Data is a hot topic at the moment with the GDPR coming into force on the 25th May 2018.
You will have undoubtedly heard all about GDPR and know exactly what it is. To put it simply, GDPR is a set of regulations that has been put in place to ensure that individuals have the right to know who holds their personal data and the intended use of that information.
For businesses the change in regulations means that you are required to have consent from an individual in order to process, handle and transfer data and having a clear process in place in case of a data breach.
We instead wanted to talk about the benefits of data for businesses, especially for digital marketing.
What is data?
You should be gathering, consolidating and processing information on customers and your audience.
Information that is important may include behaviour on a website, social media engagements and what people purchase from you. This can be used in conjunction with demographic information that is collected too.
This enables a business to learn more about their customers and audience which in turn can help them when creating and evaluating marketing efforts.
How data is useful in digital marketing?
Data helps us to create personalised and tailored campaigns and content.
This information enables a business to create a picture of their audience and potential customer which they can then use to deliver content, products and services that interest them and in the right way.
One example of this would be Facebook Advertising. Facebook collects users’ demographic data (age, gender, education, job title etc.), location, interests and behaviours. Facebook will then ensure that the advert or content will be put in front of those users meeting this set demographic. This enables you to reach a target audience and by knowing exactly who they will be reaching, you can create the advertisement and tailor it to this audience.
One other example of how detailed information helps businesses achieve tailored and personalised marketing is email marketing. Using simple email software, a business can use the data they have on their audience to define and segment lists, based on attributes including demographics, behaviours and location.
You can tailor the messaging and content of email marketing campaigns based on reports from previous campaigns. You could possibly create 2 or 3 variations of a newsletter to send to segments of your database (to those who have provided you with consent).
Personalised content can help businesses to achieve value-based one-to-one relationships with consumers which will maximise engagement and help them get the most out of their marketing efforts.
Using the information from social media platforms, email marketing reports and Google Analytics you are able to understand the type of content and pages people like and the stuff that doesn’t interest them.
Therefore, you can then refine your efforts to do more of what people like and stop spending time on things that aren’t working.
This benefits you as it means you won’t be annoying or boring your audience with dull content and instead, it will help to ensure you are consistently providing them with content they find interesting, whilst spending your time and money better.
Through knowing what your audience likes and doesn’t like, you can then use this information to improve your return on investment (ROI) and to ensure you are using your digital marketing budget efficiently.
You need to be careful!
We know just how valuable data is for marketing, but it is vital that businesses are processing and storing this data securely.
Data is a business’s best friend but it doesn’t take much for it to quickly become an enemy. Ensure that you are handling your data with care and that you have the correct processes and software in place to ensure that the data you do have is secure.
Here is a useful guide to GDPR by Rather Inventive.