audience. It’s essential to strike a balance that adds value without causing fatigue among fans. My time in sports has always entailed balancing partner activation with first-party business goals. My tenure with the NFL includes a great deal of helping to fight partner fatigue. Our subscriber base generated twice the engagement with first party content versus partner, so my individual insight usually deferred to finding opportunities to enhance first-party activation. One great example here lies in my first campaign leadership project with Kickoff 2024. After a great deal of contract review, legal insights, and business intelligence coordination, I made a pivotal decision to shift away from partner sweepstakes CTA in favor of NFL owned channels like NFL Shop and Team Shop. My pitch to management revolved around our ability to manage all NFL owned promotions in-house, as well as the additional perk of receiving all campaign data firsthand rather than having to beg for it back from a vendor in a timely fashion. NFL leadership decided to shift towards my recommendation for the 2023 NFL Kickoff game. 

4:00 PM – Selling 1:1 Engagement to Teams
As the day winds down, we shift to supporting team efforts on new journey activations. One of my primary responsibilities upon joining the NFL revolved around onboarding the 32 teams to the NFL’s newly proposed strategy for recommended league campaigns. I started the role with the expectation of presenting teams with the omnichannel and email campaigns recommended by league leadership. After spending a couple of weeks learning the business, onboarding teams by phase, and understanding the league’s business goals, my team proposed a new strategy: a playbook. Instead of presenting teams with the league’s dictated campaigns, we would instead present them with a playbook of campaign options that they could choose à la carte. Allowing teams to pick and choose their campaigns made the initiative significantly easier from initially presenting campaigns to onboarding each into Adobe Experience Platform for execution. 

5:00 PM – Journey Development
NFL days span the entire 8 hour day with much of one’s time shifting from meeting to meeting, but the bread and butter of this role revolves around deployments to over 40M subscribers, game attendees, fantasy football players, and fans. The tech stack alternates between Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketing Cloud Journey Builder, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Journey Builder, OneSignal, and PeopleCloud Manager. My workflow entails referencing a visual representation of each proposed fan journey in LucidChart, then building a functional journey representing each touch point, segmentation activity, and journey event within Adobe Journey Optimizer. Put simply, the AJO version would then get pushed out to Marketing Cloud and other CRM systems via API. Aside from interpreting journeys from LucidChart, I’d also work towards optimizing audience and touchpoint flow within the journey design. My primary journey ownership spanned Kickoff 2023, Upsell, and Group Purchasing, which were all core campaigns dependent on real-time data and responsible for key audience data collection for the organization. 

Outcomes

By the end of the day, we’ve made significant progress. Our initiatives have led to increased awareness, product comprehension, subscriptions, and revenue for NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket. We’ve also successfully integrated partners into fan journeys while improving scalability and effectiveness in engaging our audience, including Club members.

I think its really ironic that I’ve landed great roles with ESPN and the NFL despite not being a sports fan whatsoever. Its funny to think back to my college days as I remember always going to visit my friends and they’d have ESPN playing all the time, while in comparison I’d never even intentionally EVER watched a game, or programming. In fact, even today I couldn’t name any two players on any one football team if it would save my life, and yet I keep landing sports roles over roles in my desired fields of interest. I digress though, as I’m infinitely thankful for the opportunity to work with such an esteemed organization. For many marketers, it would be their end all be all, but for me its a pitstop on the way towards my end destination. 

Conclusion

There’s a ton of data being processed behind the scenes that powers the NFL machine. Identity resolution, real-time comparative analysis, and geographical matching algorithms aside, I’m still in awe at how much opportunity still exists for data expansion across the fan database. The opportunity represents those once in a lifetime experiences that I’ll cherish forever. I’m still not a sports fan, but I’m certainly a fan of the passion fans have for their favorite teams. I’m also in love with fan data and the way the league has chosen to curate fan data to enhance the viewing experience. 

0
Owned Campaigns
0
Different CRMs
0 M+
Sendable Database

Some data lived on Salesforce for running reports, building dashboards, or cross referencing data.

Some email builds were built directly in SFMC while others were pushed via API. Social Studio component too.

Used mainly for ad hoc email sends and relegated to a small subset of fan communications.

The majority of my workload is spent in Adobe Journey Optimizer building out fan journeys and filtering through data.

Adobe Experience Platforms powers everything we do from content hosting to reporting and campaign execution.

Modal creation for SMS and in-app messaging. Creating, building, and activating modals for mobile comms.

PeopleSoft Cloud Manager is my go-to for filtering and sifting through lists and fan data.

For a time, there were several IPs that needed to be monitored and managed to increase reputation issues.

Managing and creating queries to pull data from multiple tables for list sends. Buildin these skills daily.

Helping HBCUs Optimize Student Data, Onboarding, and Lifecycle Marketing Opportunities

HBCUs are different. There’s universal inside jokes about the outdated processes of financial aid departments taking forever during registration only to end up with blaring errors, hiccups, and long waits. Whether we’re talking about institutions’ slowness to adapt to more progressive technologies for completing registration, for instance, requiring paper versions of digital assets, or mistakes like presenting campus housing hurdles delaying move-in dates, it seems that these challenges exist across multiple historical black colleges and universities. In the HBCU alumni circles, we all agree that these obstacles are a part of the core experience and teach us first-hand about patience, efficiency, and persistence.

This idea got me thinking about my major and how I didn’t feel quite prepared for the world after graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication in 2008. My classes at that time centered around using Web 1.0 (the read only web) methodologies like QuarkExpress for newspaper layouts, various journalistic writing styles, and other key philosophies that I’d argue were outdated as major course focuses by the time I graduated. The transition to Web 2.0 (the participative social web) was in full swing and along with it came real-time comments, social networks, and algorithms. I graduated in a time where newspapers were becoming phased out as news took to social media, but my college coursework hadn’t factored in these changes to the landscape.

Higher education meets lifecycle marketing with proper data maintenance

Enter today. I’m wondering if the curriculum has kept up, but more importantly to me as a marketer, how are HBCUs keeping up on the data front. Southern University as an institution has been around since 1880, so naturally there should be a treasure trove of data from matriculating students, prospects, and alumni. In the most basic of expectations, there should be a relevant database from the past 15 years (I graduated in 2008) as this would represent alumni still ripe for post-graduate programs, Southern University Law School, doctoral programs, and more importantly this range would include alumni with current high school graduate aged children who could be marketed to as new college enrollees.

You see, I’d expect a major university to have a Lifecycle Marketing program in place that segments and markets 1:1 to their marketable audience. For instance, if an individual happens to load the Southern University homepage, I’d expect some Form to trigger in an attempt to capture that person’s information. We might even tie that form to a Subscribe to Newsletter, Stay Connected, or some other enticing call-to-action. The goal is to discover each stranger’s intent and then to place them in Lifecycle marketing funnels, nurture journeys, or various other communications that ultimately result in a conversion through enrollment or other performance indicator. As a University, there’s at the very least 4 years to acquire over 500 different points of data for each prospect, student, or alumni that we can use to further market for profitability later down the funnel. We should be building a student or lead profile for each person who completes our form or indicates explicit interest in our Courses, Pricing, or other trigger content.

I’m 37, and I just had my first set of twins, who are also my first children, however many of my college colleagues had children far earlier than I did. So, my crude math says that there is a contingent of alumni who are 38 and had kids by at least 20, so they’d have 18 year olds who can be marketed to as long as we have the data. This brings me to my point about keeping up with the times. The data. We should be able to segment students and people who visit our web properties into specific buckets based on all the collected data points if we’re allowing data into the system properly. 

One university as a case study

As a small case study, I decided to log back into Southern University’s Apply portal to do some digging. My case study would entail logging into SUBR online to start an application for enrollment. This login would be my first since 2008 and will tell me a lot about SUBR’s data governance. Simply possessing data doesn’t equate to much without actually leveraging it. I’d wager that leveraging this data properly can be the deciding factor for enrollment numbers. Luckily, Southern has been doing something right in the realm of out-of-state enrollees as they had 891 total out of state students in 2017, while in fall of 2023 the school boasted that the number rose to 2,196 – an increase of 146% says a report by the Public Affairs Research Council.

Its not my intent to bully Southern University A&M or any other Historical Black College or University, but rather to bring light to an often forgotten area of responsibility we should be investing into – the data. Its our responsibility as stewards of website channels and student relationships to apply proper guardianship towards data collection. As a marketer, I’m a firm believer that appropriate marketing programs are just as valuable and essential to data guardianship as safeguarding data and not leveraging it. In fact, in the age of algorithms, I’d rather be marketed relevant content than irrelevant, but I’m aware that that’s subjective positioning as its not a black and white topic. I do want HBCUs to start paying closer attention to how they are collecting, curating, and leveraging data. If I had to stand on a reason for using them as an example, its that. In comparison, universities like Louisiana State University, Alabama State University, and Cornell, don’t have the same issues – they have their own unique data issues that I might explore in a later blog post. 

96,000+ untapped student profiles

I’ve worked for over a dozen universities who are all utilizing unique methods for acquiring student prospective information online. One of the most prevalent and easy to accomplish would be that of a Journey. There should be a clean student, prospect, or lead profile that can be sorted and segmented into a list that can be included in one of several journeys. For instance, prospective students from Louisiana could be tagged in Salesforce, synced into Marketing Cloud, and fall within a data extension for InStateUndergradProspects2025. We could even take it a step further and segment down into InStateUndergrad_CommsProspects2025 to specify a degree program. We can only safely and efficiently use lists/data extensions for journeys if the journey criteria/ data is clean, up to date, and accurate. A great journey options would even entail repeating an information confirmation email yearly to keep track of former students as they travel throughout life. In this way, we can smartly implement 1:1 strategies that reinvest, onboard, and speak to people where they are in their journey. 

Since 2008, Southern University has matriculated or enrolled around 96,000 individuals. Where is their data? What dorms did they live in? What can we tell about their campus experience from their data? Well, we can only speak to that if we have the data in question. I consider it an egregious misstep to allow that data to go unused, untapped, and out dated. Those 96,000 records easily equated to over 30,000 potential alumni children who could have been marketed to for enrollment. That’s over $48,000 in potential revenue per email campaign and over 250 potential additional new student registrations per semester. 

Just some quick student math

I’d log my experience, much like I’m doing here, to determine what HBCUs are actually doing under the hood as it relates to housing the data of over 96,000 individuals give or take. First, let’s breakdown how I got the 96k number:

To estimate the total number of students who likely matriculated through Southern University Baton Rouge since 2008, we can use a simple estimation method based on average annual enrollment figures and the number of years since 2008.

Let’s assume a conservative estimate of the annual enrollment at Southern University Baton Rouge has been around 6,000 students since 2008. This is a rough approximation and may not reflect actual enrollment figures for each year, but it provides a baseline for estimation.

Now, let’s calculate the total number of students who likely matriculated through Southern University Baton Rouge since 2008:

  • Total years since 2008 = 2024 (current year) – 2008 (starting year) = 16 years
    Average annual enrollment = 6,000 students
  • Total estimated students = Average annual enrollment × Total years since 2008
  • Total estimated students = 6,000 students/year × 16 years = 96,000 students

So, using this estimation method, it’s likely that approximately 96,000 students have matriculated through Southern University Baton Rouge since 2008. Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate and the actual number may vary.

SUBR's Apply Now intake form can use some TLC

Consider the importance of intake forms, which serve as a crucial data source and support various firm processes. However, managing the sheer volume of information captured, sometimes up to 500 data points per form, can be daunting. While data is essential for firm operations, it’s crucial to assess whether each piece of information collected is truly necessary and accurate. In the case of Southern’s initial Apply Now form, it represents a broken data source in need of some TLC. 

Educating client-facing and support teams about the required data and its purpose is invaluable. The primary intake form for Southern’s Apply Now is in desperate need of review and rebuild. Each data point requires input and review, potentially leading to time-consuming back-and-forth communications in case of inaccuracies. Emphasizing a “right first-time” approach where all stakeholders take accountability can minimize such inefficiencies. As the form lives now, its creating student profiles with bad county and country fields, while also just maintaining old data with no means of updating it. We can’t effectively and safely include records in journeys with this configuration as we can’t trust the data. I haven’t logged in in years but the system displayed my old data quick and effortlessly (this isn’t a good thing lol). 

1. Old and outdated data

I think its commendable that Southern University still has my outdated data on file, as its a testament to at least 15 years of data housing. The fact that data must live somewhere and storage costs should also be in the back of our minds as we unravel the online application experience and its subsequent leveraging of our data through marketing. As a stakeholder, I’d want to be making money off of my housed data or at least moving needles to justify housing old data. We could be leveraging data for marketing to prospective students, post graduates who might re-enroll, and even to support other business initiatives. 

In a perfect world, SUBR would be sending me annual emails leading to landing pages prompting me to update all my personal information. That info should then update my student/alumni record and be used to segment me into various buckets, for instance Alumni NOT registered in Alumni Federation or Alumni Residing in Texas, or even a repository that checks for my status in the enrollment system to cross verify my alumni status. This would also allow us to send mail like promotions for football games, vouchers for alumni shopping, etc. 

2. Make Picklists tight for better data hygiene

“Your data should tell a story. You want to be sure that story is accurate, and that you’re able to report it up correctly and with confidence.”

This form uses Picklists to populate options for Country, but as we can see in the example, there are duplicates and misspells in some of the options. It’s tough to ascertain as to what extent this misconfiguration is affecting data as we don’t know what data types each selection is tied to. At best, selecting either of the duplicate options would register as a Country input. At worst, both options are misconfigured in their data type.  

In the spirit of troubleshooting, we’d also want to explore where these duplicated and misspelled Picklist options are coming into the system from. Are they configured in a universal settings for the field or is the system somehow allowing users to update the Picklist options with their responses. I can see the second scenario if this was set up during a time where we expected the user to know more countries than we have list options, but I can’t see this as a viable setup in modern times. Today, we should be allowing the options we want and including any straightforward options, but not allowing field options to be updated based on submission values – not that we’ve solidified this as the case per se, but it does look that way. 

3. Tidy up dependent Picklist fields

Another error in the intake form lies in the Parish Picklist item. I think this form field was intended to refer dependent on the State field so it shows counties or parishes native to the specified State selection. Instead, what we get here is a Picklist that populates Louisiana Parishes with the odd additions of specific Countries as selections. This should have been caught in QA, UAT, or level of software delivery. The first Picklist scenario was definitely a user configuration error, but this seems to be more of system generated error. It seems as though the list just isn’t updating with the field dependency. Either way, this hurts the student onboarding experience and is a bad look for the university before even stepping foot on campus. In this particular instance, the error could really make the brand look uncooked or unfinished. It doesn’t inspire confidence in the institution when critical items like this are mismanaged on the frontend no less. 

On the data front, this Picklist inconsistency is directly impacting data health and data integrity. Now, there are a number of profiles that using duplicated and misconfigured field values, misplaced Countries, and jumbled info in the County/Parish field. Again, we can’t properly set up clean nurture journeys with this level of erroneous data.  

4. Phase out traditional for digital first experiences


HBCUs are acquiring data but not doing anything with it. We could easily fix these issues by redesigning and reproaching the way we develop forms. By missing out on opportunities for good data, we forfeit the gains, profits, and key performance indicators possible with lifecycle marketing programs. HBCUs often seem like last to the table in several essential technological innovations among higher education institutions. We can turn the tides on several worthy fronts by taking data serious and leveraging it towards actionable insights. Finally, I’d love to see HBCUs like my alma mater adopt progressive data governance strategies and grow to their maximum potential across digital.

Summary

In conclusion, its my current short-term mission to audit and advocate for historically black colleges and universities to catch-up to best practices in data management. Organizations are losing out on countless 1:1 marketing engagements through a lack of actionable data. In addition, students would love to receive relevant information to help pad out their knowledge of their university, college, or activity programs – what better way than to use CRM platforms and available data. 

Lawrence LaBee IV

Lawrence LaBee IV

Lawrence is an email marketer, brand consultant, online entrepreneur, and all-around pet lover. He's helped optimize global and international omnichannel marketing campaigns for companies like Audible, SiriusXM, and the National Football League (NFL), just to name a few. Lawrence, his wife DeiAnne, and their twins, Lawrence V and Lindsey, currently reside in Dallas, Texas. You can learn more at LawrenceRLaBee.com or LinkedIn.

Re-Engaging Unconverted Leads with a Nurturing Campaign

Introduction

Ever feel like your marketing automation is on autopilot? You set up a journey, hit pause, and… nothing. Leaning into marketing automation platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be a game-changer, but even the most meticulously crafted journeys can underperform. An underperforming journey isn’t the end of the world. We can always create a new version with our most current learnings, but we also have the opportunity to analyze to find out exactly what’s going on. Fixing the journey is important, however before we fix it, we have to understand what’s going on as it will help us all across the board from designing future journey builds, to pinpointing specific nuances within your setup.

Let’s take a look at a common scenario: an Uncontacted Series for a medical based university partner. This journey, designed to nurture fresh leads, might seem straightforward, but what if, after setting it up, you find leads languishing in the pipeline, never converting?

While we won’t look into all the nitty gritty of the campaign,  we can use our findings as a springboard to explore optimizing our own future marketing automation efforts.

Here are some key questions to consider when examining any unlaunched, paused, or underperforming journeys:

Understanding the Customer Journey Dashboard

The dashboard we’re examining in this example focuses on a campaign titled “Info_Series_Lynn,” targeting leads who haven’t responded to initial outreach attempts.
 
 Let’s break down the flow of this re-engagement journey:
 

1. Entry Point: Identifying Uncontacted Leads

The journey begins at the Entry Event when a lead’s status is identified as “Lead: Status FQUA 5 New” or “Lead Status FQUALS Contact Attempted.” This indicates that the lead has not yet been successfully contacted. As long as the lead has this status, we’ll guide them down this path of communications in an effort to contact or convert them to a contacted status. 

2. Stage Progression: A Drip Marketing Approach (Time-Based)

The journey unfolds across three stages, each functioning on a predetermined timeframe. Our timeframe works for this audience, but may not work for your audience. One of the great aspects of developing journeys is that we have the opportunity to test multiple journeys across various audiences to determine with data what the ideal day spread should be. Here, we’ve used a 3 day setup, but your audience may require more or less contact in order to convert. This is a simple journey configuration, but it works efficiently with each status check, email deployment, and wait period. 

  • Stage One: Uncontacted Series (3 Days)
  • Stage Two: Uncontacted (7 Days)
  • Stage Three: Uncontacted Series-03 (10 Days)

We’re utilizing a drip marketing approach, where automated emails or messages are delivered at set intervals throughout the 21-day journey. Over the course of this 21-day journey, as marketers we have data that we can analyze to learn more about our audience, recipients, and email service providers too if we’re using any deliverability monitoring integrations like Everest or Return Path. The beauty of drag and drop editors is that we can easily just pause the journey, create a new version, add additional touches or optimizations, then reactivate with our existing audiences all merging properly into their next steps. 

3. Exit Point: Re-Engagement or Removal

Re-Engagement: Leads who engage with the campaign by clicking on links, opening emails, or taking other desired actions may be directed to a different nurture sequence or conversion funnel. This journey works in conjunction with a Contacted journey, where the status criteria is a bit different to cater to prospective medical students who have been contacted and are moving through a different email series. 

Removal: After 21 days with no engagement, leads will exit the journey. This indicates a need for them to be categorized differently within the marketing automation platform (MAP) for future campaigns, as continuing to message them will skew our email analytics negatively and we never want that! At this point in my career, I don’t even feel comfortable sending seed emails to internal stakeholders who aren’t committed to clicking-thru, so needless to say, there should probably be a step in this journey to update an ending status in a data extension for recipients exiting the journey! There’s a process to the various journeys as there are journeys that cover Uncontacted, Contacted, and Remarketing which serves as a sort of Winback for prospective students who haven’t shown any interest engaging with our email content in a specified amount of time or specified number of unopened emails. 

 

By analyzing the customer journey dashboard and understanding the flow, we marketers can optimize this nurture campaign for better results in newer versions:

Content Strategy: Ensure the content at each stage is relevant and engaging. Stage one might focus on reintroducing the brand, while later stages can provide more in-depth information or special offers. In addition, maybe there should be some AB tests going on with subject lines to see if our communications just hasn’t been aligned with our subscriber base. 

Call to Action (CTA): Craft clear and compelling CTAs at each touchpoint. This could encourage leads to visit a landing page, download a white paper, or contact sales. Small updates to our email content might drive conversion, hence the need for constant testing. In some cases, we’re using too many calls-to-action, in other cases, we haven’t highlighted our call-to-action or calls-to-action enough. 

Personalization: Utilize available data to personalize the communication. Addressing leads by name and tailoring content to their interests can significantly improve engagement. Most of my emails were personalized with First Name, Last Name, and sometimes even Degree Program. In this particular example, we’re communicating to prospective medical students who have given us their names and understand that we’re discussing individual focused content so they expect some level of personalization. 

A/B Testing: Test different versions of emails, subject lines, and CTAs to see what resonates best with unconverted leads. Again, AB tests can change the game for subscriber engagement. AB testing can help brands find their voice, as well as learn what content resonates with their subscribers. Subject lines can easily be tested along with dynamic contact blocks within emails. 

Conclusion

Re-engaging unconverted leads requires a strategic approach. Sometimes we’ve got to take our paused, unlaunched, or underperforming journeys and break them down to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Identifying elements in our content or subject lines within a journey can be the difference between creating a better version that converts, and being lost and stuck with mediocre performance. Data is our friend! Embrace your underperforming journeys and get them on track to optimized performance. Reignite your paused potential with new data or status checks within your emails to turn lukewarm leads into hot prospects with personalized, emails designed to get opens and clicks. Don’t be afraid to A/B test different versions of your emails, subject lines, and CTAs. Data-driven insights will help you refine your messaging for maximum impact for future journeys. 

So, dust off your paused journeys, and unleash their potential! By ensuring clear goals, a targeted audience, and compelling content, you can transform your marketing automation into a conversion machine.

Used for managing all journeys, data extensions, ad hoc email sends, and reporting.

All top-of-funnel activities. Dynamic lists, automation rules, and notification tasks within Engagements.

Email deployments for prospective student journeys. Lead management for government campaigns.

Connected app to Pardot installation. Route all webinar subscribers to webinar campaigns.

Task and project management application for catching all assigned creative briefs.

Each team's go-to for document creation. All briefs created and shared through the Google business suite.

Identity Resolution: 7 Ways Your Behavior Paints Your Digital Portrait

Identity Resolution, particularly in the context of disparate systems, refers to the process of harmonizing and connecting data points from various sources to create a comprehensive and accurate representation of an individual’s digital identity that we refer to as the Golden Record. In today’s hyper-connected world, our personal information is scattered across multiple platforms, devices, and databases, typically owned by big corporations. Identity Resolution bridges the gaps between these siloed data sources, allowing organizations and marketers to piece together a coherent and detailed profile of each user.

Identity Resolution systems employ advanced algorithms, data matching techniques, and machine learning. These technologies sift through vast amounts of data, recognizing patterns and connections that might be imperceptible to human observers. As a result, the Golden Unified Record offers a level of insight into an individual’s online persona that often surpasses what their closest friends or family members might know. These apps know the naughty websites others might search (not you because you’re a saint lol), they know what you’re searching for in Google, in fact, when you really parse through this – these systems know our greatest desires, material and otherwise. Its scary that we’re simply leaving it to the algorithm to decide when to pitch us tomorrow’s next “need.”

The Golden Record

The Golden Unified Record stands as the pinnacle achievement in Identity Resolution. It represents a single, authoritative, and all-encompassing digital identity for an individual, formed by integrating data from sources such as social media profiles, online transactions, customer interactions, and more. This unified record is like a digital mirror, reflecting a person’s online activities, preferences, and behaviors with remarkable accuracy.

In 2022, a survey by Dashlane discovered that most people have an average of 240 different online accounts with logins. All these different sites, apps, and systems just so happen to share account info, cookies, and other identifiable data with one another in an attempt to individually identify a given consumer. My job across email marketing often if not always entails connecting separate systems’ databases, record fields, and identified activity to figure out who a customer is by considering 7 factors:

  1. Data Points: The Digital You is shaped by a multitude of data points, including personal information, browsing history, social media interactions, purchase history, location data, and more. These data points are collected from various sources and are used to build a comprehensive profile of an individual’s online presence.
  2. Online Activity: It encompasses all activities and behaviors conducted by an individual on the internet. This includes the websites they visit, the content they engage with, the products they buy, the articles they read, the videos they watch, and the interactions they have on social media and other online platforms.
  3. Digital Footprint: The Digital You leaves behind a digital footprint, which is essentially a trail of online actions and interactions. This footprint can be extensive and may persist for a long time, providing valuable insights into an individual’s interests and habits.
  4. Personalization: Businesses and organizations use the Digital You to personalize user experiences. This can include tailored content recommendations, targeted advertising, and customized product offerings. By understanding the Digital You, companies aim to provide more relevant and engaging interactions.
  5. Privacy Concerns: The creation and use of the Digital You raise significant privacy concerns. Many individuals are unaware of the extent to which their online activities are tracked and used to build profiles. Data privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, seek to address these concerns by giving individuals more control over their digital identities.
  6. Security Implications: Protecting the Digital You is not only a matter of privacy but also a cybersecurity concern. Unauthorized access to this data can lead to identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities. Therefore, securing the Digital You is crucial.
  7. Dynamic Nature: The Digital You is dynamic and constantly evolving. As individuals engage with new online platforms, their digital personas adapt and expand. This dynamic nature makes it essential for businesses to employ Identity Resolution and other technologies to keep up with changes in the Digital You.

For instance, one might profess to be a huge Chicago Bulls fan, however their data could show that they’ve attended a Miami Heat game, have purchased a San Antonio Spurs jersey online, and consistently choose the Dallas Mavs when they play NBA 2K. Which data point takes priority in determining Golden Record? – that’s a question for the algorithm. I’d think the touch point most closely related to a purchase activity (conversion), with “game attendance” being the top indicator. So, purchasing a ticket, which would be a conversion from prospect to customer, would be the most ideal action that we’d both want each fan to take as well as the action that holds the most weight since basketball’s business model revolved around views and attendance.

Which Representation is the True You?

In essence, the Golden Unified Record encapsulates the Digital You by harmonizing and unifying the various facets of your online identity, from your basic information to your complex digital behaviors. It serves as a single, authoritative source of truth about an individual in the digital realm, enabling organizations to provide personalized services while addressing privacy and security concerns.

Even if we argued that our digital activity doesn’t inform the individuals we are in reality, we’d still have to deal with the facts. Police and investigators these days are investigating crimes starting online with social media cues. These same detectives are parsing victims’ and suspects’ phones for the best knowledge about events leading up to these calamities. This should tell us how crucial the digital footprint is and how accurate it may be to determining who we actually are in comparison to who we each claim to be. Very dystopian, indeed!

CRM Systems and Identity Resolution

There are a ton of CRM systems that handle and manage identity resolution. In my professional experience, I find that Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Pardot do a great job of managing duplicates and finding logic to merge into a unified Lead profile in Salesforce CRM. For example, if you’re using unique keys, or email address as a unique key, the Salesforce integration can resolve that unique key to an email address, phone number, or lead. On the other hand, there’s the Adobe framework within Adobe Experience Platform and Adobe Experience Manager which handles it a lot more seamless. On the Adobe side, there’s a native relationship within the Adobe Experience Data Model (XDM) that manages a wide array of customer attributes into an individualized Person profile. This only speaks to Adobe’s out of the box features and doesn’t even scratch the surface of also integrating other upstream enterprise identity resolution processes like Epsilon’s COREID cloud-ware. AEM might be a bit clunky, it lacks a database, is built on Java, but you’d be crazy not to acknowledge

Security and Privacy Concerns

However, with great power comes great responsibility. While Identity Resolution, artificial intelligence, and the Golden Record enable personalized marketing, enhanced user experiences, and improved customer service, they also raise significant concerns about privacy and data security. In 2023, a Forbes Advisor Survey found that 76% of consumers were concerned with misinformation among AI tools like identity resolution. Striking a balance between harnessing the potential of data unification and safeguarding individuals’ data rights is an ongoing challenge for businesses and policymakers alike. I myself spend my life creating lead captures, lead magnets, forms and other data events for collecting customer information while also being a proponent for data privacy.

In Conclusion

In summary, Identity Resolution in the realm of disparate, unconnected, systems is the key to understanding and engaging with individuals on a profoundly personal level in the digital landscape. As long as we understand how and where our data is being harnessed, we have a much more leverage at being able to curate our forever-persistent, digital selves. All these processes culminate in the creation of the Golden Unified Record, an invaluable asset for organizations seeking to tailor their services to the unique needs and preferences of their customers while simultaneously fighting the good fight at respecting their privacy and data protection concerns.

This is a super high level explanation and I’d love to break this down based on your specific use case. I’d also be very curious as to see how others feel about lead magnets and captures popping up more and more in real life. When you shop and checkout, how do you feel about inputting your email address for merchants? Do you feel a way about giving corporations your personal information or are you cool with the trade-off for more streamlined experiences (marketing)?

Lawrence LaBee IV

Lawrence LaBee IV

Lawrence is an email marketer, brand consultant, online entrepreneur, and all-around pet lover. He's helped optimize global and international omnichannel marketing campaigns for companies like Audible, SiriusXM, and the National Football League (NFL), just to name a few. Lawrence, his wife DeiAnne, and their twins, Lawrence V and Lindsey, currently reside in Dallas, Texas. You can learn more at LawrenceRLaBee.com or LinkedIn.
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Understanding the Flow: A Look Inside an Info Series Customer Journey

Overview

Have you ever created a marketing automation journey that felt like it sputtered out before reaching its full potential?  Today, lets discuss a paused journey in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Journey Builder, called “Info Series_Lynn.” While the reason for the pause might seem unclear, it offers a springboard to explore optimizing lead nurture journeys for maximum impact. The journey was successful, converting over 20% of the starting population and sending them through the complete journey. Oftentimes, we need to pause journeys in order to make edits, significant changes to content, or data extension. In this instance, the paused state doesn’t denote that it wasn’t successful, but that there was some troubleshooting or optimization going on. Let’s take a closer look! 

Understanding the Lynn Info Series Journey

The Info Series_Lynn journey targets uncontacted leads, likely those who signed up for a program in April 2022.  These leads are nurtured with a series of emails spread out over 15 days. The three pieces of email content are highly informational with most of them containing additional resources for learning more about the university. There’s also an email within the series that contains recent enrollment deadlines – so, there’s clear content within the emails that resonate with each recipient as remember, they signed up for these! We tend to look for good engagement with these types of emails but the metrics do change with various factors like season, audience, and even news cycle a la the pandemic. 

 

Journey Flow

1. Entry Point: Capturing Initial Interest

The journey begins when a lead’s status changes to “New” or “Contact Attempted.” This signifies that a lead has potentially expressed interest in our program perhaps by downloading a white paper, subscribing to a newsletter, or visiting the website.  This triggers their entry into the Info Series campaign. Once within the campaign, our lead will receive email communications over the course of 15 days until they engage with the email, thus triggering an status change. 

2. Stage One: Nurturing Early Engagement (Time-Sensitive)
 
The first stage, focused on grabbing the lead’s attention,  has a time-bound criteria. The lead’s status needs to change to “Info Series-01” within 15 minutes. This tight timeframe could suggest the importance of capitalizing on the lead’s initial interest, or it could be the journey developer accounting for the time it takes some level of data resolution to take place within the Marketing Cloud system. As the builder, I can vouch that its the second reason, however there is marketing context for the first reason. This stage involves sending a welcome email, a wait step, and a status check. 
 
3. Stage Two & Three: Progressive Nurturing with Specific Actions
 
The journey progresses through two additional stages, each part of an Info Series email communication, followed by a wait period. However, the dashboard shows a Status Change check that determines whether a record proceeds through the journey or is ejected. There are several records at each level of Status Change who did not meet the criteria to continue the journey who are exited at their appropriate stage. We never create a journey without understanding that there will be drop-offs, much like there may be unsubscribes from an ad hoc send, its just par for the course so you want to manage it by providing criteria for exits. 
 

Possible Scenarios for Stage Progression:

  • Engagement-Based Progression: Leads who open emails, click on links, or download additional content might be moved to the next stage, receiving more in-depth information.
  • Time-Based Progression: Leads who don’t engage with the initial content are sent nurturing emails at predetermined intervals in stages two and three.
The Importance of Flow Analysis
By analyzing the flow within the customer journey dashboard, marketers can identify potential roadblocks and optimize the nurture sequence:
 
  • Conversion Rate Between Stages: Measure the percentage of leads who move from one stage to the next. A significant drop-off at a particular stage might indicate a need for more compelling content or calls to action. There are many additional modules that we have access to in SFMC Journey Builder, but for this particular use case, we’ve used only a few. 
  • Content Relevance at Each Stage: Ensure content aligns with the lead’s position in the journey. Stage one content should pique interest, while later stages can provide more in-depth information. The last thing we want is for subscribers to get a Welcome email on the second or third touch. 
  • Personalization: Utilize data extensions to tailor content and offers based on the lead’s interests and behavior. Even if we’re just using first name, we find it best practice to use some level of personalization either in the subject line with first name, or at the salutation level before our email content. 
By understanding how leads flow through the Info Series journey, marketers can refine the nurture sequence, improve engagement, and ultimately convert more leads into customers through new iterations/versions of each journey. Status changes are common practice within journey development for various practical reasons mostly related to segmentation within the journey. 
 

Reasons for Pausing a Journey

There are several reasons why a marketer might pause a journey:

  • Re-evaluation: The pause might be a strategic stop to assess the journey’s effectiveness before relaunching. Marketers might be reviewing metrics or A/B testing different elements like email content or cadence. Pausing journeys can provide a clearer picture of how subscribers are flowing and exiting the journey. 
  • Campaign Refresh: The pause could indicate the content or email cadence is being revamped to improve lead engagement. Perhaps the current approach isn’t resonating with the target audience.
  • Targeting Adjustments: The marketer might be refining the audience segmentation to ensure the Info Series reaches the most qualified leads, maximizing its impact.

Optimizing Your Lead Nurture Journeys

Whether you’re relaunching the Info Series_Lynn journey or crafting new nurture programs, here are key considerations:

  • Clearly Defined Goals: Establish SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) for your journey. Do you want to increase email open rates, drive website traffic, or generate leads?
  • Targeted Audience: Ensure your nurture journey reaches the right people. Leverage marketing automation tools to segment your audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
  • Compelling Content: Craft engaging email sequences that provide value to your leads. Address their pain points, offer solutions, and highlight the benefits of your program.
  • Strategic Email Cadence: Don’t overwhelm leads with emails. Space out your messages strategically, considering factors like industry standards and audience preferences
  • Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Tell leads what to do next! Strong CTAs at each stage will guide them further down the conversion funnel.

By incorporating these elements, you can transform your lead nurture journeys into powerful tools for driving engagement and conversions. There are teams of marketers who stew and plan these details in meticulous fashion for organizations that have those levels of resources, so don’t beat yourself up if it takes you some time to start factoring all these elements in as an individual marketer or email developer. Email marketing as a channel is brutal. Once we hit Send, all our flaws and successes are put under the spotlight with every deployment. It can be daunting creating a journey for 40 million subscribers with various stakeholders having a keen eye on your CRM program’s every move as everyone is still trying to conceptualize and figure out exactly what makes digital marketing channels tick. 

 

Taking Action

So, the next time you encounter a paused journey,  use it as an opportunity to re-evaluate and optimize.  By setting clear goals, targeting the right audience, and crafting compelling content, you can relaunch your nurture journeys with renewed purpose and effectiveness. Definitely use Journeys to your advantage and be as efficient as you can be – if you need to clone a journey, clone it! Likewise, feel free to make copies of your emails so you don’t lose access to perfectly coded templates while you edit a production version. The ability to pause a journey goes a long way, don’t underestimate the breathing room it gives you within your design and analysis. 

Pro Tip:  Don’t be afraid to experiment!  A/B test different versions of your emails, subject lines, and CTAs. Data-driven insights will help you refine your messaging and maximize the impact of your nurture programs.
 
 
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Used for managing all journeys, data extensions, ad hoc email sends, and reporting.

All top-of-funnel activities. Dynamic lists, automation rules, and notification tasks within Engagements.

Email deployments for prospective student journeys. Lead management for government campaigns.

Connected app to Pardot installation. Route all webinar subscribers to webinar campaigns.

Task and project management application for catching all assigned creative briefs.

Each team's go-to for document creation. All briefs created and shared through the Google business suite.

The Art of Re-Engagement: Less Can Be More

In the fast-paced world of email marketing, maintaining a healthy subscriber list is paramount. However, what many marketers fail to realize is that sometimes, letting go of certain subscribers can actually be a strategic move. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the importance of reengagement strategies, the inevitability of unsubscribes, and why it’s crucial to recognize when it’s best to bid farewell to certain subscribers.

Understanding Reengagement Strategies

Reengagement strategies are the lifeline of any successful email marketing campaign. They are designed to rekindle the interest of subscribers who have become disengaged or inactive. Whether it’s through targeted offers, personalized content, or simply reaching out to ask for feedback, reengagement strategies aim to reignite the spark that initially drew subscribers to your brand.

However, despite our best efforts, not all subscribers can be won back. And that’s okay. There are a ton of scenarios that prove that subscribers are petty by their very nature. If you think about it, there are subscribers who only subscribed due to a moment in time, wanting to receive a particular benefit of subscribing, or otherwise some reason that buckets them as a temporary engagement. Therefore, all subscribes aren’t good subs, just like all unsubscribes aren’t indicative of doing something wrong in all cases.

Leveraging Reengagement

There are some cases where we can use re-engagement campaigns as a means to clean up our data, learn our subscribers’/customers’ pain points, and work our email strategy. I’ve worked on re-engagement campaigns where we emailed customers links to fill in their own personal data, hence giving us the data we need to segment them into more profitable buckets. For instance, having a college graduate fill in their college major, their current career, and their career goals – now, we have data that shows where their interests lie. By tapping into their interest, we increase the likelihood that they will engage or convert.

“I’d take an account with 100 highly engaged subscribers over a low engaged 1,000, any day of the week. “

Embracing Unsubscribes

Unsubscribes are an inevitable part of email marketing. While they may sting at first, they also present an opportunity for growth and refinement. Instead of viewing unsubscribes as a failure, consider them as a natural filter that helps you refine your subscriber list.

Think of unsubscribes as a way to prune your garden. By removing subscribers who are no longer interested or engaged, you’re allowing space for new growth and ensuring that your messages are reaching those who truly value them.

The Power of Letting Go

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, certain subscribers simply aren’t the right fit for our brand. And that’s perfectly okay. In fact, holding onto disengaged subscribers can actually be detrimental to your email marketing efforts. ESPs have all types of background algorithms that determine reputation across sender profiles and having unengaged subscribers hurts overall reputation. 

In one of my previous roles, we were so focused on engagement and reputation that we would only send internal test emails to users who committed to clicking through them. It doesn’t help our reputation to have subscribers who pad our numbers but aren’t engaged with the content. I’d choose 100 highly engaged openers over 1,000 unengaged subscribers any day of the week. 

By letting go of subscribers who aren’t actively engaging with your content, you free up resources that can be better allocated towards nurturing relationships with those who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. This not only improves the overall quality of your subscriber list but also allows you to focus your efforts where they will have the greatest impact.

Conclusion

In the world of email marketing, reengagement strategies are essential for maintaining a healthy subscriber list. However, it’s equally important to recognize when it’s time to let certain subscribers go. By embracing unsubscribes and acknowledging that not every subscriber is the right fit for your brand, you can focus your efforts on nurturing relationships with those who truly value your content. So, don’t be afraid to bid farewell to certain subscribers – sometimes, letting go is the best way to move forward.

Clean Those Lists: 9 Best Practices for Better Data Hygiene

Do you ever get that dentist-office feeling when someone mentions email list cleaning? It’s like when the hygienist asks about your flossing habits – you know it’s important, but it’s not exactly a thrilling topic. However, just like flossing, good list hygiene is crucial for maintaining email health.

Think of invalid email addresses and unengaged contacts as the plaque and tartar of your email list. If left unchecked, they can wreak havoc on your inbox placement and email performance metrics. But fear not! In this article, we’ll dive into why email list cleaning matters, how to do it effectively, and a few steps you can take to enhance your deliverability.

Why Clean Email Lists Regularly?

Email list cleaning isn’t just a chore – it’s a necessity for maintaining a healthy email ecosystem. By regularly purging invalid email addresses and unengaged contacts, you’ll not only improve your deliverability but also ensure that your engagement rates are more accurate.

“Duis vestibulum quis quam vel accumsan. Nunc a vulputate lectus. Vestibulum eleifend nisl sed massa sagittis vestibulum. Vestibulum pretium blandit tellus, sodales volutpat sapien varius vel. Phasellus tristique cursus erat, a placerat tellus laoreet eget.

Best Practices for Email List Cleaning

1. Regular Scrubbing:

Set aside time on a regular basis to clean your email lists monthly, quarterly, or annually- consistency is key. In most organizations, emails will constantly be coming in as new users, updates, overwrites, etc. The only way to stay on top of the data is to set up focused time to run any cleaning formulas, dynamic rules, or other automation tools for list hygiene based on your specific CRM. In a platform like HubSpot, I find it easier to clean lists using Automation Rules, Dynamic Lists, and Salesforce tasks within Engagement series. 

2. Verify Email Addresses:

Use email verification tools to identify and remove invalid email addresses from your list. This will prevent bouncebacks and improve your sender reputation. You’d think we would put more emphasis on verification of email addresses with them being the lifeblood of society these days. In my experience, most marketers and tech stack implementers don’t put enough checks in place for email verification and validation.

3. Segmentation:

Segment your email list based on engagement levels. Identify subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails in a while and consider re-engagement campaigns or removal from your list. This sounds straightforward, but can get tricky. In my experience, teams I’ve worked with have always set a date that we’d use for Unengaged – so, for instance 180 days of no activity. Likewise, I’ve worked with teams who have a more detailed approach like “subscribers who have been emailed 5 times, but have 0 opens” in the past 180 days. Proper segmentation can really help bucket subscribers into more manageable AB Tests, reengagement campaigns, or outright unsubscribes. 

4. Update Preferences:

Give subscribers the option to update their email preferences. This allows them to control the frequency and type of emails they receive, reducing the likelihood of unsubscribes or spam complaints. On that same note, there’s a layer of email design for finding the sweet spot for where to include your Unsubscribe link. I’ve seen cases where the Unsubscribe link was always in a static, consistent location at the email footer, but I’ve also seen clients who change the Unsubscribe location along the footer elements based on the particular email segment. For instance, we would hide the Unsubscribe within the Disclaimer text for specific audiences. 

5. Monitor Metrics:

Keep a close eye on your email performance metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates. This will help you identify areas for improvement and gauge the effectiveness of your list cleaning efforts. In a perfect world, we’d have time to create after action bounce reports to send back to business intelligence teams, but oftentimes marketers don’t have that flexibility. We have to keep a keen eye on email metrics between sends just to make sure that all is well in email land. There’s a wide array of processes, verifications, and validations that take place between email design and the recipient actually receiving the communications in their inbox. It only makes sense to keep an eye on all the moving parts. 

Steps to Improve Deliverability

1. Authenticate Your Domain:

Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication to verify your domain and improve deliverability. Email marketing is all fun when it comes to email design and personalization, but I think the rubber hits the road in domain authentication. It takes a level of technical thinking and collaboration to get SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aligned with IT gatekeepers. I’ve worked in more advance arenas of verification where we’d implement third party solutions like Return Path (now, its a tool called Everest). 

2. Monitor Complaints:

Keep track of spam complaints and unsubscribe rates. Address any issues promptly to maintain a positive sender reputation. Complaint monitoring can really help flesh out the holes in the technical side of your platform implementation. In many cases, ESPs flag organizations who don’t have validated sender credentials. We can utilize tools like Everest to monitor any IP level complaints, spam traps, or otherwise pesky details hindering our email performance. 

3. Stay Compliant:

Ensure that your email practices comply with relevant regulations, such as GDPR or CAN-SPAM, to avoid legal troubles and maintain trust with your subscribers. In addition to email compliance, be especially conscientious about HIPAA, PHI, and PII within emails and as we share customer email databases across the organization. Proper data handling dictates how we maintain databases of customer and it varies by industry regulation level. I’ve seen situations where we could only share spreadsheets of customer data across Microsoft Sharepoint, OneDrive, and Outlook. This didn’t include Teams, Workfront, or any un-encrypted platforms. Be sure you know what you can and can’t do with data as well as with any PHI data within your email content. 

4 Test, Test, Test:

Regularly test your emails across different devices and email clients to ensure they render correctly and are optimized for deliverability. As much as we hate it, we need to be testing in desktop Outlook on PC, especially if we’re a B2B servicer. In addition to that pesky Microsoft rendering, be sure to design mobile first in the majority of cases unless your audience/industry has a contextual reason for designing desktop first. 

Conclusion

Just like a thorough dental cleaning, email list cleaning may not be the most exciting task, but it’s essential for maintaining a healthy email strategy. By following best practices and staying proactive, you can improve your deliverability, enhance engagement rates, and keep your email campaigns shining bright. So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to sparkle up your email strategy with some top-notch list cleaning techniques!

2024 Guide to Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI Explained – Part 1

Ever wondered how mailbox providers such as Gmail and Yahoo distinguish legitimate senders from potential spammers or scammers? The key lies in email authentication protocols.

Email fraud, particularly through tactics like email spoofing, poses a significant challenge. Ensuring the safety of email recipients is paramount to mailbox providers, and it should be a priority for us as email senders as well.

As an email marketer, building trust with subscribers is essential, and maintaining the integrity of the email channel is crucial for fostering meaningful connections between brands and customers. Beginning in 2024, implementing email authentication protocols will be mandatory for senders aiming to reach users on major platforms like Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

However, navigating through terms such as SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI, alongside other acronyms like SMTP and MTAs, can feel like wading through a bowl of alphabet soup. But fear not! This guide is here to illuminate the essentials and guide you towards setting up email authentication protocols effectively.

Email authentication protocols quietly work behind the scenes, acting as unsung heroes to verify the identity of senders before their emails land in inboxes. By implementing these verification methods, not only do senders demonstrate responsibility, but they also enhance email deliverability.

Though the technical intricacies of these protocols may seem daunting, with acronyms reminiscent of a bowl of Alpha-Bits cereal, let’s begin by unraveling the basics.

Email Authentication Explained

Email authentication is a crucial process employed to ensure the integrity of email messages, guarding against fakery and forgery before they reach their intended recipients. Operating in the background, email authentication protocols are utilized by mail servers on the receiving end to validate crucial sender information, particularly the identity listed in the “from” field and other pertinent data within the email header.

These protocols serve multiple functions, including verifying that emails have not been tampered with during transit and providing directives to mail servers regarding the treatment of messages that fail authentication.

By safeguarding against spam and phishing attacks, particularly those stemming from email spoofing, email authentication protocols play a vital role in protecting users.

Here’s a concise overview of the primary protocols and specifications associated with email authentication:

  • Sender Policy Framework (SPF): This protocol maintains a list of approved sources authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.
  • DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): DKIM utilizes a blend of public and encrypted keys to authenticate the identity of a sender before a receiving mail server accepts the message for delivery.
  • Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC): DMARC serves as a specification that verifies SPF and DKIM alignment before providing instructions to receiving mail servers on how to handle authentication failures. Additionally, DMARC furnishes senders with reports on email traffic.
  • Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI): BIMI is an email specification enabling senders to display a verified logo at the inbox level when DMARC enforcement is in place.

These email authentication protocols and specifications are encapsulated within DNS TXT records, which mailbox providers and receiving mail servers reference when determining whether to accept messages for delivery and how to classify them, whether as spam or as eligible for delivery to users’ inboxes.

2024 Email Authentication Protocol Requirements Explained

In 2024, the landscape of email authentication protocol requirements shifted significantly, notably with announcements from Gmail and Yahoo regarding new mandates for bulk senders. One of the most substantial changes introduced was the mandatory adoption of email authentication protocols.
Previously, Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) were strongly recommended but not obligatory. However, the tides have turned. As of 2024, all senders are required to employ some form of email authentication. Specifically, bulk senders—typically those dispatching thousands of emails daily—are mandated to implement all three authentication methods.

Yet, even for non-bulk senders, integrating SPF, DKIM, and DMARC into their email infrastructure is a prudent decision. Mailbox providers are ramping up efforts to combat issues such as spoofing and spam proliferation, underlining the importance of robust authentication measures.

A survey conducted by Sinch Mailgun for its exclusive report, “The State of Email Deliverability 2023,” revealed alarming findings. A notable portion of senders were found to be not utilizing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, while many others remained uncertain about the authentication status of their emails.

According to the survey conducted by Sinch Mailgun, the findings regarding the implementation of email authentication protocols among senders are as follows:

  • SPF Usage:
    • Yes: 55.4%
    • No: 12.8%
    • Unsure: 31.8%
  • DKIM Usage:
    • Yes: 58.5%
    • No: 11.1%
    • Unsure: 30.4%
  • DMARC Usage:
    • Yes: 42.5%
    • No: 18.7%
    • Unsure: 38.8%

These statistics underscore a significant portion of senders who have yet to fully implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Notably, a considerable number of respondents remain uncertain about their email authentication practices. These figures emphasize the urgent need for senders to prioritize the adoption of robust email authentication protocols to enhance deliverability and mitigate potential security risks.

How Email Authentication Works

Email authentication is a crucial process that verifies the origin of an email and confirms domain ownership for the message transfer agents (MTAs) involved in its transmission or modification.
In essence, when an email is sent, it originates from a specific domain or subdomain. Email authentication protocols consist of rules embedded within DNS (domain name system) records for these sending domains. To authenticate an email, the sending mail server and the receiving mail server engage in a dialogue, cross-referencing protocols in the DNS to validate the sender’s identity.

Though each protocol operates uniquely, the general process unfolds as follows:

  • Establishing Authentication Rules: The sender or domain owner defines rules for authenticating emails sent from or on behalf of its domains.
  • Configuring Sending Servers: The sender configures its sending email servers and publishes the authentication rules within the DNS records.
  • Authentication by Receiving Servers: Upon receipt, the receiving email servers authenticate incoming messages from the sender by applying the published rules.
  • Action by Receiving Servers: Subsequently, the receiving email servers adhere to the published rules and proceed to either deliver, quarantine, or reject the message based on authentication outcomes.

Beyond confirming legitimate senders, email authentication protocols also play a pivotal role in establishing IP address and domain reputation. This enables the more efficient identification of malicious senders, thereby enhancing email security measures.

Conclusion

The foundation of email communication lies in the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which facilitates the exchange of messages. However, SMTP lacks built-in mechanisms for validating the identity of senders, rendering it vulnerable to abuse by spammers and phishing attempts.


To address these vulnerabilities, email authentication protocols emerged in the early 2000s, aiming to bolster the security of SMTP and combat the proliferation of email spam. Among the earliest and most widely adopted protocols were Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). Subsequently, Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) emerged as a policy framework to augment and standardize SPF and DKIM. More recently, Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) has emerged as a novel email specification.


These authentication protocols establish a standardized approach for email services such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and Apple Mail to verify sender identities, eliminating the need for disparate, proprietary authentication methods.

2024 Guide to Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI Explained – Part 2

While email authentication protocols may appear complex and technical, they provide a crucial standardization framework. Email marketers can appreciate the convenience of adhering to a unified set of protocols across various mailbox providers, sparing them from the burden of navigating diverse authentication requirements.

Now, let’s delve deeper into the four pillars of email authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI.

SPF

The Sender Policy Framework, commonly known as SPF, stands as an email authentication protocol designed to specify which IP addresses or hostnames are authorized to send emails on behalf of a particular domain.

Implemented as a DNS TXT entry, SPF allows the receiving mail server to verify the legitimacy of an email purporting to originate from a specific domain by cross-referencing the sending IP address with the authorized entries in the SPF record. This verification process involves the receiving server querying the DNS records to retrieve rules associated with the bounce or return-path domain, subsequently comparing them with the entries in the SPF record to validate the correspondence.

Failure to implement SPF significantly heightens the risk of messages being flagged as spam by mailbox providers.
In some instances, Email Service Providers (ESPs) handle SPF implementation automatically by furnishing both the IP address and the return path. However, for senders dispatching a high volume of emails, opting for a dedicated IP address is preferable to maintain control over sender reputation. It’s important to note that in the case of shared IP addresses, updating the SPF record may become necessary when transitioning between ESPs.

One drawback of SPF is its ineffectiveness in scenarios involving email forwarding. Instances where emails are forwarded pose a challenge as SPF validation may fail, potentially preventing messages from reaching recipients beyond the sender’s immediate list. This limitation is particularly pertinent for brands relying heavily on email word-of-mouth strategies, where forwarding plays a significant role in message dissemination.

DKIM

DomainKeys Identified Mail, abbreviated as DKIM, marks the culmination of efforts to combat email forgery by merging two pioneering methods developed in 2004: Yahoo’s “DomainKeys” and Cisco’s “Identified Internet Mail.”

DKIM operates by incorporating an encrypted key, termed a digital signature, into email headers to facilitate sender verification and establish a link between a message and its originating domain. This digital signature must be configured within the sender’s DNS record.

Conceptually, DKIM functions as a unique watermark or fingerprint specific to each email sender. Unlike SPF, DKIM signatures remain effective even when emails are forwarded.

At the core of DKIM lies a pair of keys essential for its operation. Administrators generate both a public key, which resides within the DNS record, and a private key utilized by mail servers during the transmission process to authenticate the email’s origin. The private key functions as the DKIM signature embedded within the email header.

Upon receipt, the receiving mail server employs the digital signature to ascertain the location of the public key for authentication purposes. Subsequently, the public key is utilized to validate the encrypted key within the DKIM signature, establishing a definitive connection between the email and the sending domain where the public key is housed.

Despite the robust security measures implemented by DKIM, there remains a possibility for hackers to compromise DKIM keys and exploit them for sender impersonation. To mitigate this risk, it is advisable to periodically change DKIM keys, typically several times per year.

An article published on CircleID.com in 2015 highlighted concerns about certain Email Service Providers (ESPs) sharing DKIM signatures among multiple customers. This practice poses significant risks, as a compromised digital signature could potentially affect numerous companies simultaneously. While it’s hoped that such issues have since been addressed and rectified, it’s prudent for senders to inquire with their ESPs regarding their DKIM practices.

If you’re tasked with generating your own digital signature, DKIM generators are available to streamline the process of creating email authentication records. Additionally, our blog offers valuable insights into DKIM signatures, along with an example record, to aid in your understanding and implementation of this essential email authentication protocol.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

DMARC, short for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, owes its inception to PayPal, which spearheaded the development of this technology to enhance existing email authentication methods. PayPal, a frequent target of cybercriminals employing fake emails for impersonation, collaborated with other prominent brands and major mailbox providers to introduce DMARC.

Unlike traditional email authentication protocols, DMARC functions not as a standalone protocol but rather as a policy that receiving mail servers consult before delivering an email. Serving as a pivotal determinant of message handling in the event of authentication failures, DMARC policies are published as DNS records.

This policy, also referred to as Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, serves as a framework specifying whether a sending domain utilizes SPF, DKIM, or both authentication protocols. DMARC is often lauded for harmonizing SPF and DKIM, leveraging both protocols within a common framework to maximize efficacy.

Given the potential repercussions of erroneously blocking legitimate emails, DMARC offers a nuanced approach to handling authentication failures. Recognizing that genuine emails may occasionally fail DKIM and SPF authentication for various reasons, mailbox providers may opt to deliver such messages if they appear to originate from a legitimate sending domain. DMARC provides clarity in such scenarios by delineating specific actions to take.

DMARC policies afford senders the flexibility to establish a framework outlining their email authentication methods and dictating the treatment of messages that run afoul of the policy. Domain owners can choose from three options to specify the handling of emails failing DMARC validation:

[1] None: No specific action is taken.
[2] Quarantine: Suspicious emails are routed to the recipient’s spam or junk folder.
[3] Reject: Emails failing DMARC validation are outright rejected, preventing delivery to the recipient’s inbox.

Indeed, while a DMARC policy that outright rejects unvalidated emails represents the strongest stance against unauthorized senders, it also comes with potential risks. In scenarios where SPF and DKIM authentication failures occur, implementing a DMARC policy that rejects such emails could result in legitimate emails from the domain being halted as well.

This situation arises because DMARC policies mandate strict adherence to authentication protocols. If SPF and DKIM authentication processes fail for any reason, even legitimate emails may be subject to rejection under a DMARC policy set to “reject.” Consequently, email flow from the affected domain may be disrupted, impacting communication with recipients.

Given this potential drawback, domain owners must exercise caution and consider the implications before implementing a DMARC policy with a “reject” action. It’s essential to balance the need for stringent security measures with the risk of inadvertently blocking legitimate emails. Depending on the organization’s risk tolerance and operational requirements, alternative DMARC policy actions such as “quarantine” or “none” may offer more flexibility while still providing a degree of protection against unauthorized senders.

Implementing a DMARC policy offers several benefits, including the receipt of regular DMARC reports. These reports provide valuable insights such as:

* Identification of servers and third parties sending emails on behalf of the specified domain.
* Percentage of emails successfully passing DMARC authentication.
* Details on servers or third parties sending emails that fail DMARC validation.
* Actions taken by receiving mail servers on unauthenticated emails.

Despite its advantages, DMARC is not without its limitations. Similar to SPF, DMARC can encounter issues with email forwarding, and its setup may pose challenges for senders. Moreover, concerns regarding the potential disruption of legitimate email flow often discourage the adoption of stringent DMARC policies.

However, successfully implementing a DMARC policy can serve as an effective deterrent against phishing attempts that seek to impersonate the sending domain.

As of 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have introduced new requirements mandating the use of DMARC alongside SPF and DKIM for bulk senders. While a DMARC policy of “p=none” is currently acceptable, this is considered the minimum standard. The ultimate goal for mailbox providers is to encourage broader adoption of DMARC. Eventually, an enforced DMARC policy of either “p=reject” or “p=quarantine” will be required.

It’s important to note that while a DMARC policy of “p=none” is permitted at present, it may not suffice in the future. However, according to Marcel Becker of Yahoo, enforcing DMARC is advantageous for all stakeholders involved—mailbox providers, senders, and email recipients alike—making it a win-win-win situation.

BIMI

BIMI, the newest addition to the email authentication suite, operates differently from its counterparts SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Unlike Gmail and Yahoo’s requirements for the implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, there’s no mandate for senders to adopt BIMI. Rather, BIMI serves as an incentive for organizations to embrace robust email authentication protocols.

BIMI stands for Brand Indicators for Message Identification. Its unique feature is its visual impact on subscribers’ inboxes. When correctly implemented, BIMI displays a branded logo designated by the organization next to its messages in the inbox.

This logo serves as a tangible indicator of trustworthiness. Its presence signifies that the email has passed through stringent authentication checks, including other email authentication protocols. Consequently, subscribers can rely on the displayed logo as an assurance of authenticity.

The significance of the BIMI logo lies in its ability to instill trust. Even if malicious actors succeed in delivering phishing emails, the absence of the verified logo signals to recipients that the email may not be legitimate. Thus, BIMI adds an extra layer of confidence for subscribers, bolstering trust in the authenticity of emails they receive.

To qualify for mailbox providers to display a BIMI logo, it’s imperative to have a fully operational DMARC policy along with SPF and DKIM records set up. BIMI serves as a culmination of sorts, rewarding organizations for their commitment to other email authentication methods.

Similar to other authentication protocols, BIMI is managed through a TXT record linked to a domain’s DNS. However, before incorporating a BIMI record, it’s essential to ensure the existence of a properly formatted logo.

BIMI logos must adhere to specific criteria to be compatible. They should be SVG files in the shape of a perfect square, capable of being cropped into a circle. Additionally, they require a solid background and must be published via HTTPS. Moreover, BIMI logo files should be compact, not exceeding 32kb in size. Lastly, to meet standards, the logo must be a registered trademark.

The journey towards BIMI adoption gained momentum when Google initiated a Gmail pilot program for BIMI in 2020. Subsequently, in July 2021, Gmail officially rolled out full support for BIMI. Additionally, in 2023, Apple announced its support for BIMI logos within its Apple Mail client, starting with iOS 16. This development holds significant implications, considering the substantial user base of Gmail and Apple Mail. It underscores the value of investing time and effort into setting up email authentication protocols.

By implementing BIMI, organizations can enhance subscriber confidence in the authenticity of their emails. For further guidance, resources, and tools related to BIMI, visit BIMIGroup.org. Additionally, gain insights from experts in the field by participating in our Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Brand Indicators for Message Identification.

Conclusion

Should you use all 4 authentication protocols?

Absolutely, using all email authentication protocols is highly recommended.

In the realm of email authentication, the adage “two heads are better than one” perfectly encapsulates the synergy between SPF and DKIM. Likewise, adding DMARC to the mix amplifies the effectiveness of these protocols, akin to the notion that “three is the magic number.”

As previously mentioned, DMARC serves as a crucial component for maximizing the benefits of SPF and DKIM, as well as enabling the display of a BIMI logo. Thus, a comprehensive approach that incorporates all authentication protocols ensures optimal email security and integrity.

While the setup process may require time and effort, the investment is undeniably worthwhile, particularly for organizations with the necessary resources. However, it’s important to note that email marketers need not navigate the intricacies of authentication protocols alone. Collaboration with IT teams or individuals possessing technical expertise is often essential for configuring DNS records effectively. Additionally, involvement from Email Service Providers (ESPs) may be necessary, while support from colleagues, vendors, or security consultants can aid in troubleshooting any issues that arise during the setup process.

In summary, leveraging all email authentication protocols is vital for bolstering email security and ensuring deliverability. With the right support and resources, email marketers can successfully implement robust authentication methods to safeguard their email communications.