How to Consolidate your MarTech Stack (and Save $$) with ShortStack

As marketers, we’re busy. And the better we are at helping our organizations grow, the longer our list of marketing SaaS subscriptions becomes. But with the fresh start of a new year, it’s a great time to reassess those subscriptions and see where our software stack may overlap. 

Over the last decade, the product and engineering teams at ShortStack have been busy, too. Although our platform is the #1 tool for contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways, we’ve added services and feature upgrades to transform our product into more than contests. Now, as an all-in-one marketing tool, ShortStack has become a go-to for marketers looking for an array of services.

If your current marketing technology (MarTech) stack can use a little consolidating, check out six things ShortStack can do under one (potentially less expensive) roof. 

Quizzes

If you’re already using quizzes to engage your audience, match personalities to products, or promote awareness, you know how valuable a good quiz builder can be. ShortStack offers easy-to-use templates to build the exact quiz you need to help you reach your marketing goals. By including an entry form, you’ll have a targeted, lead-generating machine. 

Check out the Personality Quiz Template that will allow you to display options for each quiz question. Then, set up personality outcomes based on answer choices. Your quiz might recommend products or services based on a personality type or add some fun to your lead generation funnel.

Our Knowledge Quiz Template will allow you to display “correct” answers and even a graded score at the end. Knowledge quizzes are an excellent way to determine a customer’s understanding of your product or service, giving you a jumping-off point for remarketing.

Are you more of a do-it-yourselfer? Build your own quiz using our advanced form builder with tools such as multiple-choice options, drop-down lists, and text fields - everything you need to build a custom quiz tailored to your business needs. 

Social Media Feeds

If your social media channels are your go-to engagement boosters, then featuring user-generated content (UGC) in your marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your website or online store. One way to do this is to import content such as posts, reactions, or comments into a list of entries. 

Importing hashtagged posts into a single place allows you to streamline the user experience. With ShortStack, you can collect, store, and then display these posts in one easy-to-view gallery Then, promote further brand engagement by enabling voting and sharing on the gallery page. 

In this example, Instagram posts with the hashtag #summerfit are pulled into a gallery and made accessible on one scrollable page. 

ShortStack lets you moderate entries, so only those you approve are displayed. The Entries Manager makes the process of viewing and approving entries a breeze. 

You can also import comments and/or likes into a list of entries. This feature allows you to run ‘Like-to-Enter’ and ‘Comment-to-Enter’ contests from a Facebook or Instagram post. 

When running a ‘Comment or Like-to-Enter’ contest, importing the comments and/or likes into a list of entries makes it easy to select a winner at random, keeping winner selection simple and fair. 

Form Building & Data Management

ShortStack has always provided a solid form builder with all the basics: standard fields, custom fields, entry restrictions, and more. However, our most recent updates have made our form builder second to none. Now, you can take advantage of advanced features such as: 

• Conditional form logic: Present fields or content based on a respondent's answer to previous questions or other interactions with content; 
• Multi-page forms: Break up form fields into separate “pages” for a streamlined experience; 
• Reusable form fields: Re-use form fields across multiple forms to save time and improve data continuity,
• Query-string parameter field pre-filling: Use query-string parameters to pre-fill fields from previously completed forms. 

In this example built with ShortStack, selecting the “Active!...” response triggers a prompt to select a day and time to receive a phone call, while the other two options display a simple email capture. 

If your business leverages a lot of forms to collect the same data over and over, ShortStack allows you to use the same form fields in more than one form. Not only does this save time in the form set-up, but it also helps you preserve the continuity of your data across all of your form entries. 

Speaking of data, ShortStack stores the entries you collect in a comprehensive Entries Manager. Filter entries by type, field data, date, list, and more. If you’re running a contest, you can select entries to choose a winner randomly. Plus, export entries via customizable profiles that let you decide which data you want to use elsewhere. 

Landing Page & Microsite Builder

A full-blown content management site like WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace can be quite an investment. With ShortStack, you can build landing pages and microsites without knowing any HTML or CSS. 

Drag and drop blocks of content (which we call widgets) into your page to design a layout. You can also create a custom user flow using ‘if this, then that” (IFTTT) actions. 

In this example, an IFTTT action displays a button. The visitor downloads a coupon worth 20% off by clicking the button. 

Our Containers, NavBar and Paging Widgets allow you to create sub-navigation within your campaign, helping you to break up content as you would with any of the “big brand” website builders. With this feature, build microsites for your business, create contests with stages or categories, make landing pages for events, or display any other content you’d like to organize by page. 

Pop-Up Builder

Pop-ups can garner up to a 14.4% conversion rate, so it’s no wonder businesses are using them en masse. 

ShortStack allows you to build and embed pop-ups on your website with the following options: 

• Select from a time-based, scroll location, or exit-intent pop-up;
• Include videos, countdown timers, email capture, or discounts to boost conversions; and
• Create a welcome mat (full-screen) pop-up for another conversion boost.

We offer more than a dozen customizable templates explicitly built for pop-ups on your website, but you can display any ShortStack campaign as a pop-up.

The process for embedding a pop-up couldn’t be more straightforward. After building your campaign, select the embed option when publishing and choose the pop-up option. You decide how and when you want the pop-up to reveal. That’s it! - there’s no complicated code or technical hurdles to learn. 

Email Marketing

As a top contest and giveaway builder with entry storage and data management capabilities, it only seemed natural to build email marketing services right into the ShortStack platform. You generate a lot of leads when running a contest or giveaway, hosting a quiz, running a survey, or collecting information via a form. ShortStack allows you to send automated emails immediately after your entry form is submitted, several days after the entry is collected, or at one scheduled day and time. 

ShortStack’s email builder has all the tools you need to craft personalized, follow-up marketing messages complete with merge fields, links, image placement, and more. Our email services comply with GDPR and CAN-SPAM guidelines, so you can breathe easy knowing your emailed content is compliant. 

Coupon Distribution

Businesses that distribute coupons know the revenue-boosting potential of this go-to marketing strategy. In fact, online shoppers who use coupon codes spend 24% more than shoppers who don’t use them. If you work for a business that doles out coupons, you can use ShortStack to up your game. Import your unique codes (created from your point-of-sale or other code redemption platform) and use ShortStack to distribute them in an email autoresponder, instant win giveaway, and more. You can track which user received which code and even export the list of coupon codes and associated entries to use outside of ShortStack. 

If you need a little help brainstorming ways to incorporate coupon distribution into a sales funnel, ShortStack has loads of resources, including guides and templates to help you get started. 

In summary, save money on your MarTech stack!

ShortStack has evolved into a comprehensive marketing platform, offering more than just contest and sweepstakes capabilities. Simplify your MarTech stack by using ShortStack for your marketing quizzes, social media management, landing pages and microsites, form creation, pop-ups, and email marketing.