Overview
Learning a new piece of technology can be intimidating and Adobe Marketo Engage is no different. Whether you are a seasoned Marketing Automation user or brand new to the space, here are four things you need to know as a new Marketo user.
1. Take time to learn the system layout
While this sounds simple enough, take some time to look through all of the available sections of Marketo Engage; Marketing Activities, Design Studio, Database, Analytics and Admin. Click through each to see the assets each section contains and take notes on any areas you might have questions about. If you’ve joined a team with an existing instance of Marketo Engage, you can use this exercise and list of questions as a way to learn from your marketing operations team how their current Marketo Engage instance is set up and why. Understanding the functional areas is the first step to becoming familiar with how Marketo works. Think of the sections a bit like parts of a car, where is the engine and what is it responsible for? Where are the tires and how do they function for the car as a whole, and so on
2. You aren’t alone: external resources
Even if your organization has amazing documentation around the use and set up of their Marketo Engage instance, it is imperative to spend time reviewing external resources as you are learning various features and functions of Marketo. There is a vast resource pool of prepared documentation in Marketo’s product docs. These docs provide a great overview of features and their functionality as well as fundamental Marketo terminologies.
Another great resource are the Marketing Operations communities. These include Marketing Nation, MOPsPROs Slack and MO Pros Slack. These communities are all for marketing operations professionals by marketing operations professions. Members share knowledge and best practices and where you can ask questions and create connections with your peers. Marketing Nation is Marketo specific but MOPsPROs and MO Pros cover a wide range of marketing operations topics which can help you round out your knowledge base as it applies to familiarizing yourself with Marketo.
3. Enroll at Marketo University!
Marketo also provides their own live and recorded trainings for both new and experienced users in Marketo University. As a new user, start with the instructor-led Marketo Core Concepts I and II for an overview of the system as well as hands-on training and creation of assets such as emails, forms and landing pages. These are also great prep courses for the Adobe Certified Professional (Marketo Engage) exam. Following Core Concepts, Adobe has outlined a learning path for marketers to get up to speed with Marketo Engage. Finally, the full course catalog for Adobe Marketo Engaged also provides a list of courses to continue your learning journey based on your goals.
4. Learning Marketo takes time
Even with all of the available resources, the best way to learn Marketo is through accrued personal experience. As you continue to learn about Marketo, you will make mistakes, but those mistakes provide valuable learning opportunities. Even seasoned professionals flub a smart list filter and send an email to the wrong people. Mistakes like that even have their own name – moopsies. Don’t dwell on those mistakes, but instead learn from them and have a good laugh about them with your new MOPs community friends. Just know, you won’t learn Marketo in a week, it is a marathon and ongoing learning experience. So don’t let those early mistakes deter you from continuing your Marketo journey.
Conclusion
While being a new Marketo user may look intimidating, there are certainly numerous resources at your disposal to learn the ins and outs. No technology can be learned overnight but with the resources available and tasks you will be taking on, it will make your learning experience much more enjoyable and faster. Soon enough you will be the one telling other Marketo newbies these exact points!
