The media landscape looks completely different today than it did 12 years ago when I first founded Shift, a Silverline Company.

And let’s be real: the next 12 years will look completely different from today. 

We’re working in an industry that’s constantly changing. Traditional models like print, television, out-of-home, and movies aren’t just declining — consumer expectations are changing, and businesses like yours have to keep up.

With Salesforce Media Cloud, you can.

Salesforce Media Cloud offers the potential to solve these pain points — and help your business achieve complete digital transformation, streamlining operations, reducing inefficiencies, and driving additional revenue.

If you’re looking to get started with Salesforce Media Cloud, take these three steps.

1. Map out your goals, outcomes, and processes

Before you get started with any major digital transformation initiative, you have to know your goals. That includes short-term and long-term goals. 

Following the “S.M.A.R.T” framework, your goals should be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-based

As you map out your goals, this is a great time to think about your current processes, too. Technology only works as well as the systems and habits your team has — so any changes you make will need to go deeper than simply ripping and replacing your technology.

Implementing a new tool like Salesforce Media Cloud has a lot of moving parts, especially as you’re changing long-established processes in your business and for your employees. Understanding this at the outset of a project helps you better move toward your desired outcome.

2. Crawl, walk, run 

One common mistake clients make is trying to run before they can crawl.

I get clients that come in swinging, asking for a Rolls Royce version with all the bells and whistles and features when all they really need is a Honda. Adding Salesforce Media Cloud to your tech stack isn’t a one-and-done interaction. You’ll need team members to manage data integrations, monitor new features and bugs, and evolve the platform as your company evolves and matures. Are some of Media Cloud’s features lik accelerating sales, streamlining operations, and optimizing campaign performance on a converged platform super exciting? You bet! But if you’re still planning media buying out of spreadsheets, let’s slow down a little and make sure you’re ready to get the most value out of the platform that you can — and then run when it’s time to run.

Whether you’ve been using other Salesforce products for years or are just getting started with the platform, it’s a journey. Media Cloud can be completely customized to your specific needs, so make sure you go into the project with clear expectations on what you want, need, and are ready to use.

3. Have a go-to-market strategy

The other big piece of advice I always give our clients: settle on your go-to-market strategy.

There are so many platforms out there to choose from. Depending on your audience, you might be looking at Google Ad Manager, Facebook Ad Manager, FreeWheel, and more. The more platforms you’re juggling, the harder it’s going to be to know what you’ll need from your technology. You don’t want to spend all that time and money choosing data integrations for platforms that ultimately you don’t end up using. 

A strong go-to-market strategy also ensures you know why you’re investing in the technology in the first place, what ROI you’re hoping to achieve, and the additional value you’ll bring to your customers, too.

Salesforce Media Cloud is here

Welcome to the future of media.

Now that you’re ready to get started, it’s time to align your goals, maturity, and go-to-market plan with Salesforce Media Cloud’s extensive set of features. Built on an industry-specific data model that extends your 360-degree-view of the customer, you’ll access deep analytics and insights for budgeting, projections, actualization, and campaign pacing, with integrations that push data across multiple downstream systems so your team can collaborate and execute seamlessly.

That’s why Silverline’s Media and Entertainment practice is here to help. As a Salesforce consulting partner with more than 10 years of experience implementing, configuring, and re-envisioning the world’s #1 sales and service platform, we focus on Media and Agencies and obsess about our customer success. We also offer a range of solutions from Strategic Advisory, Implementations and Managed Services designed to provide the right partnership our customers need. See how we can help your media business.