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Act-On Software announced the release of Act-On Anywhere, an application that makes Act-On engagement data, assets and functionality available from within the user’s current browsing context.
Regardless of their Web-based environment, users can click an icon in their browser to access marketing automation features and view engagement information for any person in the Act-On database.
Anywhere for the Google Chrome browser is currently available in beta to Act-On customers in beta and will be generally available within 30 days from Act-On and the Google Chrome store.
“Marketing automation is important to organizations of all sizes, and particularly SMBs being that the technology was originally built for large enterprises – expensive, complex and required IT resources to manage,” Gal Josefsberg, vice president of product management and marketing at Act-On, told eWEEK. “By design, SMBs typically have fewer headcount, less resources and smaller budgets to work with, so having access to marketing automation provides them with a single-dashboard to generate leads, manage leads, qualify leads and ultimately nurture leads until they are qualified – and then pass over to sales for follow-up.”
Initially, the software is available for content authoring, which enables any Web-based content management system (CMS) to embed calls-to-action in Web pages and blogs using images, landing pages, and forms from the Act-On Media Library.
Social media publishing lets users access marketing assets stored in the Act-On platform, such as links to multimedia content or landing pages, t from within a social media app.
“Today’s social media platforms are huge for SMBs on three main fronts: leads, leadership, and leverage. They present businesses with a new channel for engagement — a way to widen their audience and reach new people,” Josefsberg said. “They also provide businesses the chance to engage with industry influencers, and to establish themselves as authorities and thought leaders. And finally, they allow them to leverage their networks to forge new partnerships, and better brand and expand themselves.”
Businesses can also track engagement within Act-On, measuring the effectiveness of social media campaigns plus optimize interactions on Gmail by using pre-built email templates within the mail app. Users also can track email opens and clicks of any email sent.
In addition, users can access search engine optimization (SEO) functionality from the Web browser to optimize content while creating it, and marketers can run SEO audits on their websites after creating them.
Josefsberg also noted the company is planning to add more functionality for the sales person.
“Right now we’re giving them information and tools. We want to add on top of that and give them direction. That means not just giving them information on their leads but also telling them, which lead needs attention right now. Second, we want to add features and tools for the social marketer,” he said. “This is another group that right now is not getting a lot of usage out of marketing automation because they live in their own ecosystem.”