Big data as the name suggests, refers to extremely large and diverse sets of information. The concept of big data is honestly quite simple; however, confusion can be had in relation to the overall usefulness of big data. Due to the large nature of this kind of data set, it can be difficult at times to filter out the garbage (useless information). I'm going to take you through some of the ways that you can find value in big data.
Big data can be split into three defining properties, these being the volume, velocity and variety. Big data can primarily be sourced from structured and unstructured data sets. Structured data is organised and generally simple and easy to analyse. Unstructured data is almost the exact opposite, with it being unorganised and available in multiple formats such as audio, video and text formats. It has been estimated that a whopping 95% of all big data is in the form of unstructured data.
The information that was just dumped on you may sound pointless, but it is important for you to understand where big data actually comes from before you learn how big data can be made useful to businesses and marketers around the world.
Having access to all this data seems like it’s an instant win for any marketer, but it really isn’t, data is useless if you don’t know what to do with it. The unstructured data being so unorganised means that there is a lot of throw away data that is genuinely useless to you. So, the next question you're asking is - "How do I find value in big data?" - and that can be a challenge for even the most experienced marketers out there.
To make sense of unstructured data you can either do it yourself or offload the work and follow a service-based approach. Doing it yourself can be tedious, less efficient, and expensive; with text analytics software costing in thousands of dollars and the work consisting of you categorising a lot (if not all) of your data. Following a service-based approach, on the other hand, is simply the delegation of the same roles to professionals.
For a more in depth explanation of this, I would recommend Brion Scheidel's article.
Only applies to unstructured data since structured data is organised.And the final question is - "How is this useful" - and the answer is simple. Big data is useful to businesses is so many ways. I'll list a few reasons for you.
It allows business to MICROMARKET and find small segments they can target. Thus, allowing them to increase the relevance of their products to certain customers.
UNUSUAL ASSOCIATIONS can be found. This can allow features such as Amazons Frequently Bought Together to exist. This potentially leading to increased sales of related items (I'd describe this as digital upselling).
Big data can be useful to businesses in so many ways. It provides them with an opportunity to observe the behavioural trends of their customers. This in some circumstances is a priceless asset as it can lead to increased levels of sales and most importantly customer retention.
Thanks For Reading
Thanks for your time. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
Blog #6 of 7
I can't reply to comments individually. So, thank you to everyone who commented.
In response to some question;
A lot of the time the data that you filter out is useless to you. It may not be useless to everyone, but you you as a marketer, it is generally going to be useless. There are exceptions where you can find value in the filtered-out data. but more often than not it won’t be useful to you.
Good article! Scheidel's article is interesting as well.
is all the filtered out big data useless or can you find value in that too?
Great blog! had no idea about structured or unstructured data
nice to learn more about big data and it’s usefulness !