The term “data” has been a staple of the internet industry ever since its inception in the ’80s. With more and more focus shifting towards the digital sphere managing data has been quite essential especially considering the amount of data that needs to be stored and analysed. Big data is the field of science that deals with data sets that are too large and complex that your traditional data processing tools cannot handle.
According to sources, Big Data consists of data from both inside and outside of your corporation that can be a great tool for ongoing analysis and strategy creation. With the amount of information that is now available on the internet, getting those data in the proper order for greater insights has become very necessary and this is where Big Data comes into play. With Big Data coming into the scene, social media marketing has taken on a whole different level. With the help of these data sets professionals are able to craft personalized marketing strategies that a regular internet user might find overwhelming. There are many websites that take advantage of big data and AI to design perfect strategy for their clients who are in the need to grow Instagram followers to boost their engagement.
If you are feeling powerless in front of the sheer tide of data that you are looking at, you have come to the right spot. With just a few tweaks and tips and you should be able to compete with the big guns on the market if you can harness the true potential of Big Data. So, let us take a deeper dive in order to better understand how businesses are using big data for social media marketing.
Social Media stands for Big Data
One of the most fundamental concepts about social media marketing services that people tend to not understand is that big data is one of the most important parts of social media. In fact, one of the most significant sources of Big Data are the social media platforms. According to a recent study, researchers claim that out of all the data that is present on the internet more than 85 per cent of the data has been added in the last couple of years. What is more interesting to note that about 80 per cent of this data is claimed from unstructured sources such as social media. If can be easily argued that the never-ending influx of data from social media platforms has trickled into what we call Big Data. What is data? Data is information. Information can be anything; from your profile picture to every comment to every status you update, all of these constitutes data. So, when we are thinking of social media and Big Data, you first have to realize that both of them are mutually co-dependent.
Social media is no longer an option, it has evolved into an intrinsic part of everyone’s lives as well as most businesses. A requisite to success, if you may. So, in order to effectively analyse data from social media marketing, you must have a clearer and larger context of the engagement and market penetration of your brand if you are looking for greater return on your investments.
Strategy creations
When you are looking to take advantage of Big Data, its inseparability with social media can give you’re the creative freedom to craft extremely targeted marketing strategies. Big Data empowers marketers to analyse market data that can prove to be extremely beneficial for the creation of more predictive approaches. Calculating and analysing past data sets marketers can more effectively determine the effectiveness and reach of their present strategies rather than simply comparing growth numbers with past performances. This helps in predicting customer behaviour and habits and therefore enabling marketers to develop new methods of customer engagements for the creation of effective marketing strategies. With the insights offered by Big Data businesses are now able to predict:
- What the customer will be buying very soon?
- What do they need to buy?
- What sort of products do they like?
- How much are they willing to spend on certain products?
And many more. This data proves invaluable in creating the right promotion campaigns for the right time and also tweak based on the current need of the organisation.
According to a recent report by McKinsey & Company (American management consulting firm) stated that a small retail business can effectively increase its profit margins by over 60 per cent with proper utilisation of Big Data.
Customised approaches
With most of the businesses shifting towards the digital trend, Big Data has helped to usher in a new era of personalised approaches for marketing. Big Data has empowered individuals and businesses to rethink their entire marketing model. Big Data has provided marketers with the means to create hyper focused marketing strategies that can help them achieve greater profits. Gone are the days when you had to keep a watchful eye on every move that your competitors are making, with Big Data you now only have to focus on what is best for your business and your clients.
As you and your competition will be playing by different rules, your results are bound to vary but with Big Data on your side, you are sure to get the crown. When you think of it, Big Data has greatly aided businesses with relatively low resources for them to compete with the big cats on the block. Your success will be measured in terms of your own set of objectives and goals, so defining success is simply not possible.
Big Data empowers marketers with the ability to rectify any mistake that might affect the performance adversely while also giving them a glimpse of the performance of their campaigns before even launching them. This eliminates the need to rely on older data of the same campaign to gauge for comparison. Predictive tools for Big Data analysis can be the key to an effective marketing campaign on social media. While your competition is stuck on choosing the right age group for his Facebook or YouTube ads and spending hundreds of dollars every month just to get some sales, you, with the proper expertise and tools can dabble in the pool of Big Data nirvana and let the sales come to you and not the other way around.
Microtargeting
With Big Data growing at an exponential rate, specialists are required who can organise the data into meaningful analytic results for the ordinary person to understand. The complex these data sets tends to get, the more and more tools are needed to develop in order to analyse the data. Machine learning and AI has played a vital role in the analysis and segregation of the data. This can be especially useful when you are looking to target markets that are parallel to your industry. Therefore, reaching to your desired audience becomes easier.
Although some might argue that this is a borderline privacy breach, it is important to keep in mind that Big Data can prove to be extremely beneficial by reducing advertisement costs while at the same time doubling your returns. Targeting only interested users makes your campaigns more profitable. Big Data makes targeting of customers way beyond their basic information possible. Such insights will ensure your marketing campaigns reaches a different dimension. Statistical data such as race, nationality etc becomes trivial when you can target users based on what they like and what they dislike. Which shoe they like, which brand of fragrance that they like or what phone they are using; such degree of preciseness will help you to determine what your customers are looking for. Fine tuning your messages on your marketing campaign for your social media strategies will ensure the best possible communication between you and your buyers.
Take Away
So, what do you take from all this Big Data ramble? Well, you might say, “This is all too complicated”. Every type of success is the result of practice, dedication and diligence, no matter the field or industry. With proper guidance and the resources, you too will be able to make use of Big Data. With digital tools being developed every minute by major corporations, major focuses are user usability and portability. The future for Big Data seems radiant and it has enabled marketers to focus on very intricate traits which were never possible before its inception. Using Big Data to your aid is what will set you apart and give you a clear idea of the user’s behaviour and habits. Let it be your window into the future so that you become aware of future trends even before they are conceived.
The influence Big Data has on the internet industry cannot be neglected and with torrents of data stream raining on the internet every second, Big Data is only getting “Bigger.”