The Cloud has received a lot of attention over the past few years, hence more people are becoming aware of what the Cloud can do for their business.
Marketing is no stranger to the Cloud, though not enough people are taking advantage of everything the Cloud can offer.
By implementing the Cloud in your marketing efforts you can see some changes. Most will be a great improvement over previous software.
What Is The Cloud
The Cloud is not a huge Cloud of information that everyone can access every program on it; this is usually the idea that people have, which is true to a certain extent.
The internet itself can be considered a Cloud of sorts. Many servers meeting together to exchange and hold information. Though for business purposes the Cloud is a bit different.
The Cloud is actually many different Clouds that are meant for different purposes.
Servers share information and are actually virtual storage units. Software can be stored or accessed by users. These Clouds do not cross each other as with the internet. Most are owned by a business that is offering Cloud based services to users.
You can store information, data, and use programs for your business from Cloud servers.
For a marketing department this can be a dream come true, given Cloud-based software usually is more powerful and has more options than those installed directly on a computer.
You can create one account that everyone in the department can access instead of installing multiple versions of a disc on multiple computers. Purchasing many copies of discs can be far more expensive than any monthly fee for a cloud service.
Collaboration
Cloud-based marketing software has another distinct advantage over computer based - collaboration is easier. In fact, collaboration is almost effortless.
Almost every Cloud-based program also has an app for mobile access. With most people owning some sort of mobile phone, talking to each other while working on a marketing campaign is easier than ever.
Smart mobile phones allow people to talk, work, and locate each other if needed. Apps are more powerful than ever and the monthly fees for the Cloud programs may include cost of the apps. Files can be instantly viewed over Cloud based data services - Google Drive is one example.
Data Backup
Perhaps the most well-known Cloud service is that of data backup.
Every marketing campaign can benefit from having all materials backed up. Hackers enjoy attacking any website or computer system - not just the 'big boys'. If someone presents a challenge or the hack just feels like having fun, the collected works of an entire team can be lost.
Backing up data through Google Drive, Dropbox, or Carbonite is a great idea.
This can further your efforts by allowing you to go over old campaigns at a later date. View what worked or what didn't. Change your new campaigns.
You'll never lose your data and as long as you keep your passwords safe, hacking threats are low.