eJournal #3 - A Deep Dive into Analytics

Image provided by A, DiSilvestro (2016, May 24) https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/get-started-marketing-analytics/

Throughout my final semester in the Digital Marketing Management Postgraduate program at George Brown College, I have been given the opportunity to listen to industry professionals who donate their time to share their experiences in seminar form. For my third eJournal entry, I have decided to highlight Mike Senra’s discussion on digital analytics. Mike is an expert in the field with over a decade of tenure at Core Online Marketing, a well renowned, strategy-first online marketing company.

Throughout his time as both a manager and director of analytics strategy, Mike has become skilled at gathering insights from the data that his team collects. He then turns this data into meaningful information that can be used to determine business strategies. During his presentation, Mike did an incredible job breaking down each step of the buyer’s journey and showcasing real-world examples of how analytics plays a role along each of those steps. It is through this buyer’s journey that Mike was able to access the mind of the consumer and create a formula in which the marketing team should react: The 4 Elements of Digital Analysis.

Elements of Digital Analysis

Image Provided by T. Sonal (2019, December 10). https://www.polestarllp.com/blog/5-marketing-analytics-strategies

The main takeaway from Mike’s presentation was his succinct breakdown of the four key elements that take place in digital analysis. These elements answer the important questions that analysts have when looking at data and direct them to solutions that make the data useful. While data analytics can seem daunting or confusing initially, this breakdown of the four main elements simplifies data analysis and creates actionable insights of real-world value.

1. Descriptive: What happened?

2. Diagnostic: Why did it happen?

3. Predictive: What is likely to happen because of it?

4. Prescriptive: What should we do?

Mike explains the elements of digital analysis using the analogy of a pool company. In the Fall, a pool company’s business inquiries are naturally expected to slow down drastically, as people have closed their pools for the season and do not need maintenance. This is the Descriptive insight of what is happening, the pool company's inquiries are slowing down. This is the first question that needs to be addressed. The Diagnostic element in this example would be to understand that this happens around a specific time of the year, as people cannot use their outdoor pools, and therefore close them for the Winter. We can Predict the outcomes that are likely to occur from this, such as a decrease in website traffic during this period. Lastly, the company will need to Prescribe a solution of what to do after this occurs, and how they can improve their process to increase business going forward. If a company can determine a solution for the decrease in business during this period, then they will see an increase in conversions and return on investment moving forward.

Key Measurements

Image provided by M. McKinnon (2023, August 13). https://canadiansinternet.com/key-performance-indicators-kpi-online-business-success/

Mike continued his presentation with a concise breakdown of the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that experts in the field are following. Mike broke down several KPIs into categories, which analysts can keep track of to make sure marketing efforts are working as intended. The categories that Mike broke down were as follows:

• Website Behaviour: Bounce rate, average session duration, and goal completions.

• SEO: Keyword rankings, organic traffic share, conversions rates.

• Email: Open rate, click-through rate, opt-ins.

• Social: Impressions, clicks, site traffic, followers.

Mike also stressed the importance of setting targets, such as having an incremental approach, where an analyst can start simple with the number of KPIs one chooses to track, then eventually expand on that number over time when additional metrics can make a larger impact. Mike explains that because this is a simplified approach, the KPIs that are being tracked all have meaning, with no information getting lost in the process. I think this is a great idea, especially for junior analysts, as one can learn what metrics are most integral to their company and focus on those.

How These Insights Help

Image provided by Appier (2024). https://www.appier.com/en/blog/how-consumer-insights-can-drive-a-powerful-marketing-campaign

Ever since journeying down the digital marketing path, I have been curious what my “specialty” might be. In such a broad field, I have heard of the importance of picking a niche skill to concentrate on and become an expert. Ever since learning about the different avenues within digital marketing and trying each of them out during my work and school experiences, I have found myself drawn towards three areas: Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Click Advertising and Marketing Analytics. This is more of the technical side of the field (as opposed to the creative side), and something that I find myself deeply resonating with. The practical examples of this technical side of marketing is what piqued my interest during Mike’s presentation. Coming from a sales and business background, I am fascinated with the correlation between analytically driven decision making and how those decisions effect business outcomes.

Mike outlined some possible career paths for analytics-focused marketing professionals, such as SEO or PPC specialist, marketing analyst or digital marketing manager. He highlighted the importance having a growth mindset while in these roles, and how continuously learning within them can unlock new insights that reshape the industry. Mike’s ability to summarize more clearly what these roles are and what is involved in being successful with them had me extremely excited, while also answering many questions that I had regarding them.

Overall, I found Mike’s analytics presentation to be one of the most informative and relatable. He did a fantastic job explaining analytics to newcomers, and demonstrated accurately how these roles are done in the real world.