September 30, 2014

Where Do Content Marketing and Big Data Meet?

Big data and content marketing are two popular terms we marketers hear a lot. Big data is touted as one of the greatest game-changing opportunities for marketing, while content marketing is the key to attracting and retaining the 21st century consumer. But where do these two terms meet? In other words, how can content marketers leverage big data to improve their overall strategy?

Every time a consumer logs onto his or her laptop, posts to social media, visits a website or downloads a white paper, data is being created. While pinpointing exactly how much data is being created is difficult, research from BRITE/NYAMA indicates that, by 2020, the amount of digital information in existence will have grown from 3.2 zettabytes today to 40 zettabytes.

All of this raw data, as well as the information captured and housed within your CRM system and marketing automation tool provides invaluable insight into consumers’ likes and dislikes, including what types of content and topics are most engaging to your audience. For marketers who don’t know how to manage or govern big data, it can be overwhelming to say the least; however, those who do have an enormous competitive advantage.

 Below are three ways you can use big data to improve your strategy:

1.Start listening: As marketers, we’re all guilty of assuming what our target audience likes and dislikes—but you know what happens when you “assume.” Instead of relying on your gut, get inside the mind of your consumers by opening up your ears. And what better place to eavesdrop than on social media platforms? Social media listening tools give you insight into the various conversations happening amongst your consumers. You can then use these insights to create new content topics and ideas with a high potential to entice your audience.

2.Personalize content: Want to know what email subject lines get the most clicks or what blog topics resonate most with readers? Data within your marketing automation platform holds the answers. By tracking what content consumers are downloading, consuming and abandoning during each stage of the buying process, you can pinpoint what types of content resonate most with consumers to develop leads and create relevant, highly personalized content that converts.

3. Track competitors: When it comes to your content marketing strategy, performing competitive analysis is key. With tools like BuzzSumo, which allows you to collect and analyze data on competitors, you can see what content is working best for your competitors and how it’s being shared.   

When applied correctly, big data can radically change the way you run your content marketing strategy.  Not only can it help you get to the bottom of issues that need resolving, but it also helps reveal big opportunities that you may be overlooking.

To learn more about how to improve your content marketing strategy, check out our selection of white papers that dive deep into the profitability and best practices of content marketing. 




Edited by Brooke Neuman




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