By Brett Farmiloe
Data plays an important role in making informed decisions about advertising and can provide you with valuable insights about your target audience. Here 12 industry professionals share how to use data to tailor your next advertising campaign to achieve maximum results.
12 ways to use data to improve your advertising results
1. Retargeting campaigns
"When search/demographics data is available, we like to use it for retargeting campaigns and targeted search-engine ads. One of our recent advertising campaigns, which targeted businesses looking for print designs, almost flopped. But a retargeting campaign fueled by data helped us recover our money and make a profit. Retargeting campaigns are popular
in advertising, but they only work when you can make informed decisions using customer data."
—Tom Golubovich, Ninja Transfers
2. A compass for making advertising decisions
"In advertising, data is not just a resource, it can be your compass. For example, in a recent campaign, a heavy reliance was placed on LinkedIn Ads after a promising ROAS (return on ad spend) of 7.2x was observed with a previously cold audience. (An investment of $11,500 returned $83,000, a clear indication that the message resonated with the target audience.) This data-driven insight led to a focus on LinkedIn as a primary acquisition channel, proving that strategic decisions backed by concrete data can yield impressive results. In marketing, data should be allowed to speak, as its voice can lead to unexpected successes."
—Jaya Iyer, Teranga Digital Marketing
3. Revealing key audience behaviors
"Data isn't just numbers—it tells a story of audience behaviors and trends, and reveals opportunities to optimize. One metric we pay close attention to is engagement rate, as it's a direct gauge of a message's effectiveness.
"An instance of this was when we conducted a social media campaign for a fitness client. The data told us a story mid-campaign: our video ads were outperforming static images. This narrative from the numbers guided our pivot towards more dynamic content—primarily video production—for the rest of the campaign. Quick adaptation, driven by data, meant efficient resource allocation and an improved campaign. The client noticed increased brand awareness and customer engagement. This is a testimony to data's power in enhancing advertising strategies."
—Shane McEvoy, Flycast Media
4. Choosing the best advertising channels
"Informed advertising decisions heavily rely on data analysis. By examining customer demographics, behavior, and preferences, we can pinpoint the best channels and messages for reaching audience segments. A recent data analysis revealed our target audience's strong presence on Instagram. Consequently, we reallocated our advertising budget to prioritize Instagram ads. The result was remarkable—our engagement and conversions saw a substantial boost compared to previous campaigns."
—Farhan Advani, PhotoshopBuzz
5. Showing where to pinpoint exact revision needs
"In any sort of paid advertising, without analyzed data, you'll be wasting ad spend money. When managing multiple advertising campaigns, creating and maintaining multiple datasheets can guide you to make informed decisions and optimize ad campaigns. For example, when a dip in a client's ROAS was recently observed, the ad's impressions, click-through rates, and CPM were simultaneously checked. Since large datasets were being maintained, we were able to pinpoint exactly which segment of the campaign needed a revision."
—Jon Kelly, 1st On The List
6. Creating tailored visuals
"Data-driven advertising sparks creative ideation, inspiring innovative concepts that resonate with your target audience. In a recent outdoor advertising campaign for a food delivery service, we analyzed customer reviews and preferences to understand their audience's favorite dishes. This data-driven approach allowed us to create visually striking billboards featuring mouthwatering images of the most popular dishes, triggering an emotional response and increasing brand awareness. Data-driven creative ideation ensures that advertising campaigns are not only visually appealing, but also emotionally engaging."
—Aysu Erkan, Character Calculator
7. Segmenting your email lists
"We leverage data for our email marketing campaigns to enhance their effectiveness and to engage customers. Our email list is segmented, using data from interactions, purchases, and customer profiles, allowing us to send targeted and personalized emails. The integration of the email marketing platform with the CRM system provides a single view of customer interactions.
"In a recent B2B email marketing campaign, we celebrated our company's anniversary by offering discounts to both our new and loyal customers. Behind these special offers was a robust foundation of data-driven insights. Historical data was meticulously analyzed, taking into account emerging market demands, past purchasing behavior, and unique customer preferences based on customers' online interactions. Prospects received emails with discount voucher QR codes and redemption instructions."
—Campbell Tourgis, Wainbee
8. Focusing on ROI
"One of the best ways we leverage data is to identify the initiatives that have the best return on investment (ROI). Determining this can be complicated when you think about attribution models, which determine whether a campaign or channel immediately converts customers or merely helps pave the way for a later conversion. For example, a customer might convert via organic search, but they may have seen a banner ad two days prior.
However, through data insights and analytics, we can create a comprehensive report of the advertising methods that yield the most optimal results."
—Samantha Hawrylack, SJ Digital Solutions
9. Predicting seasonal trends
"Our industry is very seasonal. Supporting conceptions—and sometimes misconceptions—with data improves our advertising. If we see a particular product or accessory is trending during a certain period of time, we will consider that a historical trend and will prepare ahead of time for the next year. This is how we've been able to grow so successfully."
—Coty Perry, Anglers.com
10. Looking at customer journey data
"By monitoring and analyzing the customer journey across multiple touchpoints—including website visits, social media interactions, email engagement, and conversions—we gain a thorough understanding of how customers interact with our brand and what motivates them to make a purchase.
"We recently optimized our retargeting advertising efforts using customer journey data. By identifying specific cart abandonment points along the consumer journey, we determined which stages required improvement to reduce abandonment rates. We developed personalized retargeting ads that addressed the specific concerns or hesitancies that customers had throughout their voyage.
"In addition, data analysis revealed that many consumers responded positively to limited-time offers. Armed with this knowledge, we strategically coordinated our retargeting advertisements with promotions, resulting in higher conversion rates."
—Murat Yashar, House of Worktops
11. Using eye-tracking for video
"One unique example of how data can influence an ad campaign is the use of eye-tracking technology to determine the most impactful placement of advertisements within video content. By tracking viewers' eye movements while watching specific videos, marketers can identify the optimal points to insert ads that are most likely to be noticed."
—Steve Dinelli, MarketerInterview.com
12. Monitoring sensitive ad reception
"We work in an industry that's sensitive to the media. It's not uncommon for our ads to get flagged because our messaging speaks too directly to our audience. As a result, we have to be strategic about how we word our ad copy, or any copy we put out there. Whenever an ad gets flagged or we notice it isn't doing well, we revise the messaging attached to it. If we notice it may be a case of 'sensitive' wording, we regroup and refine our copy to promote our brand in a more media-friendly way. We try to avoid as many of these incidents as possible to maximize the number of our ads that actually reach our target clients."
—Alex Milligan, NuggMD
About the Author
Post by: Brett Farmiloe
Brett Farmiloe is the founder and CEO of Featured, a platform where business leaders can answer questions related to their expertise and get published in articles featuring their insights.
Company: Featured
Website:
www.featured.com
Connect with me on
LinkedIn.
