Understanding Data Analytics

Photo Credit: biomedicalcomputationreview.org
Photo Credit: biomedicalcomputationreview.org

Let’s break this down

Data analytics is complicated. If you are starting out as small business, there are many layers that are part of understanding analytics. You cannot read 5 or 10 blogs about data analytics, watch a few videos on YouTube and be good to go. You’re actually just selling yourself short. The research I have done shows that companies, especially small businesses, do not use all the advantages and resources of their analytical software. It more than cluster analysis and data segmentation. Most data charts organically result in a form of visualization. John Bates works as the Product Manager for Predictive Marketing Solutions at Adobe Systems, Inc. His blog post about data analytics helps you grasp what direction you need to go with your research and use of analytical data. He keeps it simple and to the point.

Find the “Gold Nuggets” in your Data

Get ahead now and understand how to interpret the data you gather, whether that be interviews, focus groups, surveys, or online website analytics. This video explains how important it is to be one of the companies that knows how to use its internal and external data. Even if you’re not good at mathematics, it’s all about knowing who to use as a source and use their “insights to transform the way the business operates.”

 

Advance Your Knowledge

Now that you know what the major challenges and mistakes are, I challenge you to obtain a more in-depth understanding about how to transcend your data analysis with metadata, data visuals, and advancing your skills in monitoring and cross-analyzing internal and external analytics you have and will research.

Here are some of the key steps of analytics:

  • Reporting what happened
  • Analysis
  • Monitoring
  • Forecasting
  • Predictive
  • Prescriptive

Companies that do not understand all of these steps will not come out on top in their industry. Educate yourself. I cannot stress that enough. These steps will be discussed in the video below. (You can stop viewing at the time length 21:40 if you prefer.) 

 

 

Too much information?

Interpreting data has excelled and technology compresses and distributes the data as an advanced, complicated, and real time source of information. However, without human intelligence, your company will not succeed to its full potential. If your personal learning plan (PLN) and personal research is not helping you in the way you need, I recommend you outsource or hire someone who can interpret your data properly. However, do not sell your research sort; it will be beneficial in having the ability to communicate to your analytics expert. Also, outsourcing is a great way to ensure you are not developing tunnel vision also. Weigh your options and do what will be best ultimately for the company long term. 

 

Questions? Comments? Please let me know. 🙂

SEO Words

AH! so many acronyms!

SEO, API, BI, OLAP and the list goes on! There’s at least a 100 digital marketing terms that will, if not already, be consuming your regular communication around the office or with clients. Digital marketing has expanded at a rapid rate. As a college student, I even find it difficult to keep up with all the different terminology floating around conversations in class, work, and my PLN list on Twitter. Following a list of people or companies on Twitter has helped me stay up-to-date on my digital marketing lingo.

However, I didn’t just place those four acronyms at the start of the blog for no reason. I have found in my past month and a half as being a student in my Social Media for PR class that these four pop up in most analytics blogs and articles that I read. . . so I want to break some of them down. Here is a helpful link with more that you may have come across lately.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a key factor in developing your brand and getting data to analyze and collect for your analytics reports. You want to be able to increase your rank on search engines and you can do this through various ways. Search engines have different formals to order websites. Research. Does updating your site increase you rank? Does keyword advertising have an effect? What types of content is searched (blogs, articles, photos)? And SO MUCH MORE can be applied in a search engine’s formal of processing data users’ searches online.

API

Application Programming Interface has been something I see more and more associated with the term metadata. Metadata is basically “data about data.” This can be about the structure/design or content of the data. Metadata API is then an organized overview of your analytics. Google Developers does a good job at breaking this down for further clarity.

BI

Business Intelligence is professionals analyzing the data collected. They various methods to transform technological data into useful information. Then, other departments of a company can use it to expand the brand and increase brand image and awareness. Also, BI should definitely be used as a key component to increase you SEO.

OLAP

Online Analytical Processing allows you to analyze many facets of information at once. This is a sector of BI. For example, you can analyze financial reports, advertising data, budgeting, and sales reports at the same time.

Keep researching!

Stay up-to-date with the latest trends in digital marketing. It’s just going to make business more efficient. Data analysis can be a huge assistance, so stay educated on the latest, fastest, and greatest analytics tools and software.

Please leave comments. 🙂