Data and Technology

3 Tips for Flawless API Automation

Betty Seifu

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February 7, 2024

Automatically Transform Data Into Content

In the not-so-distant past, marketers’ primary challenge was collecting data. Fast forward to today, and marketers have vast amounts of data at their fingertips—but now, the struggle lies in transforming that data into engaging, personalized experiences.

The mere thought of turning data into content can be overwhelming, especially when traditional processes include IT involvement and manual data mapping. But what if there was a way to make these processes seamless and automated? A world where you could effortlessly tap into the wealth of data at your disposal and quickly transform it into unique composite images tailored for each customer.

Movable Ink’s Universal Data Activation is the game-changer marketers need to unlock the potential of their data seamlessly. Within the wide array of integration methods that Universal Data Activation’s capabilities support, APIs stand out in their ability to automatically activate data into visual experiences that wow your customers. Discover how to take advantage of APIs through these three best practices.

Tip #1: Automate Your Data Transfers with APIs

Ideally, all content personalization journeys begin with consolidating your data sources. Before content creation even begins, configure APIs to automatically pull in all of your data for you. Movable Ink offers a simplified process that swiftly sets up an API integration in five steps or less. All that’s required is an API endpoint, and from there the marketer takes the reins. You retain control and can decide which data elements to stream to Movable Ink, such as product pricing, images, or descriptions.

The best part is, API data is pulled in real-time, ensuring the information is always relevant. The risk of presenting outdated details to customers, such as out-of-stock or previously purchased items, is eliminated through strategically conducted API calls when the image is rendered. As a result, customers receive a dynamic image rendered at the time of engagement.

API screenshot

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Tip #2: Automate Streaming Customer Behavioral Events

One of the most valuable types of data that marketers have access to is customer behavioral data—think of items and categories searched, abandoned carts, or clicks on email and mobile content. In short, this type of data encompasses all of the ways customers are engaging with your brand.

Using the Customer Data API, marketers can stream any customer behavioral event into Movable Ink Studio, and then use that data to influence targeting logic when generating composite images.

This automated streaming will work with any data source, and marketers can set up as many integrations as they please, regardless of where that data lives—CDPs, CRMs, mobile, and more.

See it in action with the NBA, where fan loyalty is the number one priority. To drive engagement and recognize fans' high-value actions, the NBA partnered created personalized banners to display each fan’s specific badge status and celebrate their latest action: becoming an NBA ID member, choosing a favorite team, becoming a season ticket holder, or tuning into the NBA streaming service, League Pass.

Tip #3: Use APIs to Combine Multiple Data Elements Into A Single Creative

APIs and automation aren’t just helpful at the start of content personalization; they also play a critical role in building out content itself. The same data feeds leveraged in transferring data to Movable Ink can also be used to layer in multiple data elements into a single image.

Don’t choose between displaying pricing or loyalty status; now, you can include both. Marketers can even highlight a third or fourth data element such as product reviews or inventory levels. The options are limitless, as marketers can combine data from multiple sources, meaning that the data elements also do not have to come from the same API data integration. The best part? You can maintain your brand guidelines (custom fonts, brand imagery, and more) when doing this level of API powered personalization.

In this example, all of that combined data creates one single image, freeing the remaining real estate on your email templates for strategic creatives to delight your customers. The more real-time data elements included, the higher the likelihood that customers will engage with the content, as it’s now highly personalized and relevant to their unique tastes and behaviors.

Discover the automated API process in our on-demand session.

API Automation, Simplified

With the power of automated APIs, you can quickly and efficiently create data-rich content that captivates customers. Discover all that Movable Ink’s Universal Data Activation has to offer, from APIs to groundbreaking integrations.