Data analytics has become a very important part of business management. Large corporations all over the world have discovered the wonders of using big data to develop a competitive edge in an increasingly competitive global market. American Express is an example of a company that has used big data to improve its business model. They can now successfully identify 24% of accounts that will close within four months.
However, large corporations aren’t the only ones that stand to benefit from using big data. Small business owners may need to use it even more, because the high ROI can help stretch their limited budgets.
Big Data is Important for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Trying to Succeed
The dream of becoming a successful online entrepreneur has inspired millions of people across the world to embark on a path to become their own boss and follow their own desires. But statistically speaking, the odds are not in every entrepreneur’s favor. In fact, a majority fail in their pursuit.
Businesses are more likely to succeed when they make the right investments. This entails using big data reliably. Companies with well-thought out data strategies are likely to beat the odds.
Let’s delve deeper and see how and why entrepreneurship on the internet is so challenging and what we can do through next-gen marketing by utilizing data analytics.
The Fundamentals of Using Data Analytics to Become a Successful Online Entrepreneur
The process of bringing an idea to life and turning it into a lucrative business is like a thousand-mile journey. The brand building process, customer outreach strategies and many other tasks can be accelerated and automated through using online channels.
Online outreach strategies are a lot more efficient when they are backed by usable data. Data-driven marketing strategies are becoming more important than ever. Research shows that the marketing analytics market will be worth nearly $4.7 billion by 2026. It wouldn’t be growing at such a fast pace if so many companies hadn’t realized that big data provides a very high ROI.
This is one of the reasons that there is such a huge flock of business owners, solopreneurs and online marketers flocking the world wide web nowadays. It is a lot easier to use big data as an online business. As there are more advances in data analytics, there are more benefits of running an online business. One survey found that 47% of businesses invest in big data, but the figure is a lot higher among online businesses. Of course, there are other reasons online entrepreneurship is on the rise. Many influencers have convinced us that the gateway to a new gold rush is starting an online business and making quick money.
And hence the challenge of fierce competition arises where a dozen new entrants occupy the web. So now we have to ask ourselves. How can we use data analytics to overcome this challenge and become a full-scale entrepreneur that relies mainly on growing a business on the internet?
Ways to Use Data Analytics to Grow an Online Business
Companies that lack a professional marketing team that is well versed in SEO and SEM practices will find that online entrepreneurship near impossible. Many SaaS companies rely on agencies or external consultants to help drive organic traffic and good leads. They spend thousands upon thousands of dollars.
These new practices are more dependent on big data than ever. Here are some ways that big data helps online businesses gain a competitive edge in online marketing:
- Keyword research. Keyword research is the most important aspect of modern search engine marketing. This process couldn’t be accomplished without sophisticated data analytics tools. Many keyword research tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, Sale Samurai and Marmalade use complex data analytics algorithms to identify search volume and competitiveness.
- Linkbuilding opportunities. Data analytics also helps with SEO by identifying offsite optimization opportunities. Analytics-driven SEO resources like SEMRush, BacklinkWatch and Ahrefs use data mining to help see what sites are linking to different websites and what value each of those links provides. Companies can use these links to see where competitors’ backlinks are coming from, so they can get similar links themselves.
- Identify areas for improvement. Most SEO tools also use sophisticated AI algorithms to assess the overall state of the SEO strategy. They can help companies improve their SEO efforts as needed.
So, what would be the optimal solution for a new online entrepreneur? This is where next-gen marketing comes into the picture.
What is next-gen Marketing?
Now that you appreciate the importance of data analytics in marketing, you can start implementing it through next-gen marketing. Data analytics is at the core of next-gen marketing strategies. But what is next-gen marketing?
Depending on key audience, demographic and niche, next-gen marketing is the next step on online marketing practices that cater towards new methods of audience building. This could be in the form of building unorthodox marketing platforms to gain an audience to your brand and business through various platforms enjoyed by mainly Generation Z. Data analytics tools makes it a lot easier to study these audiences and implement successful strategies.
Starting out all the way from the Metaverse like Decentraland or Sandbox and displaying your business or sponsoring Twitch Streamers for display ads and unboxing your products, the possibilities can be limitless.
Next-gen marketing is making use of the not yet fully established Web 3.0 platforms that are growing rapidly, especially amongst younger internet users.
How to Monetize Your Business as a Next-gen Entrepreneurship?
There are many strange and weird ways to monetize a website as technology shifts into the 2020’s. Some of these may seem ridiculous at first in comparison to traditional marketing methods. But their effectiveness has managed to lift big brands like Gillette, Monster Energy or GameStop.
Entering the Metaverse
We’ve mentioned two Metaverse platforms like Decentraland or Sandbox, but lets see what they really are and how they can be used from a business point of view. Similar to many MMORPG’s, online platforms like Decentraland offer an insight into virtual worlds used by thousands if not millions of people where actual property can be purchased and set up.
Here a user can upload anything from digital art like non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) to business plans, login details, social media channels and more. It’s like having a company profile within a virtual world or an online game, where users can visit your business. This is highly effective amongst dynamic gamers, eSport fans and digital artists.
This is another area where data analytics can prove useful. You can use data analytics to research these platforms more thoroughly and choose which ones to focus on.
Sponsoring Twitch Streamers
Twitch is mainly known for live streaming for games and online gaming activities. However as the platform grows and slowly knocks off video giants like Youtube or Vimeo, it is quickly expanding into other areas and niches. These could be DIY, coaching, fitness, consultancy, entertainment or yoga.
As a growing platform, online streaming platforms like Twitch can be implemented into someone’s digital outreach campaign for having popular gamers give shoutouts and sponsored videos and ads mid-streaming.
Influencer Marketing through OnlyFans
OnlyFans has a unique reputation of its own and is by no means a good choice for any brand or online entrepreneur to use. However, a more laid-back B2C campaign model or influencer marketing can find a good audience on OnlyFans who are genuinely interested. This works best for beauty, fitness, health or clothing related niches.
Data analytics is also important for influencer marketing. We discussed this in detail in this post.
Data Analytics is Crucial for Aspiring Businesses
Depending on your virtual or physical brand that you wish to promote online, there are many platforms that are yet to be uncovered by the general public. These platforms can open doors to new possibilities and avoid some of the key competitions that SEO specialists or digital marketers have to go through to build good prospects and lead to a business.
Unfortunately, these platforms are very competitive these days. You will need to leverage data analytics to make the most of them. Analytics is at the core of most modern marketing strategies.
At the end of the day, one of the key ways to overcome the challenges that many online entrepreneurs are facing is by simply going around them, by using alternative next-gen marketing platforms.