How is data driving modern day content marketing?

Data is the driving force of content marketing today. As technology and techniques evolve we are increasingly uncovering more widespread and effective ways to harness data to make marketing more effective and targeted. For most organisations, data driven marketing strategy has become the norm and integrating data is the most obvious and efficient way to improve results. So, how does it work?

It’s time to focus

The volume of data generated has shot up in recent years. There is now a vast range of different data insights available, from attribution to behaviour analysis. The danger for many businesses is becoming overwhelmed by this and unable to separate the data that really matters from that which is unlikely to have a particularly big impact.

So, the first step to enabling data to play a larger part in modern day content marketing, is to separate out what really matters to the business and what doesn’t. It’s time to focus on those data insights that are important and aligned with KPIs and to stop wasting time and resources on the rest.

Integrating the use of tools

We have moved from basic analytics tools to those capable of providing real insight into what customers think and what they want. Combining the likes of Google Surveys 360, for example, with a comprehensive CRM can provide the foundation for insights into who the most responsive prospects might be and how to reach them. This kind of behaviour driven insight is only being made possible by the development of new tools but is becoming increasingly essential to ensuring that content marketing stays on track.

Data as an ongoing steer

Digital marketing campaigns used to integrate data only at the start – it may have provided the context and set the focus for the campaign but might not be referenced again after that. Increasingly, in modern content marketing, data is a constant presence and is repeatedly referred back to. There are many reasons for this, including being able to refine and shape campaigns to behaviours and responses in real time and to help identify emerging trends.

Integrating marketing and data science

It used to be the case that the analytics and creative teams were entirely separate, interacting a little at the start of a campaign but not beyond that. As the use of data in marketing evolves we are seeing increasing integration between the two in order to define storytelling using customer data in campaigns. This kind of data visualisation is likely to bring the creative and analytic sides of marketing closer together and to ensure that customers are front and centre of campaigns.

Individually tailored metrics

Many content marketing campaigns currently rely on the same metrics, such as traffic or time on page. However, we are reaching a stage where it’s becoming obvious that the more effective combination of metrics is one that is bespoke to an individual business. For example, bounce rate may not be as relevant to a website where people are accessing single pages of content, such as a news site, where as time on page is.

As the use of data is evolving, so too is the content marketing strategy required to successfully integrate it. Get in touch with Iconic Digital to find out how we can help you to refine your marketing strategy today.