The Power of Data-Driven Marketing

Unlike many traditional marketing tactics, digital marketing is highly trackable. Most digital tactics can be evaluated on a number of metrics like views, click-through-rates, and conversions, among other KPIs. Traditional marketing tactics like billboards or radio ads rely on less detailed reporting and often assume variables based on the best data available. Billboards, for example, take the amount of passing traffic and then assume a percentage of views. Traditional tactics usually center on creating mass appeal through broad marketing. With digital tactics, you know exactly what you’re getting for your budget whereas more traditional tactics involve a fair amount of guesswork.

Because of the trackable nature of most digital marketing tactics, digital marketers are able to use the data acquired to make smarter targeting decisions in order to capitalize on marketing budgets, focusing on the most effective tactics and targeting the right users to lessen spend waste.

Understanding Available Data

It’s not enough to just gather data. To be truly successful, you need to understand how to interpret what you gather and analyze the most effective use for each data set. There are several categories of data and analytics that are used in marketing campaigns, and countless tools to gather this data. We’ll go over a few of the options.

Website Analytics

Website data is collected using an analytics tool, the most common of which is Google Analytics. Analytics data allows tracking of many on-site metrics including most popular pages, demographics, session data, click paths, traffic sources, and so much more. Understanding the full power of the available data through google analytics, how to track and report on that data, and how to use it to predict audience behavior is a large part of data management. This type of specialized work can be completed by a good marketing agency partner.

Learn more about data analysis and interpretation

You can also track off-site data using a google tracking url. A google tracking url allows you to apply parameters to incoming links in order to better track source information for incoming traffic.

Search Analytics

Understanding what consumers are searching related to your business is key to creating relevant marketing campaigns. Optimizing your site for relevant high intent terms leads to increased brand visibility that helps secure new leads and convert those leads into customers. Search analytics data can also be used to inform other channel decisions such as paid media campaigns or content work.

Site Search Data

Users aren’t just using search engines for their questions. They may also be looking for answers on your site. Tracking website search data and analyzing the queries that your audience is using to search your site can give clues as to what questions your users have. Looking at the results served can help determine what gaps exist on your current site and how you can use your site to better answer those questions. Using google analytics site search tool allows you to aggregate site search data results with other site metrics.

Behavioral Data

Creating a behavioral profile segment allows you to establish a predictive analytics model to assess new leads. Understanding a user’s behavior and purchase history can inform offer tactics and timing. The purchase path for a typical customer may follow a predictable pattern. This type of data-driven marketing strategy can bring value to consumers and increase your conversion rates.

Google Attribution

Attribution is a toolset within Google Analytics that provides a free, cross-channel data-driven attribution utility. This available toolset allows you to report conversion totals and see a consolidated, consistent view of all digital performance. Businesses utilize Google Attribution to help build an understanding of their customer’s journey.

Big Data Analytics

Big data include looking at large sets of data to recognize patterns on which to base decisions. Big data analytics may be used on a more macro level to identify industry or market trends and consumer preferences. Big data is used to create data modeling sets that inform marketing approaches.

Knowing How to Use Your Data

Having access to data is one thing, but knowing how to use it to increase efficiency and scalability of your marketing plans is another. Many marketers tend toward the creative side — with backgrounds in creative writing or graphic design. Finding marketers who understand how to use data to make smart marketing decisions is key to your success.

Planning

Use demographic data and search intent to guide your creative approach, custom-tailoring your messages to your audience. What drives your audience? What are they actually looking for? These questions will help you find the intent to cover to speak to your audience.

Targeting

Data modeling allows you to create a profile of your ideal target audience and deliver messages to individuals with a greater propensity to purchase. 

Testing

Tracking capabilities allow you to run multiple versions of campaigns to find the most effective approach. Testing allows you to enhance the customer experience and identify messages that best resonate with your different audiences.

Lead Acquisition

Data insights allow you to focus on high quality leads and target your focus of time and energy on targeted leads.

Optimization

Testing allows you to determine the most impactful messages for each audience and channel, but optimization allows you to continuously improve messaging and channel delivery to find the best approach.

Automation

Data allows us to understand the “user journey” or a series of user actions such as making a purchase on a site, signing up for newsletter communications, or even visiting a physical storefront. These user journeys are designed to speak directly to each target audience with relevant, useful information in a proactive manner to make the messaging more effective. Analyzing available data to understand these user journeys allows messages to be designed to speak directly to each target audience with messages automatically. 

There are so many ways to use data to inform your marketing decisions. These are only just a few examples. And remember, not all digital marketing strategies are scalable or applicable to all business types. Knowing how to interpret your business’s data and use it to inform marketing decisions is a specialty that few marketing agency professionals have mastered — even among digital agencies. Be sure to choose a partner who can not only report on KPIs, but one that understands how to translate raw data into actionable insights.