New Features! A Preview Of The Spring 2011 Release

Over the past few months, we have been hard at work developing many exciting features for our spring release (May 22, 2011). As part of our commitment to improving the Bronto marketing platform, we are introducing several new features which enhance how you communicate with, and engage your contacts. The new features being included in the Spring 2011 release are described below.

Workflows

(Professional Edition Only) Workflows allow you to automate steps of a multi-channel marketing life-cycle by specifying combinations of triggers, filters, and actions that determine how to handle contact data, and what marketing communications to send them. Creating workflows is a simple process that involves dragging combinations of nodes (triggers, filters, and actions) onto the workflow canvas to automate certain marketing actions.

Facebook Integration

(Professional Edition Only) Integrating your account with a Facebook account allows you to add a Like button to email messages and webforms, post Facebook messages, let contacts sign-up using their Facebook information, and map Facebook data to contact fields. You can also trigger workflows based on if someone liked a status, liked a page, commented on a status, or posted to a page.

Twitter Integration

(Professional Edition Only) Integrating your account with a Twitter account allows you to post to Twitter and track the posts made via the application. You can also trigger workflows based on whether a contact mentions or retweets a Twitter username you have setup in your account.

Support For QR Codes In Email Messages

(Professional Edition Only) QR codes allow you to encode a URL into an image that you can add to email messages. If a contact prints out the email, they can take a picture of the QR code with their smart phone and they will be redirected to the URL you specified for the QR code.

SMS Integration

(Professional Edition Only) The SMS integration allows you to send SMS (aka mobile text messages) to your contacts. This opens a new channel through which you can engage your contacts. SMS messages are allocated independently of your regular email allocation. In order to purchase SMS messages, contact your account manager.

Redesigned Message Overview Pages

We have redesigned the email message overview page to include more information about metrics associated with email messages, as well as the delivery groups which an email message has been added to. Click to enlarge  If you have the Facebook and/or the Twitter integration enabled, both Facebook and Twitter messages will have their own unique message overview pages. These pages contain metrics specific to those marketing channels, as well as information on delivery groups the Facebook or Twitter message has been added to. If you have the SMS integration enabled, SMS messages will also have their own message overview page which contains metrics specific to SMS messages, as well as information on delivery groups an SMS message has been added to.

Redesigned Navigation

We have redesigned the top level navigation to accommodate new features going live for the Spring 2011 release. These changes include:

• Added the Automation button to the top level navigation.
• Moved Automated Messages Rules under Automation: Go to Automation->Automated Message Rules.
• Renamed All Messages to Email Messages: Go to Messages->Email Messages.
• Renamed Templates to Email Templates: Go to Content->Email Templates.

We are really excited about the features coming in the Spring 2011 release. We look forward to seeing and hearing about the innovative ways in which you will make use of the new marketing platform. If you have any comments or feedback about the Spring 2011 release, please leave them in the comments section below.

John Gunther T
echnical Writer/eLearning Specialist at Bronto
Editor of Brontoversity