With the increased usage of social media and the internet for everything from research, connecting with others, and shopping to running and promoting a business, data and mining the data has become more valuable than ever. Companies are utilizing data from several sources to target people for advertising in a way that appears coincidental to the untrained eye, yet is based upon hours and hours of data. In this new internet savvy world, data is the newest currency on the market and it is creating value from what some may perceive as junk.
“Organic Advertising”
Web browsers such as Google, are analyzing habits of its users every second of the day. The search engine then stores this data relating to people’s browsing habits and selling it their advertisers. The advertisers are then offered the ability to have their ads appear on the web pages that support advertisers. For instance, if a user is shopping for a child’s bedroom set and then decides to head over to Facebook to ask a question of the mom group in which she belongs, an advertisement for a children’s furniture store could appear on her Facebook account. The user will think it is just another ad that happened to pop up, however, it is actually a strategically placed, targeted ad, based on her shopping habits online that day.
A New Line of Revenue
Aggregated data from internet browsing and social media profiles has become a line of revenue for many companies. The advertising arms of search engines and social media are selling this data to the advertisers to raise their revenues because they are able to ensure more traffic to the advertiser’s website. And the advertisers are using the data to raise their revenue because they are able to ensure more qualified leads. All the while, the user is being guided, based on his or her usage and habits, to websites and retailers that appear to be on top of the buyer’s needs and wants list.
Other Forms of Data
Beyond reviewing your customer base’s search history and buying patterns, social media companies are aggregating personal data from their users to help direct your marketing efforts. Users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites provide data including age, location, family size, employment and education, and interests and likes to the companies in an effort to be more transparent. However, this data becomes a tool for advertising in which the advertiser can target their audience specifically, saving time and money. This data has become a large stream of revenue for social media, allowing marketers to truly target as specific an audience as needed for each campaign.
Data has become the wave of the future of online advertising. However, while it is necessary to direct your marketing efforts, this increased availability of data can come at a hefty price. To learn more about data usage and how your company can benefit from the data available, contact the experts at Skol Marketing at 612.787.SKOL (7565).
