Searching for big data?

The recent testimony before congress of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has made clear that there is still an overall lack of understanding of big data and it’s uses in business. It used to be that only large retail companies like Target or Amazon had access or budgets to tap into the well of big data. However, with more and more data providers emerging into the market, the price and accessibility of big data has improved making it possible for nearly any company to use big data as part of their marketing strategy. Yet, as Duke University Professor, Dan Ariely so eloquently put it, “Big Data is like teenage sex: everyone talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are doing it.” Funny, but true.

 

So, as you begin to explore a digital marketing campaign it’s important to incorporate big data into that strategy. As Author Geoffrey Moore recently stated, “Without big data analytics, companies are blind and deaf, wandering out into the web like deer on a freeway.” How do you determine what you want from a big data provider? Before you can do that, you need to decide on a strategy for your digital marketing campaign.

 

Here are a few suggested steps to outlining a successful digital marketing campaign.

1)   Set clear objectives: Behind every great plan is an idea.  Set the narrative. What is the story you wish to tell? What will be your call to action? Who is your audience?  What is your goal? Is it to get leads or to establish yourself as an expert in your field? Knowing your story and what you actually want to achieve and who your audience is, will help in finding the correct data provider.

2)   Identify and measure your KPI’s: What are your KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) for the digital campaign? Know what figures you want to achieve and most importantly set realistic expectations for your KPIs. Google analytics and social media analytics tools can help capture engagements and measure results.

3)   Analyze your past performance: As long as this isn’t your first foray into a digital marketing campaign, analyze what went wrong with previous campaigns. Inevitability, this step will require the most time and energy and could potentially tread into a sensitive emotional area. No one wants to hear that their ‘baby is ugly’, but an honest assessment of past failures and successes will help to streamline and focus your new campaign. The success of your next digital marketing strategy depends upon this step. If this is your first or whether it’s not, comparing your ad to similar or competitive ads can be helpful as well. Use your findings and this data to gather all info about your target customer, age, gender and location. Again, this step will help you in vetting a proper big data provider to target your audience.

4)   Identify your resources: Conduct a thorough audit of your available resources. What digital channels are available to you, either free or paid. What is your budget and workforce availability? Evaluate the previous expense of channels, such as paid platforms like paid ads on social media networks and devise a budget to each marketing channel. Assign a capable team member to each job and ask the team for feedback on the campaign and most importantly attach KPI’s for each campaign when possible.

5)   Don’t set it and forget it: Once you’ve made the plan and launched the digital marketing campaign, you should review it periodically. Reviewing the campaign after the fact will allow you to make tweaks or improvements either to this campaign or future campaigns.

 

Knowing the audience, you are pursuing and the needs of your digital marketing campaign, will aid in your search and vetting of the big data provider you wish to engage. Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry recently stated in an interview, “Consumer data will be the biggest differentiator in the next two to three years. Whoever unlocks the reams of data and uses it strategically will win.”

 

From predictive modeling and complicated algorithms to deep learning and artificial intelligence, Likely.AI is a new-age lead generation tool which is changing lead quality expectations by identifying consumers’ likely real estate decisions before their decisions have been made. To learn more, you can contact Likely.AI here.