by Michael Wilson
I've always considered myself to be more of a creative. Writing copy, conceptualizing a campaign, strategizing, heck even taking photos or doing some design. I'm there. Creativity is fun. It's free flowing. It's liberating to build your own thing and see it all the way through.
You need help with numbers? Sorry, Charlie. That's generally a hard pass from me. Words like data and analytics give me anxiety. I would rather do just about anything else than look at data.
Though it is the creative side of my brain that tends to work a little better I am fully aware of the importance of data. The thing about numbers is, they don't usually lie. They're usually an expression of cold, hard fact. That's something we can all respect.
Also, I''m a firm believer that everyone should have a basic understanding of the entire process -- even if your job is simply writing copy. You ought to know what the guys downstairs are looking at. Heck, maybe it'll even make you a better creative.
So, that's why I'm here. I wanted to write a blog for number fearing creatives by a number fearing creative. In a study of overwhelming and anxiety ridden proportions sometimes it's easier to break everything down to the basics, put it together in a simple way, and have it all together.
So, in this first entry, we're going to cover some basic 'need to knows' about data. First and foremost, what is data? That's fairly easy. Data is defined as facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.
Why do I need it? Launching a campaign, working in social media for an organization, etc etc without tracking your data is equivalent to flying an airplane without any guidance system. You've got no idea where you're going -- you may even be upside down.
In short, if you're working within the industry -- for a specific purpose -- you're going to want to validate that what you're doing is actually achieving the intended results.
Second, I think it would be best to discuss some terminology you're going to want to know if you intend on surviving in this world.
Since a bulk of our focus has been around Google Analytics, let's have a quick refresher on some of the things we've learned.
Channel Grouping: Allows you to compare aggregated metrics by channel name.
Content Grouping: Allows you to compare aggregated metrics by content group name.
Conversion: A completed activity, online or offline, that is important to the success of your business.
Dimension: A descriptive attribute or characteristic of data.
Measurement Protocol: A standard set of rules for collecting and sending hits from a device to analytics.
Segment: A subset of sessions or users that share common attributes. Segments allow you to isolate and analyze groups for better analysis.
Source: The origin of traffic, such as a search engine.
Medium: The general category of the search, such as organic search.
ROI: Return on Investment.
Let me end with one final thing. So, I learn best a lot of different ways. Sometimes being able to read is easiest, sometimes hearing someone speak works, usually just jumping into the deep end is the best. So, for this weeks blog, I've attached a video that I think will help sum up the purpose of this entry and work as a segway into next week.
Here we have the Executive Chairman of Google and the CEO of Civis Analytics. I hope you enjoy!
I've always considered myself to be more of a creative. Writing copy, conceptualizing a campaign, strategizing, heck even taking photos or doing some design. I'm there. Creativity is fun. It's free flowing. It's liberating to build your own thing and see it all the way through.
You need help with numbers? Sorry, Charlie. That's generally a hard pass from me. Words like data and analytics give me anxiety. I would rather do just about anything else than look at data.
Though it is the creative side of my brain that tends to work a little better I am fully aware of the importance of data. The thing about numbers is, they don't usually lie. They're usually an expression of cold, hard fact. That's something we can all respect.
Also, I''m a firm believer that everyone should have a basic understanding of the entire process -- even if your job is simply writing copy. You ought to know what the guys downstairs are looking at. Heck, maybe it'll even make you a better creative.
So, that's why I'm here. I wanted to write a blog for number fearing creatives by a number fearing creative. In a study of overwhelming and anxiety ridden proportions sometimes it's easier to break everything down to the basics, put it together in a simple way, and have it all together.
So, in this first entry, we're going to cover some basic 'need to knows' about data. First and foremost, what is data? That's fairly easy. Data is defined as facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.
Why do I need it? Launching a campaign, working in social media for an organization, etc etc without tracking your data is equivalent to flying an airplane without any guidance system. You've got no idea where you're going -- you may even be upside down.
In short, if you're working within the industry -- for a specific purpose -- you're going to want to validate that what you're doing is actually achieving the intended results.
Second, I think it would be best to discuss some terminology you're going to want to know if you intend on surviving in this world.
Since a bulk of our focus has been around Google Analytics, let's have a quick refresher on some of the things we've learned.
Definitions:
KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively an organization is achieving business objectives.Channel Grouping: Allows you to compare aggregated metrics by channel name.
Content Grouping: Allows you to compare aggregated metrics by content group name.
Conversion: A completed activity, online or offline, that is important to the success of your business.
Dimension: A descriptive attribute or characteristic of data.
Measurement Protocol: A standard set of rules for collecting and sending hits from a device to analytics.
Segment: A subset of sessions or users that share common attributes. Segments allow you to isolate and analyze groups for better analysis.
Source: The origin of traffic, such as a search engine.
Medium: The general category of the search, such as organic search.
ROI: Return on Investment.
Let me end with one final thing. So, I learn best a lot of different ways. Sometimes being able to read is easiest, sometimes hearing someone speak works, usually just jumping into the deep end is the best. So, for this weeks blog, I've attached a video that I think will help sum up the purpose of this entry and work as a segway into next week.
Here we have the Executive Chairman of Google and the CEO of Civis Analytics. I hope you enjoy!
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