ClickDimensions web forms can be used for a wide variety of purposes and by many different departments within an organization. We were recently talking with a customer who uses ClickDimensions forms for gathering resumes for employment opportunities. They like how the files automatically import into CRM and are associated with each lead or contact that submits the form, but they wanted an easy way for their recruiters to see all of the files for their own contacts. To help them accomplish this, we created a custom view for the posted field entity, looking specifically for file upload fields associated with contacts owned by the current user. First we looked for any notes in the posted field that contain a document. Then we added in a step looking back at the posted field (Posted Field | Contains Data), which allows you to look at the posted field’s related contact’s owner. As a variation on this, you could create the view to only show files for posted forms associated with a specific product or job posting. The form could have a field asking individuals about which product or job is of interest. This field could then map to a field on the lead/contact records and be used in the query. Once the query was generated, we saved it as a view, and now it shows up in our posted field entity. Happy Marketing! Written by Julie Patrick, ClickDimensions Marketing Success Manager
Read More: Creating a Custom View for Documents Uploaded in ClickDimensions Forms

With the ClickDimensions campaign automation tool, you have the ability to trigger a campaign automation once a posted form is submitted via a web content form. This is great for those who are using our form builder, but it doesn’t directly allow those using a form capture to use the submitted form trigger in a campaign automaton. However, there is a way to do this using a CRM workflow and marketing lists to trigger the campaign automation based on a form capture. Step One: Create a marketing list for contacts or leads that will only be used for people that have submitted a posted form via form capture. Step Two: In the campaign automation builder, use the add to list trigger instead of the submitted form trigger to start your campaign automation. Then build your campaign automation, click Save and click Publish. Step 3: Create a workflow that adds contacts and/or leads to the list(s) used to trigger the campaign automation. In this example, the lists are the Eryka Test List for contacts and Eryka Lead List for leads. Go to Settings > Processes Click New, then complete the following steps to get started: Name your workflow Select Workflow as your category Choose Posted Form as the entity Click OK Next, you will build the workflow: Select Organization for scope – this means that a posted form owned by any user in your organization will run through this workflow Make sure “Record is created” is checked Click Add Step, then…
Read More: How to Trigger a Campaign Automation Using a Form Capture

Maybe you have read about it in marketing articles (perhaps even on this blog), attended a presentation about it at an industry event or heard about it from co-workers, but you might still be wondering: what exactly is marketing automation? Or perhaps you’re well-versed in the ways of marketing automation, but you need a simple way to explain in to a colleague. The infographic below has you covered.  If you’re interested in reading more about marketing automation, why it’s an essential business tool, how marketers can convince their decision-makers to invest in marketing automation, how to choose a marketing automation system, and much more, be sure to download our eBook, The Marketing Automation Field Guide: Getting Started with Marketing Automation for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Happy Marketing! (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge)
Read More: Infographic: What is Marketing Automation?

Content is king. Marketers have grown very accustomed to that statement in recent years. And while that saying remains as true today as ever before, content marketing is evolving to suit consumer preferences and the changing business landscape. As the practice matures and continues to be adopted by more organizations, take a look at five content marketing trends we’re seeing today: 1. Distribution. Creating content isn’t a case of “If you build it, they will come.” While that’s not a new fact, today’s ultracompetitive content marketing landscape means that distribution takes center stage. Social media is an essential channel for content distribution, and with algorithm changes on certain platforms, many marketers are turning to paid social media advertising to increase the reach of their content. Influencer marketing is also becoming an increasingly popular method for content distribution. Building automated nurture campaigns through campaign automation is another smart strategy for getting content out to existing leads and customers. 2. Repurposing. Smart marketers have been repurposing their content for years, but this strategy has become more popular as the pressure to create more content increases and organizations look to get more bang for their content marketing buck. At ClickDimensions, our greatest repurposing success is our annual Marketing with Microsoft CRM Idea eBook. We compile our best blog posts, divided by topic, into this eBook and update the content each year. You could also turn eBooks or even meaty blog posts into infographics, explainer videos, SlideShare presentations, checklists, GIFs, newsletter articles and more.…
Read More: 5 Content Marketing Trends to Watch

When you view emails statistics on an Email Send record, you may see that there are some excluded emails. There are three reasons an email address would be excluded from receiving an email: 1. Missing email: There is no email address in the email field on the Lead/Contact record. 2. Unsubscribe: The recipient previously unsubscribed. 3. Blocked: The recipient’s email address hard bounced on an email you previously sent, the email address has had four soft bounces in the last 90 days or the person manually marked a previous email as spam. You can read more about ClickDimensions bounce codes and service protection here. The first two reasons are fairly easy to identify in CRM, but sometimes it can be difficult to determine why someone has been blocked. Here are three methods you can use to determine why an email address was blocked: Method 1: The Email Send Record Go to the Email Send record > related drop-down menu > Excluded Emails This will take you to the Excluded Email Associated View. In this example, you can see one email was excluded for being unsubscribed and one was blocked. We are going to click on the blocked record to investigate further. Once the Excluded Email record is open, you will need to click on the related Contact/Lead record: On the Contact/Lead record, click the related drop-down menu > Email Events: This will take you to the Email Event Associated View. Here we can see this contact has been blocked for “Invalid…
Read More: 3 Ways to Determine Why an Email Address was Blocked

Hey college grads! ClickDimensions is hiring for the following sales and marketing positions in our Atlanta office: Sales Development Representative (SDR) The ClickDimensions Sales Development Representative (SDR) is an entry-level inside sales/marketing role that will be responsible for working closely with ClickDimensions’ SDR Manager to generate revenue by developing opportunities for the ClickDimensions sales team. Duties of the SDR include: Skillfully build interest and create opportunities with new prospects Qualify leads and schedule meetings between prospects for enterprise sales team Work with the sales and marketing teams to help develop and implement the “Sales Development” process Implement phone and email campaigns to identify the correct person of contact with prospective ClickDimensions clients Research leads from the ClickDimensions website, following up with them and assigning them to the proper ClickDimensions account manager Support ClickDimensions marketing efforts by assisting in online marketing campaigns Click here for the full SDR job posting and to APPLY NOW Market Development Representative (MDR) The ClickDimensions Market Development Representative (MDR) is an entry-level sales/marketing role that is responsible for identifying and developing opportunities for the sales team. The MDR screens all inbound leads and directs customer inquiries to the appropriate person/department. Duties of the MDR include: Engaging with prospects via web chat on the ClickDimensions website Answering basic sales questions related to the ClickDimensions solution and its feature capabilities Responding to inbound leads and assigning them to the appropriate ClickDimensions salesperson Researching leads from the ClickDimensions website and qualifying them within CRM Working closely with the Sales Development…
Read More: We're Hiring – Entry-level Sales and Marketing

Today, brand awareness and audience engagement go hand in hand with an organization’s social media presence. And with the popularity of social media increasing and the number of platforms expanding, every indication is that social media is here to stay for marketers and in a big way. Creating and maintaining successful social media profiles for your company involves many complexities and details, but with this post, we’re bringing it back to the basics. These four tips are tried-and-true essentials for increasing your social media success – two of which can connect with your email marketing efforts too! 1. Put your audience first. If you want readers to share and interact with your social media content, there has to be something in it for them. Whether you want someone to stop and think or have a good laugh, always put the needs and interests of your audience first in order to create successful social content. Create compelling, and brief, copy and include visuals to attract attention and engagement. Also, where appropriate, make sure to take advantage of hashtags so your audience can find your posts as part of a broader social media conversation. 2. Manage negativity. Angry customers on social media can ruin a brand’s image quickly. How you react to those public comments can make all the difference. When you receive negative feedback on your social profiles, make sure you act fast to resolve the issue. Don’t delete the comment (unless it is inappropriate), but instead, keep your cool and…
Read More: 4 Simple Tips for Social Media Success

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. It’s as true in the inbox as it is in life. Subject lines can make or break an email campaign. No matter how valuable or important the content of an email, if your subject line fails to hook the recipient at a glance, your open rate – and therefore the success of your entire campaign – suffers. So what’s an email marketer to do? Here are eight helpful tips for improving your email subject lines and increasing opens: 1. Keep it short. Email subject lines are such valuable real estate that you might be tempted to try and include every detail of your email message. Remember, however, that long subject lines will be truncated by email clients and that short subject lines are more eye-catching for recipients. Aim for 50 characters, or about five to seven words. 2. Utilize personalization. Email subject lines such as “A special offer for Bill Burns” or “Sue, have you seen these deals?” are examples of incorporating personalization into email subject lines. While names are probably the most common use of subject line personalization, other demographic details about your recipients could work well too. For example, a subject line like “Check out these Atlanta restaurant deals” could be very effective at attracting inbox attention by communicating that the information is local to the recipient. 3. Don’t be too salesy. Email is an incredibly effective sales tool, but you don’t want to sound too…
Read More: 8 Tips for Improving Email Subject Lines

Due to popular demand, we’re pleased to announce that we have added a new bi-weekly campaign automation training course to ClickDimensions Academy, which is exclusively for current ClickDimensions customers and partners. Since campaign automations can incorporate other ClickDimensions features, such as sending emails or form submissions, we recommend attending our ClickDimensions Academy CD101 and CD201 webinars prior to attending the campaign automation training. Register for the campaign automation webinar course today – the next session will be held on Thursday, May 12. In addition to this new course, we are also updating the content of a few of the ClickDimensions Academy sessions in CD101 and CD201. Read the full training update announcement here.
Read More: New Campaign Automation Training and ClickDimensions Academy Updates

Join us for our April new release webinar tomorrow, May 5, where we will demo the functionality of the latest ClickDimensions release. There will be two webinar sessions to choose from, and you can register here: 10:30 -11:30 AM EDT (3:30 PM UTC) 6:30 – 7:30 PM EDT (11:30 PM UTC) And check out our quick new release overview video: [embedded content]  You can also sign up to get email notifications about our new releases here.
Read More: ClickDimensions April New Release Webinar: Thursday, May 5