Demystifying Einstein Engagement Frequency in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

This is the third article in the series of articles exploring the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Einstein feature. Earlier, we learned, in detail, about Einstein Engagement Scoring & Einstein Content Selection.

As we all know, Einstein is the Artificial intelligence-powered brain behind Salesforce Marketing Cloud. In this blog, we will be analyzing and understanding Einstein’s other feature – Einstein Engagement Frequency.

Today, customers are bombarded with emails from several brands, and it becomes imperative for marketers that they understand this paint point of the customer and work towards resolving the issue.

Engagement Frequency in SFMC helps you send an optimal number of messages to your customers. It helps to send emails to customers within the prescribed limit of Oversaturated and Undersaturated frequency. Optimal send enables you to achieve your goal of curbing unsubscribes and enhancing open rates.

The ‘Oversaturated’ and ‘Undersaturated’ recommendations of Engagement Frequency are set with the help of the Einstein model. This model is created based on the following aspects:

• Analysis of the last 28 days of email data
• Taking only commercial emails into consideration and not transactional emails.

Einstein Engagement Frequency feature is available with the following Salesforce Marketing Cloud editions:

• Corporate Editions
• Enterprise Editions  

You can also purchase it as an addition to the Professional Edition of Marketing Cloud.      

Benefits of Einstein Engagement Frequency in SFMC

Einstein Engagement Frequency provides multiple benefits. Let’s explore them:

• Einstein Engagement Frequency reduces the possibility of unsubscribes. This happens because the model identifies the oversaturated subscribers, and you can then target them with fewer emails.   
• Einstein Engagement Frequency helps in gaining important leads from the list of undersaturated subscribers. In the background, Einstein recommends the subscribers that are undersaturated and can be used as potential leads for more specific targeting.
• Based on the model, you can adapt your marketing strategy to target oversaturated and undersaturated subscribers.   

 How it works

Einstein should be activated at a MID level and typically takes up to 72 hours to get activated. As Journey Builder is used for targeting subscribers of both types, i.e. Oversaturated and Undersaturated, and hence it should be provisioned earlier.    

This feature helps you predict the optimal frequency of ‘email send’ based on each business unit, as there could be a business unit that is used as a sandbox or for only admin purposes. The model analyzes the engagement data of the subscriber –  email opens, clicks, sends, etc.

The option to configure the lookback period [no. of days] or the type of email sent [for example – commercial] is available with you for optimized analysis. These options provide real-time adjustments and reflect the data changes in real-time.     

Einstein uses two data extensions to store the optimized analysis using its model. Below are the two data extensions that are populated by Einstein Engagement Frequency:

• Einstein_MC_EMAIL_Frequency_Undersaturation- Einstein uses this data extension to populate the data of the subscribers who have not received optimal no. of emails and hence should be targeted for more emails in the future.
•  Einstein_MC_Email_Frequency_Oversaturation- Einstein uses this data extension to populate the data of the subscribers who have received more than optimal no. of emails and hence should be targeted for less and specific emails in the future. This can be used as an exclusion list for future sends.

In the background, the Einstein model uses automation to calculate the metrics daily in the above data extension. The Einstein model updates both the data extensions on a daily basis, while the Einstein model optimizes itself every week.

Einstein Engagement Frequency Use cases

There are multiple use cases for the Einstein Engagement Frequency features, and this should be used in conjunction with Journey Builder. The Journey Builder’s Einstein Engagement Frequency spilt activity can be used to target subscribers with the following uses cases:

• The subscriber with oversaturated status should be targeted with only important emails like coupons.
• The subscriber with undersaturated status should be targeted with campaigns like newsletters and other less priority email sends.

How To use Einstein Engagement Frequency spilt activity

Go to Journey Builder’s blank canvas and select the option to create a multi-step journey. Select the Frequency spilt activity from the Flow controls sections of the setting. Drag the Frequency split activity onto the Journey Builder canvas and click on the Frequency split activity. There are four options to select from, as mentioned below:

• Saturated- This category of subscribers has received more than the recommended number of emails and should be targeted for only specific content tailored to their preference.
• Almost saturated- This category of customers is on the verge of reaching the optimal limit of saturation. They should be targeted for emails that are very specific to their needs and preferences.
• On Target- This category of customers is optimally placed to receive emails and can be targeted for campaigns. 
• Undersaturated- This category of customers is below the optimal limit of saturation. They should be targeted with more emails, and this can help in lead generation.

The below image shows various options for the Einstein Frequency split activity within Journey Builder. 

Post addition of the Frequency Activity within the Journey Builder canvas, various paths like Saturated and Almost Saturated can be used for Re-engage promo code and Coupon sale respectively

The image below shows the Journey Builder Frequency split with the above three paths, i.e., Saturated, Almost Saturated, and Remainder. The remainder path covers all the contacts which won’t be a part of the Saturated and Almost Saturated paths. The Remainder path is automatically created as a part of the Frequency Split Activity. 

The Journey Builder provides a rich set of Engagement Analytics for the Frequency split activity. To view this, you can click on the Frequency split activity icon on a running Journey. The below image shows the dashboard that displays the relevant metrics of the Frequency split activity of the specific running Journey. The card shows the Overview for the chosen period, i.e., 30 days. The second card shows the Engagement path of your contacts for the selected period. 

Wrap Up

When used correctly, the Einstein Engagement Frequency feature is a savior for finding the right email send frequency. With relevant use cases and detailed how-to steps, we hope that you will make the most of this feature.

For a detailed understanding of Einstein Engagement Frequency, please visit this link.

If you need any guidance with managing your SFMC, Email Uplers’ salesforce certified email specialist can help.