Intelligence
Another abstract word which can be applied to many different contexts, what does intelligence have to do with Digital Marketing?
Apart from the fact that you need to have a good head on your shoulders in order to have successful marketing campaigns, intelligence in relation to the digital world goes much deeper.
Human intelligence
It’s not always about textbook knowledge, it’s not simply about theory, facts, and figures – sometimes it’s even more complicated than all those combined- it’s about intuition. If you want to be successful you’ve got to have a specific kind of intelligence – the kind which allows you to understand the various layers that go behind something and to just ‘get it’.
This is especially true when it comes to audiences. You might have all the data in front of you. The demographics, the age range, the times they’re online, and the pages they spend the most time on. But if you can’t understand the human beings behind the numbers then your strategies will only go so far.
The problem is that you can’t teach intuition. However you can train yourself to be slightly better at hitting those immeasurable targets.
- Put yourself in their shoes – would the campaign be relevant to them? It’s useless trying to sell high end designer stilettos to the over 50s who have no desire to break an ankle.
- Appeal to them on an emotional level – will they want to be a part of the campaign and engage with it, creating long term benefits for both parties? Or will they simply get what they need and go, possibly never to return?
- Look into all the pros and cons – how will an outsider view the campaign, is it user friendly? What’s the UX like?
Technological intelligence
According to Back to the Future’s predictions by now we should all be driving flying cars and wearing funny clothes. While I’m still waiting on the flying car to be manufactured, it is impressive to see that technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in ways which we could have never imagined.
Who would have thought I’d be able to speak to my phone and get almost human replies (thanks for the laughs Siri)? Wearable tech and the smartest apps you could think of have simplified life and made the mundane interesting. Artificial intelligence, real time data, and the ability to sync across devices and instantly connect all your tech has revolutionised our world.
And while some fear that A SkyNet/Terminator situation is imminent, we can’t help but count our lucky stars for the convenience created by our intelligent tech.
Intelligent Marketing
This is probably our favourite aspect of intelligence in the digital world.
Let’s go back a couple of years – before digital marketing was even conceived. Marketers had a tough time trying to get quantifiable data regarding their campaigns. They did brilliantly of course – they had their suitcases full of artillery, their pitches, their theories of hierarchical needs, and anything else a traditional marketer could ever want.
What they didn’t have were instant results, data about even the most seemingly irrelevant thing, the option to target specific people, and the possibility to customise their adverts.
This is why we love digital.
Google is God when it comes to simplifying the marketing process. From highly specific SEO criteria which ensures that the best search results are displayed, to the constant improvement to make digital marketing more human. Digital marketing is putting people at the forefront. Whereas before marketers would talk at an entire broad audience, now they can select, tweak, and even target specific groups. What’s more is that with things like retargeting and context marketing you can easily come up with a strategy which really gives people customised adverts which will actually be relevant and useful to them.
So at the end of the day we can say it’s true that sometimes it’s not how much you know, but how you use it. We’re always ready to see what new forms of intelligence the digital world will throw at us. Let’s just hope it won’t be terminators.
