In marketing, data analytics isn’t just a buzz phrase, it’s a way of life for marketers who are driven to make sure their clients’ digital strategy is yielding positive results. The use of data analytics in marketing allows brands and agencies to make informed decisions that boost engagement, deliver a strong ROI, connect with the customer and generate results.
It may be a bit overwhelming to wade through extensive data, but cross-channel marketing analytics can provide the full view needed when assessing and fine-tuning a campaign. To capture these insights, it’s helpful to understand what analytics are, what tools and techniques are available and how to implement usage of data analytics in marketing.
Keep reading for an overview of data analytics in marketing, the benefits of cross-channel marketing analytics and to understand how these information sets can be put to good use.
What are analytics?
Simply put, data analytics in marketing are sets of figures that help brands gain insight into the target audience and performance.
Analytics can come in many forms, and the statistics provided can lead brands to understand more about the company itself, how it connects with the customer and what improvements can be made. Data analytics in marketing can shed light on:
- Campaign efforts and impact including follower count, engagement and ROI.
- Target audience profiles including demographics and segmentation.
- Appropriate campaign decisions based on past performance.
- Some popular analytics to track include likes, comments, shares, click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-lead (CPL), cost-per-acquisition or cost per purchase/sale, bounce rates and numerous other, trackable points of interest.
Cross-channel marketing analytics (also referred to as Big Data in marketing) is a popular tactic, as it gathers information from several sources and gives the brand a comprehensive overview of the customer and marketing approach. This type of data analytics in marketing would allow the brand to investigate its omni-channel performance, rolling up insights from paid social media, social listening, website data and other efforts.
Marketing analytics tools and techniques
So, how do you get all this juicy information? A significant tool that brands can use is the new GA4 (Google Analytics 4). The new system was officially launched this year, with all websites being switched over as of March 2023. There is a refreshed reporting interface, updated metrics and tracking options, enhanced customer privacy integrations as well as artificial intelligence (AI) insights.
Brands should absolutely take advantage of this data analytics tool, as it can help dig deeper on current performance and even offer predictive insights. (Side note: If you haven’t checked out our five-part series on GA4, you should)!
Most social media sites also offer some form of data-driven customer insights. That being said, some are more robust than others. You’ll get lots of info from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the other established names in social. However, smaller sites or newer sites (like Threads) won’t have as much or any.
Analytics are a long game worth playing
Data-driven marketing strategies take time. That’s why data analytics in marketing is a long game. You can’t take a quick snapshot of a week or the weekend when you had a big push. You must wait it out and track things by month or even quarter. Then, marketing analytics’ importance becomes apparent, as trends will start to emerge.
Brands will be able to see the big picture, and make informed decisions based on cross-channel marketing analytics. It won’t simply be a narrow view of one platform, but a holistic picture of how the target audience interacts with the brand online. That’s the core of being able to adjust appropriately, ultimately making the most of your marketing efforts.
The experts at Beyond Fifteen are here to help you maximize performance with data analytics. Connect with us to learn more!