As marketers, we have all experienced the last-minute scramble to get a marketing program launched and out the door on time. With so many small details required, marketers are always looking for a way to streamline and simplify the process. Luckily, there is a way to ease some of the burden for your high-frequency programs.
Enter, the Marketo Token.
Something so simple has the ability to save a ton of time—all it takes is a little organization and prep work.
What is a Marketo Token?
A token is a variable that references specific content for your marketing campaigns. Tokens can be used in emails, landing pages, and smart campaigns. There are lots of different types of tokens (for a full breakdown, click here), but the one we are going to focus on today is called “My Tokens”, which is used within Marketo Programs.
My Tokens are defined within a program and begin with ‘{{my.’ followed by the name you created for the token. Since these tokens are defined within each Marketo Program, you will have to set them up for each of your programs (this is where the organization and prep work comes in).
How do you use tokens in Marketo?
Once you create your Program, navigate to the “Tokens” tab. There, you will be able to add new or modify existing tokens for your program. Once you have your program created, you can then use the Token Name in your programs, emails, landing pages, and smart campaigns.
Some of the most common tokens you can create are:
| Webinars and Events | Asset and Content Downloads |
| Title of Event | Asset Title |
| Event Date | Asset Blurb/Description |
| Event Time | Asset URL Link |
| Event Calendar Link | |
| Event Dial-In Information | |
| Event Live Event Link | |
| Event Registration Link | |
| Event On Demand Link |
So you set up your first Marketo Program with Tokens. Now what?
Now that you have your tokens set up, the fun can begin! There are endless possibilities when you use tokens in your Marketo Programs, but here are a few ways to save time and eliminate the last minute scramble right before launch:
1. Create all of your standard emails (confirmation, attendee, no show, asset downloads, etc) in Design Studio and have them reference your Program Tokens.
*It is important to note that you must keep the Token Name consistent across each Marketo Channel. The values can change within each new Program, but the Token Name must remain the same for Design Studio emails to work correctly.
2. Set up your smart campaigns to send out each of the Design Studio emails once they meet the smart campaign criteria.
3. Set up your landing pages to reference the tokens.
Now that you know what tokens are, how to set them up, and how to use them to save time and make your job easier, you can focus your marketing superpowers on the million other things that need your superhero effort!
