What’s Trending: Let Data Take the Wheel and Drive Your Marketing

We live in an age of buzzwords, and not all of them are useful.

“Data-driven” seems to be one of the trendiest business adjectives thrown around these days. In theory, that’s great. Marketers have more access to user metrics and customer insights than ever before. Of course we should let this information guide our strategies.

But are we really letting the data guide us, or just pointing to it when convenient? Many organizations fail to fully embrace this frontier, leading to inconsistent or ineffective applications. A 2017 Data-Driven Marketing Report, released earlier this year by the UK agency Jaywing, found that most brands are still lagging behind with adoption of the latest analytics and marketing tech.

When we rely on quality data, making it digestible and practical for everyone involved, it can steer us in the right direction. Let’s cut through the jargon and get to the core of smart data marketing in 2017.

What Marketers Were Reading and Sharing Most This Week:

1. When Content Marketing Turns Smart: Tips on How Data Can Help Creativity

Data is definitely not the enemy of creativity. In fact, it can be a perfect complement. Belinda Rowe explains how we can incorporate promising new technologies without losing the human touch.

1. Let User Behavior Shape Your Engagement

For content marketers, data is most helpful when it tells us about our audience -- specifically: how, when, and where to connect with them. On the Kissmetrics blog, Shayla Price offers tips for improving the user experience by reading the right signals.

1. Data Shows LinkedIn’s Value as a Networking, Branding Tool [Infographic]

Speaking of data, the numbers continue to reinforce LinkedIn’s efficacy as a networking and branding tool for marketers, with a clear upward trend in recent years. This infographic via NumberSleuth lays out the evidence.

1. Link Building Fundamentals: The Art & Science of Building Links

Link-building is undoubtedly a critical aspect of SEO, but its intricacies are not always easily understood. This SlideShare from Debra Mastaler does a good job of communicating why the practice matters and how to implement it.