One of my classes this semester at George Brown College is a Digital Media Marketing Seminar Series. We get to listen to all kinds of marketing professionals share their expertise in their field and their experience in getting to where they are in their careers.
A few weeks ago, we heard from the Director of Operations and Analytics Strategy at Core Online Marketing, Mike Senra. Core Online Marketing is a company that specializes in helping small and mid-sized businesses develop and execute online marketing strategies that drive tangible business results. 
As Operations and Analytics Strategy Director, Mike uses analytics to reveal insights and provide recommendations to optimize his clients’ marketing strategies and return on investment. Mike led us through the foundations of digital analytics and the analytics process. He also offered insights on what it’s like to work in analytics and what kind of career paths are available.
WHAT IS DIGITAL ANALYTICS?
Digital Analytics is used to optimize the performance in every phase of the buying process and eliminate friction. It is the practice of leveraging data to understand performance of digital marketing tactics, with the goals of continually enhancing the customer user experience and maximizing engagement.
THE 4 ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL ANALYTICS
Digital Analytics can be sorted into four categories, each using data to answer different questions:
1. Descriptive: What happened? 
2. Diagnostic: Why did it happen? 
3. Predictive: What is likely to happen?
4. Prescriptive: What should we do with this information?
THE ANALYTICS PROCESS: 5 STEPS
Data analysis is a systematic process consisting of the following steps:
1. MEASUREMENT
Establish what we are trying to achieve. 
Identify KPIs to determine what metrics to track and set targets.
2. COLLECT
Once you’ve established your objective, you need to collect as much information as you can. Track user behaviour, and your advertising, social, email, SEO, and CRM strategies using tools like Google Analytics, MailChimp, SemRush, and HubSpot.
Use tools like Excel to compile and visualize your collected data. 
3. ANALYZE/INTERPRET
At this stage we are analyzing and interpreting the collected data to understand where we are in relation to our set objectives, how we are performing in comparison to our competitors, what constitutes success, and so on. 
Focus on the relevant data points based on KPI metrics. 
Look at the data and what it’s trying to tell you.
4. REPORTING
Once you’ve reviewed the data, you can report on the main takeaways. 
Present the data-driven insights to your team for collaboration. After reviewing the data, present the data-driven insights to your team for collaboration.
5. OPTIMIZE
What should we do with this information? What’s working? What isn’t working? How can we improve?
WORK IN ANALYTICS
A career in analytics has a lot to offer. Mike expressed that his work has been both intrinsically and extrinsically rewarding. Work in analytics offers role versatility, as well as opportunities for continuous learning and growth. It allows you to develop data-driven insights and create optimizations that have a direct impact on business strategies. There is always something to track, to analyze, and to optimize. 
With the rise and constant change in the digital landscape, there is increasing demand for digital analytics work. From SEO Specialist to Social Media Management, there are several career opportunities in analytics.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I had never considered a career in analytics. There is something about it that was intimidating to me. I always struggled with things like math and I assumed work in analytics was much more complex than it is. After listening to Mike’s presentation and taking two analytics courses in my marketing program, I understand how satisfying digital analytics work can be. I am drawn to how it can inform strategy with tangible evidence—using historical data to make informed decisions moving forward. I like the structure that analytics offers, as other work in marketing can lean more toward educated guesses based on market research. Overall, like many of the other presentations I have had the chance to listen to this semester, Mike’s presentation opened my mind to new considerations as I continue my search for work in marketing this Spring.
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