The
basic principles of digital data collection through Google Analytics are data
collection, processing, configuration, and reporting. These basic principles of
Google Analytics aid business to make decisions about managing their social
media accounts or how to market to customers through websites or applications.
An organization such as Flowerama could use Google Analytics to better
market to their customers. For example, many customers visit the page of an
item (flowerpot) on Flowerama website. When the user views the page,
Google Analytics will collect that data and store it using JavaScript coding
language. After that data is collected, the JavaScript code is translated so
that it can be used for decision-making. Flowerama would have the ability to
configure the data they acquired from the users. They can look at the types of
flowerpots customers viewed the most and compare it to all flowerpots sold.
There are many ways Flowerama can configure the data. The final piece of
Google Analytics is reporting, which is simply Google Analytics presenting the
findings of the data the organization configured. Flowerama can view the
report and began to make marketing decisions about flowerpots, such as putting
the most viewed flowerpots on their homepage to make buying the flowerpots more
convenient for customers.
According
to Professor Dan Jurafsky & Chris Manning from Stanford University,
sentiment analysis is the “detection of attitudes”. When evaluating sales,
organizations can collect feedback from customers and make marketing or social
media decisions based on customer responses to already purchased products. For
example, customers can rate and comment their flowerpot purchase.
Flowerama needs to know if their customers are satisfied with their
purchases and why, but also if they are not satisfied and why. Customers that
have purchased the metal flowerpot can rate or post a review on that specific
flowerpot page for potential buyers and Flowerama to see. Customers can
talk about their overall experience with purchasing the metal flowerpot, which
ranges from the quality of the flowerpot or how fast they received their
flowerpot in the mail. The sales and customer service department of
Flowerama can use this information to make a decision on whether they
should purchase more or less of those specific flowerpots.
Social network analysis is the "the mapping
and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations,
computers, URLs, and other connected information/knowledge entities"
(OrgNet). A network is composed of nodes and links. The nodes are people
and the links represent the relationship between those people.
Flowerama's marketing department can use data from social network analysis
to determine what segment of the market to advertise to and how. For example,
Flowerama can do a network analysis by visiting local gardener blogs and make a
decision to contact the most popular gardener who blogs because the
blogger (NODE) who would have many links to other bloggers/viewers.
Flowerama could send their products to the popular gardener and ask them to
test out their flowerpots and review it. That is a strategic way Flowerama
could use the data from network analysis to market their products better.
In the process of completing this assignment, I learned
that digital marketing and social media data could be used to make important
decisions within the business functions of an organization. As a professional,
I can learn how the target audience will and will not respond to the marketing
and social media efforts of the organization.
References
Lee, D. (2013, March 7). Lecture 1.1- 1A Why Social Network Analysis (1354). Retrieved March 16, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjOVhWfh6iI
"Social Network Analysis: An Introduction." By Orgnet,LLC. Valdis Krebs. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Jurafsky, D., & Manning, C. (2012, April 4). 7 - 1 - What is Sentiment Analysis- Stanford NLP - Professor Dan Jurafsky & Chris Manning. Retrieved March 16, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxPBv4Skj98
