Analytics plays a crucial role in guiding decisions and shaping successful marketing strategies. With over 80% of marketing professionals relying on data to inform their choices, it’s clear that a strong grasp of analytics is essential for success in the field.
We’ve asked marketing experts to offer their best piece of analytics advice to students entering the field. From exploring webinars to developing interpersonal skills, here are 10 strategies to enhance your digital marketing analytics skills.
1. Engage with Data Hands-On
Be in the know. Staying ahead in marketing requires more than just knowing the latest trends — it’s about actively engaging with real data and experimenting with different tools and platforms.
To excel in digital marketing analytics, professionals must be proactive in staying informed, but more importantly, they should apply that knowledge through hands-on practice. This field is constantly evolving, so continuous learning and practical application are essential to staying competitive.
Bianca Batobato, Digital Marketing Associate, Fortify SEO
2. Gain Experience through Internships
The best way to break into the industry is through experience. If you have to take on clients for free, then so be it — as long as you’re applying what you’re learning.
Internships are hugely important for marketing. I wouldn’t hire anyone without a relevant internship of some sort. It could be at a mom-and-pop moving company; I don’t really care where. If you’re coming out of college and all your work experience is in food service or retail, I’m not going to hire you.
Jugnu Nagar, SEO Specialist, Great Guest Posts
Click here to learn about Stukent’s® Simternships™, simulated internships that provide students with a practical learning experience.
3. Attend Educational Webinars
Actively seek out educational webinars. You can register for free marketing webinars to gain insights into digital marketing analytics. Webinars can enhance your understanding of data visualization, customer journey analysis, and other concepts.
Industry experts Kyle Robbins, Carly Boddy, and Safa Fefferman conducted a webinar last month. It was titled “Power Up Your Marketing Programs with Google Analytics 4 and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.” They explained event-based tracking and predictive metrics in depth. These are the two solid foundations for any data-driven marketing strategy. The session discussed the necessity of using an integrated approach for user interactions.
They also addressed the role of machine learning in marketing analytics. Such webinars allow people to gain exposure to best practices and how to use marketing analytics tools like GA4 effectively. These free resources can help students acquire invaluable information to enhance their skill set for free.
Valerie Lavskaya, CMO, Promodo
4. Master Google Analytics 4
If you want to improve your skills in digital marketing analytics, the one tool you must be comfortable with is Google Analytics 4. It is at the top of the charts when it comes to the best web analytics tools, with an estimated 38 million websites using the free software.
The good news is that if you want to learn the platform, free training is available. Just search for “Google Analytics 4 Skillshop” to access it. And if you need access to a test analytics environment, there is even a sandbox area. Just search for “Google Analytics demo account,” and you will be able to access the platform to get down and dirty with it. Although I do recommend creating a free blog on WordPress and installing your own version yourself, as you will have more access permissions.
Remember that Google Analytics 4 is a relatively new product, and there is a steep learning curve, as it is very different from what has gone before. Therefore, if you can master it, you will place yourself ahead of not only your peers but also industry professionals. All you need to dedicate is some time!
Ben Foster, CEO, The SEO Works
5. Tell Stories with Data
Shift from viewing data in isolation to embracing the broader context. Instead of merely crunching numbers, it’s crucial to become adept at storytelling through data. This means understanding the underlying reasons behind the data points and translating them into actionable insights that drive marketing campaigns forward.
To excel in digital marketing analytics, it’s essential to merge marketing knowledge with analytical thinking. Rather than being solely focused on analyzing data, strive to think like a marketer who can interpret data trends and insights to inform strategic decisions.
Moreover, it’s vital to speak the language of business beyond the marketing realm. Turn complex data into simple stories that resonate with top-level executives. When they see how your analytics efforts impact the bottom line, they’ll be more likely to support your initiatives and help you grow your analytics game.
Alan Carr, Director, Webpop Design
6. Build a Data Analysis Foundation
If you’re a marketing student or professional looking to improve your skills in digital marketing analytics, I recommend developing a strong foundation in data analysis.
The first step to excelling in digital marketing analytics is having a strong understanding of basic data analysis principles. This includes familiarizing yourself with statistical concepts, such as correlation, regression, and hypothesis testing, as well as different types of data sets and how to work with them.
Investing time and effort into building a solid data analysis foundation will make it easier for you to learn more advanced techniques and effectively communicate your findings and insights to others.
Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency
7. Engage with Data Visualization Tools
Navigating the dynamic realm of digital marketing has been at the core of my journey with MBC Group, especially as we transitioned toward AI-driven marketing solutions. One vital piece of advice I’d emphasize to marketing students or professionals eager to enhance their analytics prowess is the importance of immersive engagement with data visualization tools.
My experience has shown that unlocking the intricate patterns in data through visualization not only simplifies analysis but also elevates your ability to communicate complex insights compellingly. For instance, leveraging Google Analytics to dissect user engagement led us to identify underperforming pages on our site, prompting targeted content improvements that significantly uplifted our overall engagement metrics.
Matthew Montez, Founder, The MBC Group
8. Set Specific Marketing Goals
Digital marketing analytics are essential for determining the impact of your campaigns and optimizing your strategies. One piece of advice is to begin by setting specific goals for your marketing campaigns. This will help you decide which metrics to track and analyze.
Additionally, familiarize yourself with various analytics tools and platforms, such as Google Analytics, to collect data and gain insights. Finally, remember to analyze and interpret data regularly to find patterns and areas for improvement.
Nicholas Gibson, Founder & SEO Strategist, NJ Gibson
9. Understand Data Sampling Concepts
Understanding the concept of data sampling is crucial for any marketer. Data sampling is like taking a small piece of a large cake to taste, instead of eating the whole thing to figure out if you like it. This small piece represents the larger whole. Google Analytics and other major platforms use data sampling because analyzing the full set of data from websites with huge amounts of traffic can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.
Data sampling impacts the accuracy of data because it assumes that the small piece of the cake (or data) is representative of the entire cake. However, this assumption can sometimes lead to incorrect conclusions. Imagine a scenario where your website launches a new product, and you’re analyzing traffic for that specific day. If the sampled data doesn’t include traffic spikes during key announcement hours, you might conclude that the launch had little impact on interest, which would be a wrong conclusion.
To prevent misinterpretation, it’s essential to know when your analytics platform is using sampled data and to request or access unsampled reports for critical analyses. Also, diving deeper into specific segments that reflect your most significant traffic can provide more accurate insights. Remember, insights are gold, so be careful with data sampling.
Sergey Galanin, Director of SEO, Phonexa
10. Develop Interpersonal Skills
Those looking to improve their skills in digital marketing analytics must also strive to work on their interpersonal skills. Digital marketing can truly be effective if it touches the minds and hearts of the target audience. In order to do that, the content must connect with potential customers by understanding their pain points and preferences.
Awesome digital marketers must be able to place themselves in the shoes of their various consumer personas to do their job efficiently. Marketing is more art than science, so it’s also important to wing it!
Kristel Kongas, CMO, Inboxy
The Digital Marketing Analytics Bundle pairs a cutting-edge analytics Simternship with an annually updated courseware. The Digital Marketing Analytics Simternship asks students to make critical digital marketing decisions and practice A/B testing, campaign prioritization, optimization, metric measurement, and budget allocation.
The “Digital Marketing Analytics” courseware gives your students hands-on experience with popular digital marketing analytics tools, including Google Analytics 4, Looker Studio, Semrush, and more. Students will optimize and connect results across search, social media, display, and video channels.
To learn about Stukent’s first-in-the-world Simternships and courseware and to get FREE instructor access to Stukent materials, visit our website.
