In a previous blog, we wrote that every marketer needs to have some understanding of marketing data. With all the numbers flying around your ears these days, such as CTR, CTO, CPS, CPM or CPC, open ratio, bounce ratio, it's helpful if you know roughly what those values are telling you. At the same time, a marketer today is more than ever a content manager. After all, you are responsible for posting the right content to entice the right audience. Marketing data doesn't exist without content, and without content you probably won't be able to collect very valuable marketing data. In this blog Sebastiaan de Ruiter zooms in on the difference and looks at the connection.

From data to information: the difference is in the context

Van Dale defines data as a collection of data or a representation of facts that can be processed in information technology. So data is really little more than numbers, data that doesn't say much on its own. Only when you can put it in context does that data become valuable information. If I share these numbers with you: -10, 75, 138, 47.323516, 12.796843 that - probably - tells you nothing at all. But if I tell you that it is minus ten degrees in Zell am See - 47.323516 and 12.796843 are the GPS coordinates -, that there is 75 centimeters of snow and that all 138 kilometers of ski runs are passable, chances are that it will make you very happy. In any case, I am already eager to pack my bags....

Interpreting marketing data

That you don't have to be an accomplished data analyst as a marketer, I wrote in an earlier blog, but it is practical if you understand something about marketing data and can put it in context. For example, the number two by itself tells you nothing. If you know that's the click-through rate, then you have to understand that your content - whether it's an ad, a blog or a LinkedIn post - is not relevant enough to your target audience. So work to do, not only for your copywriter, but also for you. A copywriter can only write text that strikes the right chord if you know exactly who your potential customer is and what makes them tick.

Data the math behind your content

In short, it's kind of an endless loop. If your marketing data show poor results, you need to improve your content so that potential customers read your content longer, spend more time on your website, and preferably eventually convert to actual customers. This way, based on data you collect, you tune your content better and better to your target audience. So you should always keep tinkering with your content. So data is like the math behind your content.

Curious?

Would you like to experience how simple Digital Asset Management, for example, really is? Then request a no-obligation demo of our Brand Management solutions. Would you like to talk further about the advantages of marketing automation for your organization? Of course, that's always possible too! Give a call to (0)20 820 83 82 or mail to info@comrads.nl. We would love to get to know you.