Today, data marketing analysts are some of the most important people to the success of any marketing endeavor. But how does one really become a marketing analyst, much less an effective one?
Data market analyst positions are highly sought after because of their competitive salary ranges. Luckily, they are also in high demand. With digital marketing being the main type of marketing today, data analytics is more important than ever before. Content is everywhere; therefore, the data is coming in from everywhere. Businesses have data coming from all of their different social media accounts, their email subscriptions, their websites, and more. This influx of information is highly overwhelming, especially if you do not understand how to analyze what it all means.
This is where a data market analyst comes in. Though there are many online tools that try to automatically replicate the role of a human analyst, it does not compare to the knowledge of real humans doing the work. The following are some key aspects of the job that can help boost an analyst’s performance.
1. Prioritize Information Collection
Because marketing analysts are responsible for gathering and collecting all of the data across different platforms and formats, they need to be very decisive in how they determine what is and is not important. An effective data market analyst knows how to view things objectively and include information that is relevant and discard what is not. This may seem simple, but when working with thousands of statistics and data reports, it becomes complex. That’s why the best data analysts know how to prioritize the goals of the company and client with the research to find the strongest answers for insights.
2. Understand Economics
Because the research is often very much intertwined and related to finances and the business operation as a whole, effective data market analysts need to know and understand the general and more complex basics of economics. They need to keep up with current trends and sales volumes within the company. This way they can keep everything in perspective and aligned with the resources available. Data marketing analysts often work very closely with the sales team, so understanding finances is essential to their job.
3. Think Quickly
Because digital content marketing is ever-changing due to the constant transformations of consumer wants and needs, marketing analysts need to be able to provide insights and reports quickly so that strategists and creatives can alter their content production based on the research. If a marketing analyst takes weeks and months to analyze the current social media analytics regarding what followers are watching the most, by the time the analysis is ready to be applied to strategy, it will be too late. Consumers will have already moved on to the next trend or social media fad. Essentially, the most effective marketing data analysts know how to quickly absorb and digest the information into concrete evidence.
4. Know Business
In order to be an effective data marketing analyst, one has to actually go back a step. You cannot begin to offer reports and insights to your marketing team if you do not first know the basics of business. If you do not understand the tenets of business and its general practices, your analysis may end up being inapplicable because you don’t have a full understanding of the bigger picture.
5. Be Curious
The strongest data marketing analysts are more than simply organized and good at digesting complex information. The key to an analyst being truly successful and effective is that they have a genuine curiosity and thirst for information. They truly want to know the why behind the what. Also, they are not simply looking at the numbers and statistics and forming a report. They are diving deeper and going beyond that. This allows them to ask questions of themselves, the consumers, and the client as they analyze the data.
Conclusion
In summary, data market analyst jobs require you to be much more than just someone who looks at the cold hard facts and makes reports. Effective analysts must have background knowledge of the industry, the technical skills to quickly digest information, and a passion for information.