Sifting Through the Mass of Big Data

Big Data is all around us, although most people rarely think of the topic. SundayReview.com defines Big Data as “A meme and a marketing term, for sure, but also shorthand for advancing trends in technology that open the door to a new approach to understanding the world and making decisions.” 

Big Data relies on sites such as Google and Facebook to harness the data from the sites that members contribute. This could be as simple as the person’s likes and comments to their posting locations and political beliefs. Information collected can be used later on to help direct the user to curated content based on their information; however, they may not have signed up to receive the customized links.

Big Data pulls customers in to websites, products, and companies that might not have been previously discovered. While most people rely on their instincts, Google has discovered proven data is needed to make informed decisions. Based on matching a customer with the correct personalized content, companies can boost their sales and customers with these insights. With this information, sales companies can see what people are interested in, and public relations firms can see people’s impressions of a company.

According to Forbes, “Big Data works on the principle that the more you know about anything or any situation, the more reliably you can gain new insights and make predictions about what will happen in the future.” With all of this information, the possibilities of Big Data’s use are endless.

Forbes says that Big Data can contribute to the following:

·     Cure Disease and Prevent Cancer

·     Feed the Hungry

·     Explore Distant Planets

·     Predict and Respond to Natural and Man-Made Disasters

·     Prevent Crime

·     Make our Everyday Lives Easier and More Convenient

If Big Data can contribute to all of these areas, then why don’t we use it more often?

As Big Data continues to grow every second, the problem of translating the information arises. There’s so much information it is overwhelming. People hoping to harvest the Big Data can spend hours just sifting through to find relevant information for their company. So although it is helpful to have this data, it is hard to find the data you can use.

This also leads to a number of concerns regarding data privacy, security and discrimination. The thought of someone constantly looking at the footprints we leave behind on websites seems a little sketchy. Many users wish to keep everything they do private, but websites are constantly taking data from your searches, results, and actions. The overall picture is what most researchers are concerned about. There could be some security issues, but if used correctly, Big Data can contribute to the greater good far more than hurting Internet users.

You may be wondering how Big Data began. With such a broad term that has become a “buzzword,” Big Data has been around for quite a while before we quite knew what it was. Watch the following video from Ted-Ed to see the beginning of what we know as Big Data:

With all this information, you may be wondering how a company could use this information to their benefit to increase sales. For example, say that you are the online manager for Lulu’s Shoes and Accessories in Oxford, Mississippi. As the manager, you would be able to concentrate the ads to a specific area and for a certain demographic. With the information obtained from Big Data, Lulu’s can develop their ads to optimize the perfect combination to make a sale.

To illustrate how to determine if you’re using the optimal data, imagine Lulu’s is creating an ad for Facebook using Facebook's Power Editor. To create the ad, you must go to Facebook.com and click on the drop down menu in the top right hand corner. Then click on “Create Ads.”

Next, you must determine your marketing objective. For Lulu’s, an appropriate marketing objective would be to create traffic.

After selecting traffic, you must name your ad campaign to begin to create the ad.

After creating the name, scroll further down the page and select the location for the ad’s target. For Lulu’s Shoes and Accessories located on the Square in Oxford, the Oxford and surrounding area would be an ideal market.

As with Google Analytics, you must add key words to pull in your audience. I selected a variety of keywords such as “Shoes,” “Women’s Shoes,” and “Accessories.”

Finally, you can review if you selected the correct information to create an optimal ad. Review the estimated reach to make sure that your ad will be successful.

As you can see, this ad is defined but would be able to reach more people with a more curated ad selection.

With this information, business owners can review the data to bring in new customers. Without the use of Big Data, Facebook would not be able to provide this feedback option. Ad creators and managers must monitor their ad’s feedback regularly to make sure that the ad is still receiving the correct results.

With Big Data becoming such a growing industry, knowledge of the topic and how Big Data can increase sales and knowledge of products is key to stay relevant in the industry. Keep updated with the information by staying up-to-date with the Big Data contributions regularly.