Emma is an email marketing platform available to divisions, colleges, schools, and other units to design and send branded newsletters, targeted announcements, and more to students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University.
- Subaccounts for team collaboration
- Drag-and-drop email design
- Branded and customizable email templates
- Audience segmentation
- Analytics and insights
- Marketing automation
How Can I Use It?
Requests to use Emma are evaluated based on the frequency of distributions, the size of the recipient list and how many contacts will be external to the University. To learn more, contact universitycommunications@odu.edu.
Emma Login
98ÌÃ faculty, staff and students who are approved Emma users can log in using single sign-on.
Additional Information
At 98ÌÃ, the following user roles can be designated within teams:
- Manager access: Highest level of access to all areas within assigned subaccount(s).
- Administrator: Access to subaccount tabs for audience, campaigns, response, automation and insights. Can add or edit users.
- Full: Access to subaccount tabs for audience, campaigns, response, automatics and insights.
- Editor: Access to audience, campaigns, response and insights tabs. Can create, but not send, mailings.
- Author: Access to campaigns, response and insight tabs. Can create but not send mailings. Ideal for student employees.
All University-owned email addresses in Emma are maintained and updated regularly by the Division of Digital Transformation and Technology (DTT).
Subaccount managers will maintain and update contacts that are external to the University.
Emma offers more tips on
- Internal recipients: All University-owned email addresses in Emma are maintained and updated regularly by the Division of Digital Transformation and Technology.
- External recipients: Subaccount managers will maintain and update contacts that are external to the University.
- Training: Emma offers more tips on contact list management.
The University provides a collection of branded email templates designed for customization to meet the unique requirements of each subaccount. To maintain a consistent brand identity across all communications, the University Communications team is available to assist with reviewing and approving any modifications. This collaboration ensures that your emails align with the University’s visual and messaging standards while allowing for personalized adjustments.
Emma vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
We use two platforms to support email marketing: Emma and Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC). Emma is best for simple, quick campaigns with easy templates, basic analytics, and straightforward engagement tools—perfect when ease of use and speed are the priority. SFMC, on the other hand, is built for advanced needs like audience segmentation, automated journeys, personalized messaging, and deep analytics—ideal when strategy and data-driven insights matter most. To help determine which platform fits a particular project, we’ve created a decision matrix that outlines when to use Emma versus SFMC based on complexity, personalization, and reporting needs.
When to Use Emma vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
| Feature/Category | Emma | Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | User-friendly, intuitive interface; simple to get started | Steeper learning curve; powerful but requires technical expertise |
| Email Campaigns | Strong email campaign creation and management tools | Advanced email campaign features, including A/B testing, segmentation, automation |
| Automation | Use Emma for simple, automated emails like newsletter messages or event follow-ups. It’s ideal for individual departments needing quick, easy setup without technical support or connection to Salesforce Ed Cloud CRM. |
Best suited for strategic communications across the student lifecycle. Integration with Salesforce Ed Cloud for personalized emails based on student or prospect data. Build complex, multi-step journeys — e.g., recruitment campaigns or enrollment nudges— across multiple channels. |
| Segmentation | Basic segmentation options (based on tags, lists) | Very advanced segmentation (behavioral, demographic, psychographic, etc.) |
| Personalization | For advanced personalization, we recommend using Salesforce Marketing Cloud. | Highly advanced personalization options (dynamic content, AI-driven) |
| Reporting & Analytics | Basic reporting and analytics; easy-to-understand dashboards | Advanced analytics and reporting; custom dashboards, deep insights, integration with Salesforce data |
| Integrations | Integrates with many third-party apps, including Shopify, WordPress, etc. | Extensive integrations, especially with other Salesforce products, CRM, and third-party systems |
| Multichannel Marketing | Focus on email campaigns, limited multichannel capabilities | Robust multichannel support (email, SMS, push, social, ads, etc.) |
| CRM Integration | CRM integration (via Zapier or API), but limited compared to SFMC | Seamless integration with Salesforce CRM and other Salesforce products |
| Compliance & Deliverability | High focus on deliverability, GDPR-compliant | Extensive focus on deliverability, enterprise-grade compliance (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) |
| Customizability | Customizable templates | Highly customizable, including custom apps, journeys, and deeper integration possibilities |
Use Emma for Simple, Effective Communication
If you're a department or college with straightforward communication needs, Emma is a great choice. Think about faculty newsletters, event invitations, or student engagement emails.
- You need to send regular updates, newsletters, course updates or event reminders.
- You need to promote events or programs with quick turnaround times.
- You don’t need advanced segmentation, marketing automation or multi-channel strategies.
- Your campaigns are mostly email-focused, with fewer cross-channel marketing needs.
If your college runs large-scale, multi-faceted campaigns (e.g., recruitment drives, alumni relations, or departmental communications) and you need sophisticated automation, segmentation, and data analytics, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the better choice.
- You need to run large-scale, automated email campaigns to engage prospective students, alumni, or donors.
- Your outreach requires detailed audience segmentation (e.g., by academic major, year, or interests).
- You need to integrate data from existing student records or CRM systems for a seamless experience.
- You want advanced tracking and reporting to measure campaign performance across multiple channels.
- You’re managing cross-channel campaigns (email, SMS, social media, etc.) for outreach or awareness.
- You need to automate follow-up communications based on user actions (e.g., post-event or application emails).
- You require segmentation to deliver targeted messages to different student groups or prospects.
- You need to manage the full student lifecycle, from recruitment to alumni relations.
- You want to automate engagement at key moments in the student experience (e.g., onboarding, graduation, career placement).
- You need to send personalized content based on student behavior (e.g., emails about services or events they've shown interest in).
98ÌÃ's Salesforce Marketing Cloud Support Options
Our tiered support system is designed to help departments at 98ÌÃ make the most of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, no matter their technical expertise. From full-service assistance to self-managed campaigns, we ensure brand consistency and data integrity across all communications.
Ideal for departments with limited Marketing Cloud experience, limited resources, and send infrequently but require high-touch communication support critical campaigns.
Process
- Content Submission: You provide the raw content (text, images, etc.) and desired communication goals.
- MC Team Assists with
- Brand Compliance: Ensures all content adheres to 98ÌÃ's brand guidelines, visual identity, and best practices.
- Content Optimization: Refines messaging, adds compelling calls to action, and designs branded email headers/footers.
- Audience Targeting: Utilizes targeted segmentation and data to reach the most relevant recipients.
- Campaign Execution: Manages the technical setup, scheduling, and deployment of emails or automations.
Benefits
- Focus on Content: You concentrate on creating impactful messages, leaving the technicalities to us.
- Brand Consistency: Ensures all communications reflect 98ÌÃ's professional image.
- Expert Guidance: Leverages the Marketing Cloud team's expertise for optimal campaign performance.
Ideal for departments with some Marketing Cloud familiarity and ability to create email content but seeking assistance audience selection and queueing campaign to send.
Process
- Content Creation: You build the email content and define the target audience in broad terms.
- MC Team Assists with
- Light Content Review: We'll verify the email meets our branding guidelines and best practices.
- Audience Refinement: Helps you leverage data and create precise audience segments (data extensions).
- Technical Setup: Configures the email send within Marketing Cloud and ensures deliverability.
- Campaign Launch: Schedules and queues your communication for optimal timing.
Benefits
- Content Ownership: Maintain control over the creative aspects of your communication.
- Data-Driven Insights: Gain access to powerful audience segmentation capabilities.
- Streamlined Workflow: Expedites campaign execution with technical support.
Ideal for departments with dedicated Marketing Cloud users proficient in building, targeting, and triggering communications.
Process
- Full Autonomy: You have complete control over the entire communication process within your designated business unit:
- Content Creation: Design and build emails/automations from scratch.
- Audience Selection: Utilize existing data extensions or create new ones for targeted outreach.
- Campaign Management: Schedule and trigger send/automations at your discretion.
- MC Team Provides
- Initial Training & Onboarding: Comprehensive training to equip your team with the necessary skills.
- Ongoing Consultation: Available for strategic advice and troubleshooting complex scenarios.
Benefits
- Maximum Flexibility: Complete ownership and agility in managing your communications.
- Data Accessibility: Direct access to data for real-time insights and decision-making.
- Skill Development: Opportunity to build in-house Marketing Cloud expertise.
These support models are tailored to meet the needs of all 98ÌÃ departments, helping you succeed with Salesforce Marketing Cloud regardless of your technical skills.
Note: The best support model depends on your campaign and departmental resources. We're here to help you choose the right approach for your goals.
Request Process
Ad-Hoc Emails, Recurring Automations, and SMS
- Fill out Marketing Cloud Ad-Hoc Request form:
We require 3-5 business days to complete campaign requests. More time is always better, and last-minute requests may be accommodated based on urgent needs and staff availability.
- Team develops email campaign, provides a proof and confirms the audience selection criteria
- Project owner approves proof and campaign details
- Team activates/sends touchpoints
- Team provides required reports, if applicable