Most marketers know by now they need to collect data but that doesn’t mean every team knows exactly what to do with it—or worse, the purpose behind the aggregation itself.
According to Forbes, the world’s top marketers are 56% more likely to use social data and analytics. The same study also found that 64% of marketing executives see data-driven marketing as crucial to success in a globalized economy.
Search Engine Journal
As the importance of data continues to drive strategy, many brands are redefining what marketing actually means. Is it an art or more of a science? The answer is a little of both.
A recent study found that although 67% of marketers are spending more on data-driven marketing, only 19% are utilizing it correctly. They are not using the information to improve. Rather the data is dying while housed in their silos, essentially rendering it ineffective.
So, for anyone that feels lost, there are simple ways to make it work for your brand. Here are four:
1. Consolidating Leads
Reports have shown that the average marketing department uses 67 apps. That is way too many places to keep track of simultaneously. In order to effectively manage your data, you need to have a tool that consolidates it into one dashboard. Especially when it comes to hot leads.
Sending all your leads to a central platform makes reporting much easier. It allows a team to spot trends and make more informed decisions, in a shorter amount of time. It also enables marketers to immediately identify campaigns that aren’t working.
Consolidation involves choosing a solution that allows you to integrate all of your apps. It’s important to pick a platform that allows your apps to perform duplicate control and error handling. According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, marketers that use data and analytics are 57% more effective at increasing productivity when using integrated marketing technologies.
2. Data in Real-Time
Agencies like Social Industries can help a brand track their data in real-time, so it never slips through the cracks. Active social monitoring is vital to effectively managing data in digital marketing. Data consumption should be a natural part of your day, and even missing 24-hours of consumer information can affect your campaigns.
engageSimply
When you keep up in real-time, you’re more aware of metrics like engagement and conversion rates. This allows a marketing team to tweak campaigns as they go and take down any that are underperforming; before wasting too much ad spend.
3. Segmentation and Targeting
Collecting social data allows you to group your audience into segments that enable hyper-focused marketing campaigns. There is no rule to how you divide your potential leads. People can be segmented by:
- Demographics
- Location
- User data
- Social metrics
- Company size
- Subscription plan
Segmenting an audience facilitates mapping the customer journey. It’s a great way to use data to refine the art of creative content that adds value for consumers.
4. Marketing Automation
The most efficient way to use customer data is through artificial intelligence. Automating remedial tasks not only frees up time to focus on innovative responsibilities, it delivers a more personalized and focused form of marketing.
Lead enrichment can be tedious because it involves a lot of data entry. However, getting this data in a customer relationship management system (CRM) is critical to driving people further down the sales path. A solid demand generation funnel not only increases customer acquisition, it improves conversion at key points.
Dotted
The idea is that when a new lead comes in from your marketing channels, it is automatically added to a campaign where actions are triggered by consumer behavior. Sales never have to worry about the beginning process because the program is mechanizing a lot of tasks.
Not only should a brand be collecting data, they should be well-informed on how to use it. Consolidating leads, tracking them in real-time, segmenting accordingly, and automating processes are the best ways to get started with activating your data. The quicker you use the social information you collect, the more connected people will feel to your brand. And that always leads to promising revenue and a positive ROI.