Today, every bit of information is useful for businesses—whether it’s the type of shoes people wear or the kind of food they like. These findings help reveal unique patterns and trends that dictate human behavior. Put them all together and you have what we now know as big data.
In line with other trends like IoT and Artificial Intelligence, big data is transforming the world of marketing. No longer limited to traditional billboards and commercials, more and more brands are leveraging big data to fuel campaigns and expand their customer base. And it’s not just the big corporations who are boosting their data arm.
Currently, there are almost 1 million students taking top-rated data analytics courses hosted on Udemy, with tutorials on how to use Python and Excel to gather information. This proves that data and knowing how to derive insights is indeed worth its weight in gold, especially when it comes to marketing and selling products.
So how exactly is big data redefining digital marketing?
Targeted Advertising
In previous years, advertising mostly operated on the basis of assumptions. There was no way to tell if the people who read your pamphlet or viewed your billboard were actually interested in your product. But with big data, you can choose the types of people who would see your ad, resulting in a higher likelihood of customer conversion.
For instance, the ads on YouTube that play before or after a video are determined by the user’s viewing history, so you can expect the ad to be in line with their interests.
Right Keywords
There are a lot of ways to reach your target audiences, but the most common one is via a search engine. In fact, SmallBizGenius found that over 93% of all online activities start with search engines.
Search engines are under a specific type of marketing strategy called search engine optimization (SEO), with its main purpose being to push a websites’ presence to the top of the search results (SERPs). Big data can help identify how visitors are finding specific websites and what keywords they used to get there.
Quality Content
Keywords are not only good for SEO, but for curating content as well. Knowing what kind of things your consumers search for can help you create specific types of content to cater to their needs. By providing content that your consumers can use, such as product comparisons or related lifestyle news, you help generate noise around whatever it is that you’re selling.
For instance, data can tell you that many people are looking for the best dresses to wear this season. If you’re a clothing company, then you will need to publish dress-related ads and articles.
Better Pricing Strategy
To determine market price, companies typically relied on cost, competitor prices, and perceived value of the product. However, today’s market prices tend to change rapidly, which can make finances a headache for brands. With big data, you can learn about customer’s buying patterns, their willingness to pay, and even their purchasing power. That way, you can price more accurately and fairly.
In a world that’s mostly data-driven, the insights made available by big data are more important than ever. Companies who can make the most out of the available information are the ones who will most likely succeed in the long run.