How IoT Data Can Improve Digital Marketing Outcomes

Data science is one of the top trends in digital marketing that all marketers and advertisers will need to understand. Why? Because when marketing plans are created based on data, they produce results as measurements of data. For instance, Chief Economist at Google and UC Berkeley Professor of Information Sciences (Business and Economics), Hal Varian, notes that data science is:

"[T]he ability to take data- be able to understand it, process it, extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it." — Hal Varian, Google & UC Berkely

He goes on to say that skill “is going to be hugely important in the next decades.” The future of digital marketing is on the horizon. This post will help you better prepare for the future of digital marketing by providing you with a deeper understanding of how consumer data from IoT applications can affect your digital marketing strategy.

IoT Applications in Marketing 

IoT includes everything from handheld devices and home appliances to heart monitors, vehicles, supply chain optimization systems, and much more. Essentially, any physical item that can connect to the internet and send, share, and receive data can be described as a component of an "IoT" system.

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IoT applications have served as solutions to business problems for quite some time now. With IoT applications, business owners and end-users alike are able to access information and produce content instantaneously. For digital marketers, IoT applications have endless possibilities, especially when it comes to accessing and analyzing consumer data.

With the help of advanced algorithms and system processing (both made possible thanks to AI in digital marketing), marketers can uncover insights about their target audiences’ buying habits and spending behavior like never before. Some benefits to utilizing IoT in business include:

• Connectivity: This should come as no surprise considering we’re talking about the internet here, but connectivity with IoT applications—in particular, targeted marketing IoT applications—is a huge plus for marketing teams because you’re able to cross collaborate and communicate with your colleagues and, for a lot of platforms, this can happen instantaneously.
• Real-time reports and monitoring: With IoT, you can expect to see reports from your devices around the clock while systems monitor and track KPIs.
• Assessment and analysis: With marketing IoT applications, you will also be able to draw insights from your data. In fact, the ability for IoT applications to skip over raw data sets to produce clean, clear graphs and charts is one of the biggest business benefits you can gain.
• Alerts: Marketers spend a lot of time on their campaigns. One of the added benefits of IoT applications is receiving alerts on the status of said campaigns and adjust action items accordingly.
• Integration: Because IoT is fundamentally about connecting things to the internet, there are numerous opportunities to connect other applications to an IoT system to benefit any digital marketing agenda.

When it comes to gathering information about consumers, leveraging the benefits of marketing IoT applications can help launch a brand into the future because the data one gains will help inform a marketing strategy. Teams will be able to gain a better understanding in real-time of what their audience’s preferences and habits are. This is the future of digital marketing.

[bctt tweet="#IoT devices will help marketers deliver more specific and personalized content to users in heterogeneous contexts. Make use of #marketing IoT applications. || #IoTForAll #Data #BigData #DigitalMarketing @Aumcore" username="iotforall"]

Additionally, with the gathered information, you can adjust your digital marketing campaigns accordingly to yield the best possible results for your brand. If certain content performs well over other content types, you can focus on and continue to produce that type of media for your consumers. If a majority of your website traffic came from your Facebook page, your team can consider catering to that specific audience. Marketing IoT applications help by producing the information necessary to make the best possible decisions for a brand.

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Business Intelligence versus Business Analytics

The digital age has not only revolutionized how businesses operate. It has forever changed what the future of digital marketing in 2020 will look like. With business intelligence (BI) and business analytics (BA), marketers are empowered by IoT tech to help run their business.

Pat Roche, Vice President of Engineering at Noetix Products, said the key difference between business intelligence and business analytics is that:

Business intelligence is needed to run the business while business analytics is needed to change it. BI is focused on creating operational efficiency through access to real-time data enabling individuals to most effectively perform their job functions. BI also includes analyses of historical data from multiple sources enabling informed decision making as well as problem identification and resolution.  — Pat Roche, Noetix Products

The separation of BI and BA is one of many future trends in digital marketing that marketers and advertisers will need to learn because the terminology itself helps to better describe intention. Pat Roche goes on to say BI is akin to understanding your history while BA is making changes for the future—both of which are important for a brand’s success.

What Marketers are Saying

Marketers are all saying the same thing. Marketing in the year 2020—even as early as next year—will increasingly include IoT applications because of how the technology empowers marketing professionals with deep insight into customer behavior. Marketers can learn about audiences at scale or focus on select groups with this tech—in real—or near real-time.

Jerelle Gainey, Chief Technology Officer at BKV, says that IoT will help revolutionize contextual marketing, which has been a big speaking point for brands this year. He says:

IoT devices generate unprecedented amounts of data, so every customer interaction allows marketers to capture consumer intent, behavior, needs, and desires. say makes it possible to serve contextually relevant marketing messages at the most optimal place and time. — Jerelle Gainey, BKV

When marketers are able to deliver the proper content at the right time and in the right context, that’s when the magic happens. And by magic we mean conversions! IoT applications will also be able to support eCommerce efforts as well as brick and mortar businesses looking to generate more sales.

Caroline Forsey of Hubspot notes that beacons that send alerts based on geographic location can help pique consumer interest with personalized news, coupons, and discounts. Macy’s, for example, has been using beacons for two years to help supplement consumer sales online and in-store. 70% of consumers say that beacon-triggered promotions increased their likelihood of a purchase. Caroline goes on to say that:

Ultimately, IoT can help your traditional brick-and-mortar shop compete with today’s online-first shopping world, by exponentially improving customer experience and decreasing unnecessary expenses. — Caroline Forsey, Hubspot.

All in all, IoT applications are giving marketers the tools they need to better understand their audiences and deliver more personalized content in a more efficient manner.

Tip Wrap-Up

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of how consumer data from IoT applications can affect your digital marketing strategy in a positive way. These tips and trends are meant to reveal the future of digital marketing.

Here’s a quick summary of the important takeaways from this post:

• IoT comprises a vast network of internet-connected devices.
• IoT applications help give marketing teams the information you need to make hard business decisions.
• BI is about understanding and making sense of your past strategies; BA informs the direction of your future brand strategy.
• IoT devices will help marketers deliver more specific and personalized content within discrete contexts.
• You should supplement your sales team with a marketing strategy that’s backed by IoT devices.

Written by Therese Palmere, Creative Content Writer at Digital Marketing Agency, Aumcore.