I’ve written previously about how helpful a CMS is for Inbound Marketing, but there’s always more to cover on the subject, and one thing that I didn’t get to talk about was the way more and more marketing functionality is being incorporated within CMS platforms, as the makers of CMS software realize the importance of Inbound Marketing. It’s exciting to watch these systems evolve to meet the needs of not only the IT staff that maintains a website, but the people who use it on a day to day basis to bring visitors in and convert them into customers.
Blurred Lines
CMS platform providers are starting to realize the need for marketers to not only make small changes to a website, but to also add functionality and personalization to content on the entire website. Due to this realization, a lot of CMS providers are incorporating marketing services within their CMS platforms. As content marketing strategies and inbound marketing strategies align and become even more vital to keeping up with your competitors, so do the tools that see these strategies through. It is more important than ever before to deliver a custom experience for your audience, and I believe this will only become more important as time goes by. We are no longer fortunate simply to have digital devices, but we now rely on our devices in order to complete our daily tasks, and it is vital to meet our customers where they are. Due to this reliance on technology and the need to provide the best digital experiences, the lines between Marketing Automation Platforms and Content Management Systems are starting to blur. The necessity for the two to work together fluidly is more apparent than ever.
For instance, a lot of Content Management Systems now include several aspects that do more than just provide tools that make content publishing easy; they also make it simple to execute your inbound marketing strategies from one place. Let’s look at some of these CMS platforms that have begun to blur the lines to offer both content management functionality and marketing tools, and see what each of them has to offer:
Ektron's Content Management Platform
- Content Publishing
- Social Media Publishing
- Easy updates to Meta descriptions and Meta Tags
- Landing Page Creators
- Personalized calls-to-action (CTAs)
- Metrics for long-term tracking and success
EPiServer Content Management System
- Content Publishing
- Social Media Publishing
- Easy updates to Meta descriptions and Meta Tags
- Metrics for long-term tracking and success
HubSpot's Sites (Content Optimization System)
- Content Publishing
- Social Media Publishing
- Easy updates to Meta descriptions and Meta Tags
- Landing Page Creators
- Personalized calls-to-action (CTAs)
- Metrics for long-term tracking and success
Although some of the above mentioned features pertain to a content management system, some of them are more focused on Marketing Automation Platform functionality. Creating landing pages and personalized CTAs allows you to customize your website to cater to your customers’ experience. This allows marketers to gain more insight and provide more of the content your audience wants. Having your social media publishing in the same place as your website is a great convenience for marketers. This gives them one less place they have to visit in order to get daily tasks done, and it helps them to track all metrics in one place rather than on several different platforms. There are several benefits to integrating your CMS and MAP, and it is great to see these CMS companies expand their functionality in order to meet the needs of their users.
These are just some of the Content Management Systems and Marketing Automation Platforms that are blurring the lines of functionality. What other features would you love to see in a CMS? Is there a tool that you use and couldn't imagine doing your job without? Let us know in the comments below, and, as always, feel free to contact us to speak with a marketing specialist with any questions you have.
