Understanding consumer behaviour has been a core in the topics of economics and marketing. During the past century, marketing was been hidden under the blanket of product differentiation and selling costs, and the data used then however produced ineffective results and theories. 

How the consumer will react if the producer/company does their role of marketing? The question goes on and now we recollect it in this era of digital marketing. To be more specific about data analytics and digital marketing, we have this article to make it clear for you. 

To learn more about the use of analytics in digital marketing, you can also enrol for a digital marketing course in Calicut.

Why do Digital Marketers in Calicut need Data Analytics?

It is quite simple to understand. Traditional marketing failed to consider how not using data has brought up losses in their businesses. The businesses that have invested in traditional marketing had to keep up a large amount of their expenditure for marketing and the leads generated were not known until the actual sales were counted in the first place. 

Digital marketing needs data analytics for this reason. As an analyst or marketer, data analytics can never make you run out of revenue and decide how much expenditure should be allotted to earn expected revenue and leads. 

Now, data has become a core of digital marketing as a small set of data for SEO, SEM, SMM, etc, make an impact in taking new actions and evaluating the point where the analysts went wrong. As a supplement to digital marketing, data analytics constitute a larger portion and it’s inevitable to ignore this fact. 

Role of Data Analytics in Digital Marketing 

As we have already discussed how data analytics is important for digital marketers, let’s now explore the wide role of data analytics in marketing.

  1. Data-driven marketing 

It’s not a secret anymore to say that marketing has chosen to lean on data rather than just using budget on any expenses in digital marketing. How consumers behave and how campaigns are working, data analytics are the subject that comes to help. It analyses the set of data that marketers may need and advises them on where to improve and where not to. 

  1. Measuring campaign performance 

Aren’t you familiar with key KPIs and performance metrics that are useful in digital marketing? For SEO, SEM, SMM, PPC, email marketing and so on, as an analyst, you can learn how their progress is going and identify the reason why the campaign is generating leads. 

  1. Allocating budget and improving ROI

Because of the extensive use of data in digital marketing, budget allocation is considered in accord with its lead generation, ROI and its future. Since then, marketing has aimed at allocating costs that equal their revenue and revive their brand name in the near future. 

  1. Targeting the specific audience 

Earlier, not knowing the audience became a barrier to branding. Today, branding has become essential for businesses and marketing only enables it. The data becomes useful even in this scenario as while creating certain campaigns, it is driven towards a certain audience. The demography of the customers essentially helps in this case. 

  1. Competitive analysis

As you engage in business, there will be competitors who can share the limelight with your brand. To stay competitive even in the longer run, businesses have to build their expertise and marketing does this for them. To understand in which terms they have to stay competitive, you need to learn the branding of competitors as much as possible with data, to implement any changes if necessary. 

Sources of Data

There are various platforms where you can collect data which can be useful for digital marketing. They can be listed below:-

Analytics For:-PlatformsPurpose
WebsiteGoogle Analytics, Adobe AnalyticsUnderstanding website performance, user behaviour, and conversion rates. 
Social mediaFacebook Insights, Instagram InsightsMeasuring social media engagement, campaigns and demographics.
SERP analysisGoogle Search ConsoleTracking keyword rankings, performance, and technical SEO issues. 
SEM Google Ads, Bing AdsAnalysing paid ad performance, spending, and ROI. 
CRMSalesforceCustomer targeting, and retention. 
HeatmapsHotjar, Crazy EggIdentifying issues in user experience or interaction. 
Email marketing Mailchimp, HubSpotCheck email open rates, click-through rates and campaign ROI.
Social ListeningSprout SocialBrand monitoring, market research, and analysing competitors and customer sentiments. 

There are other areas where analytics meet digital marketing activities, such as marketing automation, ecommerce analytics, customer feedback, market research, affiliate marketing etc. 

Scope of Data Analytics in Digital Marketing 

The application of data analytics in digital marketing has taken various forms of analytics since then and now. The trends in digital marketing like personalisation, voice search, AI and chatbots evaluate the ways the brands can communicate to their audience effectively. As a part of marketing, data analytics has aligned with it to create effective marketing strategies.

Let’s discuss some of the scope of data analysis that has been crucial in marketing activities as follows:-

  1. Descriptive analytics– used for learning about what the past had been. 
  2. Diagnostic analytics– can be of use to analyse why something happened in the past. 
  3. Predictive analytics– using statistical methods and machine learning, possible and potent outcomes are forecasted with past data in mind. 
  4. Prescriptive analytics– also uses machine learning, and collects data from various sources to evaluate the impact of company activities and customer interactions. 

Essential Skills for a Data Analyst

What are the essential skills needed for a data analyst aimed at engaging in digital marketing? Even digital marketers who are interested in taking themselves a dig deeper with data can attempt to become data analysts. The required skills for a data analyst can be categorised into technical as well as soft skills which are explained below. 

Technical Skills

The technical skills required to become a data analyst under the shade of digital marketing are not compromising. He/she should be:-

  • Having excellent knowledge of analytical tools like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics. 
  • Having experience in data analysis and manipulation, particularly using Google/Excel sheets and also SQL.
  • Hands-on-experience with any of the data visualisation tools.
  • Learnt knowledge of digital marketing niches and tools. 
  • Known programming languages like Python & R. 
  • A proven expert in data analysis techniques and related skills. 

Soft Skills

A data analyst has to use his/her analytical thinking wisely so that their role can be strictly devoted to digital marketing. If we expand these roles, we can list them down:-

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Communication
  • Creative and Critical Thinking 
  • Time management
  • Adaptability

Conclusion

As we conclude, let’s summarise the points we have discussed. To start with the article, we have briefly explained the development of marketing since centuries back, and how it has shifted to digital marketing today. We have also explained why digital marketers in Calicut need data analytics in the present period and expect to use it in the future. We have discussed in detail the role of data analytics in digital marketing in common, followed by the data sources and scope of the data analytics. Lastly, you can learn the basic technical and soft skills of a data analyst working in the digital marketing industry. 

Aviv Digital is one of the leading Digital marketing courses in Calicut. We offer a wide variety of globally recognized certification programs that include SEO, SEM, SMM, Email Marketing and Inbound Marketing courses. For more details, Contact us at: +91 8156998844