Cloud computing technology has already passed its infancy stage. Many industries have realized the benefits and begun to integrate the technology into their businesses. One of the key sectors that can benefit tremendously from the cloud is marketing because cloud computing can fundamentally change its reach and attract new audiences. This is especially important concerning the storage and distribution of critical data.

Cloud applications and big companies

Cloud software development is an excellent solution for a company that needs an application or program with advanced user customization, good scalability, and easy integration with the server. You can store data and programs in cloud storage, working with them online and without straining your computer’s hard drives.

 

Cloud software is convenient if:

• Your company needs to reduce capital and operating expenses and at the same time increase IT capacity.
• Your company needs to expand the local IT environment in the cloud.
• Your company needs to combine on-premises and cloud deployment of your application (create hybrid applications).

Today, an increasing number of companies developing marketing services applications opt for their cloud implementation. It allows leveraging such competitive benefits as at least 99.98% of service availability, 3-4x faster launch of new features, significant upgrade in security, and 10-40% operating costs savings.

The variety of available services has gotten wider

One of the major benefits of cloud technology from a digital marketing perspective is the expansion of the number of venues in which potential audiences can be reached, which directly leads to an increase in leads.

 

For example, a person watching TV and texting on his or her smartphone while sitting on a couch was inaccessible to marketers. But now a person can access the same information from both TV and smartphone. He or she doesn’t even have to get up from the couch. There is no need for complex interfaces or a huge number of servers – people just go online because it is easy and simple, which means they are immediately on the radar of web marketers.

Why are marketers moving to the cloud?

 

1. Multiple device support. Cloud technology has made access to files much easier, it can be accessed in a couple of clicks, and users can work with information from anywhere in the world.
2. Security. Companies providing cloud services pay a lot of attention to security. As a result, data located in the cloud is often more secure than if it were on the company’s servers because cloud providers have their own strong information security specialists who are great at protecting specific types of data.
3. Savings. One of the reasons clouds are growing in popularity is that they simply save resources. Companies don’t have to pay for their hardware, deal with its support, constantly buy and renew licenses for the software they use.

How can brands use cloud technology?

Campaign analytics

Liz Karschner, a digital marketing specialist at SEPCO, uses HubSpot to plan campaigns and review analytics information. Among the advantages of such platforms, Karschner noted the ease of accessibility of information – you can access the marketing campaign dashboard from any device and any location with Internet access.

 

Automation of work

Another marketer represents Canadian ski resort Whistler BlackComb. He uses 9 social networks to promote the resort – he’s helped manage them with a control panel from Hootsuite.

Branding

Cloud-based services can also include social media, which is a great branding tool. With Instagram or Pinterest, a business can create striking visual images that will attract new users.

Cloud ERP

ERP used to be software exclusively used by Fortune 500 companies. The average cost of implementing ERP was up to $500,000, and yet there was still the possibility that the deployment would not reach its goals. The cloud has brought ERP to the masses. Today, small businesses regularly turn to ERP systems to help them improve the efficiency of their system. An ERP sales module called Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is now a mainstream business.

Sales cycle management

Depending on your industry or the product you sell, the sales cycle can vary in time from one minute to six months. Managing multiple processes that can occur at different points in the cycle is a very complex and necessary task. That’s why the need to track the sales cycle using cloud technologies has emerged. For this are used site management systems, tracking of visitors’ actions, reminders.

Tracking leads

A very long time ago, you had to use server log files to track website visitors. Over the past decade, cloud-based analytics services have effectively eliminated that need. Google Analytics is by far the most popular service for businesses to track leads on their platform.

Conclusion

 

One of the areas where cloud services can be most useful is marketing. In digital, cloud services and technologies have already fundamentally changed the way companies reach and interact with their target audiences and handle important data.