The Found Gen

Marketing That Works.

Search Results for: data

by

Stop Relying So Heavily on Data for Marketing

Data sets are great – they make you feel invincible, right? You have all this knowledge at your fingertips – and knowledge is power, after all. Pretty sure Machiavelli said something of the sort…or Russel Crowe.

For those of you who are data-fanatics, what we’re about to say may not jive with you at first. That’s okay. Just do us a favor and let it simmer for just a bit. Alright, you ready?

Here it goes: Data is not the end-all-be-all driver to a successful marketing campaign.  

No, of course we’re not saying that data isn’t useful, or that you should forego it altogether. We’re not masochists. But, we are telling you that focusing KPIs alone does not generate a robust marketing campaign.

So Much Data, So Little Impact

The ability to access data and analytics is at an all-time high. With fresh CRMs dropping daily and cool new apps to track all sorts of KPIs coming out faster than you can read this article, it’s almost impossible to avoid the data hype. Unfortunately, this can all too often create an addiction-like response to tracking these numbers. Tailoring your marketing plan and your content to only what the data sets tell you means that you’re reacting rather than acting. The result is a content strategy based on the past, not on what your audience is likely to do in the future. It also fails to tell you the most important information – why someone chose to interact with your content.

Thinking about the reasons your customers engage with you can help you better understand their motivations. Focusing on your customers’ motivations is the best way to decide what information you should be sharing, when, and how frequently. The goal is to share insightful, informative and engaging content that engages your customers on their level – based on their wants and needs, rather than your metrics.

Creative Leap of Faith

Ultimately, marketing should be driven by the value you provide your consumers or clients. Leveraging creativity to deliver distinctive and in-demand content does require taking some risks. Tap into pop culture, sentiments, and trends to create something unique that represents your brand. And guess what? Studies have shown that companies that focus on creativity first generate roughly ten percent higher revenue. So, even the data supports focusing on the creative!

We’re not saying you should ignore the data. What we’re aiming for is balance. Sometimes, that means working with a marketing firm that enjoys a good data set but also wants to really get into the work of the behavior and mindsets both of your business as well as your consumers. It’s understanding your audience that leads to the most creative, engaging, and results-driven marketing strategies.  

Too much reliance on data can detract from your brand identity and your overall mission. We’ve seen too many businesses get bogged down in the data and lose sight their original goals as a result. You don’t want that – we don’t want that for you!

We can help you curate content that builds on your brand and bolsters your engagement metrics too. We’ll still get you the data you crave, but you’ll know more about the best ways to use it!

by

Which Data Points Are Worth Tracking and Which Are Not?

We hear it all the time from businesses embarking on their social media marketing journey, “how can we get more followers?” And while large follower counts might look impressive, they’re all but irrelevant if they’re the wrong audience or not engaged. It can be easy to get lost in the appearance of big numbers, but what really matters is data that tracks your impact with impressions, clicks and click-through rates

There’s a ton of KPIs out there, but here’s the ones we recommend looking closely at:

  • Impressions
  • Email Engagement
  • Spend
  • Clicks
  • Social Media Engagement
  • Webpage Views
  • Sales (unit/dollar volume)
  • Cost per Client
  • Cost per Lead
  • Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS)
  • Return on Investment (ROI)

Analyzing these metrics will tell you how successful your strategy is, and they’ll help you craft even better content for even better results. They can help you understand your traffic performance, readership engagement, and lead generation.  After all, the more you know, the better you can target and reach the people that really matter to your business needs.

Despite how overwhelming it can feel to track, manage, and interpret, data can guide some pretty big and important decisions when it comes to who you target, how you target them, and the most effective ways to continue to engage them.

If you’re ready, we can help ensure that your metrics and marketing stay perfectly aligned for growing your business. Take the next step today by getting in touch with us at The Found Gen.

by

Can Too Much Data Analysis Hinder Your Marketing Strategy?

Data analysis is the living heartbeat of a smart digital marketing campaign. If you’re sending out a bunch of content without measuring its effects, you’re going to be missing out on A LOT of important insights. Analytics can help you understand your traffic performance, readership engagement, and lead generation. 

So, with that being said, what data should you actually be tracking in your digital marketing campaign?

It’s not uncommon for businesses to opt to view success through their amount of followers on social media, website clicks, and other metrics. However, those metrics only paint half the picture.

At the end of the day, the success of your marketing campaign isn’t whether you get more followers on social media or more traffic to your website. A smart digital marketing campaign drives leads that convert into clients. 

For us, the most important two metrics are your cost-per-lead and your cost-per-client (aka Customer Acquisition Cost or CAC). If you are seeing your cost-per-lead and your cost-per-client go down, your marketing is working. 

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t check your engagement rate based on time of day and type of post, nor to say tracking the change month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year isn’t worth your time. It absolutely is. We look for seasonal swings that can inform our strategy to drive more quality traffic to you and build better relationships with human beings.

But if those improvements in your engagement rate on social (or reducing your bounce rate on your website) don’t improve your cost-per-lead or your cost-per-client, something isn’t working properly. 

Why we say this: it’s easy to manipulate the data – you can post something controversial on social and see engagement skyrocket or stuff links into your highest trafficked pages to see your bounce rate go down. But if it doesn’t lead to more revenue, you’re still at the same point you were before the change. 

In short: you want to focus on the right data instead of spending time on the fluff. Analyzing the right data will tell you how successful your strategy is, and they’ll help you craft even better content for even better results. Learning how to analyze marketing data is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of running a successful marketing campaign.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by data analysis, give us a call  – we’ll take a look at your data at no cost and let you know what we think.

by

What Data Should You Be Looking at When Analyzing Your Marketing

If you’re sending out a bunch of content without measuring its effects, you’re going to be missing out on A LOT of important insights. For a successful marketing strategy, you need to know what’s hitting the target, what’s missing, and why. Metrics will tell you how successful your strategy is, and they’ll help you craft even better content for even better results. Learning how to analyze marketing data is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of running a successful marketing campaign.

Analytics can help you track your impact with impressions, clicks and click-through rates. They can help you understand your traffic performance, readership engagement, and lead generation. So, with all that being said, what data should you be tracking? There’s a ton of KPIs out there, but here’s the ones we recommend looking closely at:

  • Impressions
  • Email Engagement
  • Spend
  • Clicks
  • Social Media Engagement
  • Webpage Views
  • Sales (unit/dollar volume)
  • Cost per Client
  • Cost per Lead
  • Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS)
  • Return on Investment (ROI)

There isn’t a right answer for which tool is best to measure or track your analytics – the reality is just stick with one. Much akin to tracking your weight loss on a scale – you want to use the same measuring tool if you are going to accurately track the data. Switching scales can affect your numbers and result in a lot of frustration. The same rule applies to tracking your marketing data. 

Here are some of the tools that are available: 

  • Google Analytics
  • Tableau
  • Momently
  • HubSpot Marketing Hub
  • SEMrush
  • Google Search Console
  • Visitor Analytics
  • Clicky Analytics
  • Bitly

We know sifting through data can be a drag – if the numbers get too overwhelming, we can help!

by

When Was The Last Time You Looked at Your Data?

Data should be behind the wheel of every marketing decision you make, but for so many businesses, especially small business with already a ton on their hands, it can feel like one more thing on the never-ending to-do list. And frankly, it can feel pretty low priority compared to your other business needs.

But data is important. Despite how overwhelming it can feel to track, manage, and interpret, data can guide some pretty big and important decisions when it comes to who you target, how you target them, and the most effective ways to continue to engage them.

We get it that not every business has the luxury of having a full-time data person scouring their marketing performance, and you certainly don’t need that.

But what you do need is consistent and regular check-ins with some of your most valuable metrics that power your content marketing strategy. Those metrics will vary based on your goals, but some fairly universal data points to monitor include:

  • Webpage views – How many people are visiting your website? Which pages are they landing on, and how long are they lingering? Knowing this information can help guide which new content you develop so you can continue to remain relevant.
  • Social media engagement – What is your post frequency and what kind of interaction or reactions are your posts generating with readers? Which posts perform most/least favorably?
  • Email engagement – What is your open rate and which links within your email are getting clicks?

These and other data points should inform every part of your content marketing strategy, which naturally will evolve as your get new data. After all, the more you know, the better you can target and reach the people that really matter to your business needs.

Lucky for you, we can help ensure that your metrics and marketing stay perfectly aligned for growing your business. Take the next step today by getting in touch with us at The Found Gen.

by

Facebook, Hackers and Your Data: What You Need to Know

The fragility and accessibility of our digital lives has been a concern ever since the inception of Facebook more than a decade ago – and even earlier than that on other web platforms, but privacy and data concerns have only seemed to escalate in recent years. Specifically, news of the Cambridge Analytica data breach in March 2018 put many social users on digital lockdown.

As you explore all the ways in which your life, Facebook (and other social channels), and your digital footprint intersect, it’s helpful to take a good look at what data is actually out there, what you need to know going forward to prevent hackers from getting into your account, and how to minimize any damage in the event of another breach.

What to know about your data
Facebook allows you to download your data from your account via Account Settings or the Download Your Information tool. While reviewing all of your data can be interesting in and of itself, the important take-away here is to learn what you want to delete from your history.

Once you’ve decided what you want to get rid of, you can start deleting those contacts, messages, old activity, etc. by clicking around in the settings area. Tip: it’s easiest to do this from a desktop computer.

How to prevent future hacks attacks

Knowing you’re susceptible to a hack is the first step in taking control of your data, but how do you go about more securely locking down your digital life? Being proactive is the answer. This article in Wired provides some useful tips for preventing a hack. Namely, take advantage of your device lockscreen and set up two-factor authentication on any all accounts that offer it, of which Facebook and Twitter both do.

Another tip – self-censor. While it can be fun to share all the exciting tid-bits of your life, do you really want the whole world knowing about it? Just something to keep in mind…

So, off with you now. Go secure your digital world.