As a marketer, you have a plethora of data at your fingertips. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is great because it helps you make better decisions. But it can also be overwhelming. Data from your website, from you social media posts, from your emails – what do you do with it all?
The first step: breathe.
The second step: make a plan.
Before you can understand what to do with the data, you need to know what data you have. Different distribution methods will produce different data. And not all data is created equal. Every metric tells a different story and will help you answer different questions. If you are looking for a way to collate all of that data, there are several ways you can do it. It could be as simple as a spreadsheet or as complex as a platform like Datorama or Domo to connect all your data in one view.
If you are just beginning to work with your data, here are some common metrics and what story they tell:
CHANNEL
DATA POINT
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
Web
Acquisition
How did the people who visit your website find it? Acquisition can tell you where those visitors were before the landed on your website? Did they click on a link in a paid ad? Did they come from a social media site? Or did they come from organic search?
Web
Bounce rate
A high bounce rate indicates that a large number of people who found themselves on your website did not find what they were looking for and left your site quickly. This means your content was not what they were expecting to find or not appealing to them.
Web
Conversion rate
Depending on what type of conversion you are measuring (web form completions, purchase, newsletter subscriptions, etc), this metric will tell you what percentage of people who land on your website complete that action.
Social media
Engagement
This is an umbrella term that covers several different metrics. In general, engagement measured how involved your followers are with your content. It encompasses likes, comments, shares, and clicks.
Social media
Awareness
Impressions and reach are both included in determining awareness. These both tell the story of how many people were shown your content, either in their feed or through someone sharing it, as well as the potential that their connections might also see it.
Email
Open rate
Must as it sounds, this is the number of people who actually open your email. This data point might indicate that your subject line is not enticing enough for a subscriber to want to read the contents.
Paid search
CPC (cost per click)
The cost that you paid from your planned budget based on the number of times your ad was actually clicked. You generally want a lower CPC.
Various
CTR (click thru rate)
This metric is measured on several different channels and will tell you how frequently or how many times people have clicked a link that you have provided. You can publish all the content you want, but if people don’t eventually take action, you are not going to move them down the funnel towards purchase.
Once you have mastered the basics of collecting, reviewing, and understanding your data, you can get into more advanced measurement that will give you even more insights into your audience, how they interact with your content, and how that leads to sales.
Learn more about data points that that are not based in numbers here.
No matter what your small business sells, you have a lot of options for your marketing. But have you ever thought about Pinterest as a marketing channel?
Do you think that Pinterest is just for people to post recipes and crafts? Yes, it is used for a lot of that type of content. But that is not all that is pinned on that site. Did you know that the site is the 3rd largest social media platform globally with 322 million users?
You can take advantage of this large audience for your business marketing, particularly if your core audience is female with disposable income. You can use Pinterest for product marketing, but it is also ripe for your content marketing initiatives. Here are some ideas for you to try:
Pin links to each of your product pages
Create boards for each of your product categories
Create ‘how-to’ content on your website and pin those on Pinterest
Interact! Follow boards that are relevant to your business or influencers in your industry. Respond to comments on your pins.
Pin content from third-party sites that backlink to your site
If you are using Pinterest a lot, add your Pin code to printed marketing materials (brochures, business cards)
Add Pinterest save buttons to your website
There are a few things you will want to think about when using Pinterest:
Have a plan. Don’t just create an account without having an idea of what your content plan will be. Lay out your goals for your account just like you would any other channel.
Google does search Pinterest for content, so make sure you are aligning to your SEO goals and using keywords in your pin titles and descriptions
If you are linking to your website, make sure you are using ‘pin-worthy’ high quality images
Don’t forget to measure your results!
Do you use Pinterest as part of your marketing strategy? Add your tips in the comments!
One of the newest tools to invade digital marketing is bots. The platform that is making the most use this new tool is Facebook with their Messenger mobile app.
Haven’t heard of bots? Bots are a type of algorithm that are powered by AI (artificial intelligence). Developers can create bots to perform any number of tasks – from quizzes to news feeds to placing orders and more. They can be used as assistants to send you the latest weather or remind you to take the trash out every week.
Want to play around with some? Open your Facebook Messenger app and click in the Search bar. Under your most recent People contacts, you will see suggested bots (note, these are not ALL the bots – Facebook now has more than 11,000!).
Check out the Emoji News app and get the last news presented with emojis.
Or play hangman against a bot with the Hangman bot.
Check out your favorite sports league with the NFL, NBA or MLB bots. You name it, there is probably a bot for it.
So what does this mean for you and your business? Does your research show that your customers are mobile-first? Do you normally perform routine tasks with those customers? Perhaps a bot could be a way for you to interact with them in a new way. You should examine if this new tool should be added to your digital marketing toolbox.
Anybody these days can design a website using tools that are freely available. But do you really want your nephew David creating your website? The website for your business that you pour your heart and soul into? I think the answer is No. Before you decide on a web design firm here are some questions that you should ask during the interview process:
What is your process that you use to develop a website?
What platforms do you build websites on?
What are your security protocols?
What is the experience of the team that will working on my site?
What is your pricing structure?
You should also ask for references and client names. Look up their work and see if they produce sites with variety; if they have done work for companies similar to yours and if they create dynamic sites. Don’t limit yourself to a design firm that can do a website for a low cost. The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ applies to building your website. Determine the value you will get versus what your budget will allow.
If you pay any attention to social media, you have heard of Pinterest. It is the hottest new site for sharing with your friends. The concept is fairly simple. You can create ‘boards’ that are akin to physical bulletin boards. On each board, you can post ‘pins’ which can consist of photos or links to websites.
Great! But does your small business need to have a presence on this hot website? That depends. There are a number of reasons that you should consider this:
Your business relies heavily on ecommerce. Research has shown that referrals from Pinterest lead to larger checkout orders than other social media sites. If you are trying to drive people to your website to sell products, make sure that you have nice, clear photos for your pins.
Your business customers fit the Pinterest user profile. 67% of users are under the age of 40. 54% of women aged 34-55 are on Pinterest—35% of them have a household income over $100K. Male monthly users have grown 120% this year.
You want to know what your customers are looking for. Pinterest can help inform you of emerging trends as users tend to pin items that they are thinking about purchasing.
There are a lot of benefits to marketing on Pinterest, but only if it is a fit for your business.
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Check out the Emoji News app and get the last news presented with emojis.
