HubSpot has been one of the most popular CRMs for several years now, and it’s also well-regarded for its website platform and its content management system (CMS). According to website profiling company BuiltWith, over 830,000 websites currently use HubSpot CMS.
But with the introduction of HubSpot custom objects, marketers have an opportunity to deploy new levels of targeting and personalization into their web flows.
Let’s explore how you can use HubSpot custom objects to improve your content.
HubSpot Custom Objects
If you’ve seen any of our previous blog posts on the subject, you should already have a good idea of what HubSpot custom objects are and how they work. If not, here’s a refresher.
In HubSpot, a custom object is an object that can store and structure almost any type of data within the platform. Previously, users could only create four types of objects. These were Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets.
With custom objects, users can dramatically extend the power of the business workflows already built into the CRM. You can create an object for almost anything you need, whether it’s a “shipping” object to track what products are being shipped or an “onboarding” object to track your customer onboarding process.
As you can imagine, these objects can be incorporated into the content you produce through the HubSpot platform. You can use custom objects on your website pages, your landing page, and emails, adding incredible levels of detail and personalization.
Using HubSpot Custom Objects with Your Website CMS
To create a custom object, you must first define it via API. HubSpot has provided a substantial amount of developer documentation to show you how to do this. In short, you are bound by the following rules:
- You must have an Enterprise subscription to use the CRM Custom Objects API.
- Any Enterprise account can create, read, and update custom objects.
- CRM custom objects are account specific.
- An account can have up to 10 CRM custom objects.
Once you’ve defined your custom object, you can create it in your HubSpot account via the contacts, companies, deals, or tickets home page. Enter your custom object’s property values, then click “Create.”
Once you’ve created your custom object, you can use it throughout the HubSpot platform. In addition to using it in your content, you can use your custom object to report on records relating to it and enroll custom object records into your workflows.
Below, we’ll explore how you can use this information to drive more tailored content on your website page, on your landing pages, and in your emails.
Website Pages
By incorporating custom objects into your content, you can personalize your website experience.
For example, let’s say you’re a real estate company and you connect your custom object to a real estate database. You can then present information relayed from that real estate database directly on your website page. If you’re based in Chicago, you could present visitors with a list of Chicago real estate opportunities that might be relevant to them.
The key benefit to the object, in this case, is that it’s linked to the database. It will update based on what data is contained within that object—that means it could update automatically if you aggregate that data from another database. You won’t have to copy and paste that information to your website every time new data is released.
Similarly, you can create personalized custom objects based on information relating to the user on your webpage. Returning customers can see a custom message based on their behavior on your website, their previous purchases, and more.
Landing Pages
In the same way, you use custom objects to create tailored content on your web pages, you can do so on your landing pages as well.
Most visitors will expect standard landing page copy, which could contain information about a content offer, an event to sign up for, or a promotional offer. By adding custom objects, you can customize the landing page to match the unique context of your visitors or relay relevant information that could encourage them to click.
This way, every land page experience is different. You can use A/B testing to determine the efficacy of personalized landing pages, then expand upon your efforts based on the results.
Emails
If you’ve used HubSpot’s email client, you should already be familiar with email personalization tokens.
Even before custom objects were introduced, you could already add tokens via predefined variables and default contact properties to your emails. This would introduce new levels of personalization, thereby increasing open and click rates.
For example, if you wanted to add the First Name contact property, you’d simply include the name of the property with an appropriate variable. In a coded template, a token to greet the reader by their first name would look like this:
>Hi, Friend!</
Custom objects open a whole new world of email personalization using your custom-defined business data. In the email body, insert the personalization tokens you want. Then, use a custom property to insert data from your custom object into the email.
Going back to our real estate example, you could then use custom objects to personalize each email effortlessly based on who it’s being sent to and what real estate is relevant to them. You can create custom objects for almost any type of business data you like, so there’s no barrier to innovate and expand your email personalization strategy.
Get Started with HubSpot Custom Objects
If you’re just getting started with HubSpot custom objects or you haven’t tried the HubSpot CRM yet, don’t sweat it. As a HubSpot partner, Aptitude 8 has the experience and expertise to show you the ins and outs of the platform, so you can put it to work for your company.
Talk to us today to find out more about custom objects and how HubSpot enables you to create great content.
