5 Ways Marketers are Using Data to Drive Their Content Strategies

When you think about writing, data probably isn’t one of the first things that comes to mind. After all, writing is a creative pursuit that tends to be more of an art than a science. But, if you had any previous doubts that big data and analytics are the way of the future, doubt no more. Data and content marketing are merging together and the results are outstanding.

Five Ways Content Marketers are Leveraging Data

Data is becoming synonymous with words like growth and modernization – and these are two words that marketers love. Thus, they’re turning to data in overwhelming numbers. Specifically, here are some of the ways they’re using data.

1. Blog Optimization

As Neil Patel, one of today’s most successful internet marketers, likes to point out, blogging is one of the single most important aspects of any business. “A blog can serve as the foundation for just about anything you want — a personal brand, an enterprise level business, a multi-million dollar content provider or a startup,” he points out. “A blog is super important.”

Part of developing a successful blog that brings a high return is identifying who your audience is and creating a layout, voice, and content strategy that satisfies their needs and wants. How are marketers doing this? By tapping into website and social media analytics to build robust reader personas.

2. Connecting with Influencers

According to Scribble Live, a content marketing platform that actually specializes in data-driven marketing, one of the greatest uses involves identifying influencers.

“Here at ScribbleLive we use data to help us better understand who is driving the conversation and which influencers we should be connecting with, in the content marketing world,” says Jennifer Taylor. “Our Insights app analyzes news items, blog posts, and social updates to identify the most influential opinions and see who’s having the greatest impact in those conversations.”

3. Enhanced Credibility

Simply citing data points and using insights to create authoritative content leads to more brand credibility. And in a marketplace where competition is at an all-time high, credibility is often the thing that pushes one business to the top.

It’s not easy to write data-driven articles, but the return is almost always worth it. Data-driven posts get shared more, are cited more frequently, and enjoy higher on-page metrics (including better conversion rates and lower bounce rates).

4. Budget Analysis and Management

As content marketing budgets grow year-to-year, budget analysis and management are becoming increasingly important responsibilities. Thankfully, data can help here too.

“One of the biggest tasks faced by marketing managers is making sure to stay on budget while providing the targeted ROI,” marketing specialist Leah Klingbeil says. “With the use of data, marketing is more focused and targeted, allowing marketing managers to stay within their budgets.”

5. Identifying Opportunities

Data can be used to determine when there’s a disconnect between what a company is delivering to its customers and what the public actually wants. For a perfect example of this, consider the story that Rachel Van Soest, co-owner of an advertising agent in North Carolina, relays about a client in the student housing industry.

The client was struggling to compete with newer student housing communities that offered lavish amenities like pools, spas, and full-service gyms. Knowing that they couldn’t afford to match other communities amenity for amenity, they used big data to see what it was students actually wanted. Research showed that 75 percent wanted a place to live that would “contribute to their ability to study and focus on school.”

As a result, the client created advertising and marketing content that they believed would resonate with the majority of students. And it did! As a result, occupancy rates spiked to an impressive 95 percent.

This is just one example of how data allows marketers to identify opportunities and then strategically act upon them, but there are plenty of others. It just goes to show that there’s unlimited versatility when it comes to big data.

Keep an Eye on the Role of Data in Marketing

Moving forward, the prominence of data in marketing – particularly the content side of things – will continue to be enhanced. Keep an eye on this area and constantly be on the lookout for new opportunities. There will be many in the coming years.