Digital Marketing Fundamentals

CHAPTER 2Digital Marketing Analytics

By Matt Bailey

Analytics. I've seen people literally cringe when that word is spoken. For some reason, analytics has become one of the most misunderstood, yet the most valuable of all digital skills. In this chapter, not only will I show you that analytics don't have to be intimidating, but I'll provide you with a working framework to apply in any organization. Because chances are, when going into a new position with your OMCA credentials, you may be one of the only people on your team with any formal training or understanding of analytics.

One of the reasons that analytics is so misunderstood is that most formal marketing education lacks even the basics of data measurement and analytics. It takes a while for the education system to catch up to digital marketing, and when it does, it's still years behind. Most marketers that I meet in large agencies, brands, or in the small to medium business (SMB) space have never had any analytics training.

The other aspect is that most analytics training courses get far more complicated than they ever need to be. Instructors quickly dive deep into predictive analytics or concepts that most markets will never need. Analytics becomes this out‐of‐reach idea that would be nice to know, but impossible to attain.

Let's take a different approach. It takes one singularly important skill to unlock analytics. And this skill is available to anyone but should be even more proficient for marketers. With this skill, ...