Gathering steam from the March release, Marketo’s April release continues to expand the platform’s integrations with third-party apps, while delivering further improvements to the UI.

Here are a few of the highlights:

How will this help me work better?

• Create Private Reports.
  In addition to a spruced-up UI, the Analytics section of Marketo now features more robust privacy settings. You can create Private Reports to which only you have read/write/delete permissions. Want to share a report? Simply drag and drop it into the Group Reports folder. This will be particularly useful for marketing teams with dedicated Analytics members.
• Go mobile with Salesforce1.
  Do you have Sales Insight for Salesforce? Now you and your Sales team can access their lead feed, best bets, and interesting moments right from the mobile app — giving all the necessary information to close deals on the spot.

How will this help me go further?

• Send mobile notifications.
  With the launch of Marketo Mobile Engagement, marketers can now leverage mobile data to send timely push notifications. Links can redirect you to an app, a landing page, or a custom URL. I’m curious to know exactly what kind of triggers or filters are available for mobile campaigns, but either way, this will be a useful extension for B2C customers whose consumers are often on the move.
• Advertise on LinkedIn.
  Use Smart Lists and Static Lists to build audiences for LinkedIn display ads using the Ad Bridge integration. Create seamless multi-channel nurture programs that can be managed from Marketo.

The Final Word: As we move towards the mid-year mark, I am increasingly excited by the updates rolling out. With the integration of mobile and social advertising, it is clear that Marketo is striving to become a core marketing hub. Also, it is encouraging to see Marketo continue to build up Real-Time Personalization, which has huge potential to transform web experiences by creating customized experiences for users.

See the full April Release Notes. Which new features are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below, or tweet me @deandrathtan.