Today, with the internet and its far-fetched reach to people all over the world, information is in the air. In fact, the overflow of information has made it difficult for people to make sense of so much that is happening every second on the internet. The good news for marketers is that a lot of data is being generated every second as well. In this free flow of information system, leveraging this data to drive your business’ bottom line is a huge opportunity.

Here are 3 ways of using big data to help your business grow:

1) Identifying audience 

A boutique might start by tapping on a small (local) market. For example, a Dhanmondi-based shop is more likely to promote its brand to people who live in or around Dhanmondi. However, if they focus on a specific line of clothing, say, a range of new dresses for teenage girls, they could start marketing their products to girls all over Dhaka via social media. They can significantly expand their customer base. Perhaps, the store could even introduce additional facilities such as home delivery service which in turn can increase their revenue – This is the power of the internet and social media marketing!

See also: 3 ways startups can use social media to stay ahead.

There are internet tools that help you identify gender and age ratios, along with tonnes of other breakdowns for a chunk of the population. It can help you set targets and enable you to promote your business to the relevant group of people.

2) Prioritize social media platforms

For startups, you should be aware that you are working with limited resources and in a lean model. Spreading yourself too thin over all the social media sites might end up getting you a small number of followers on all sites. This may create an unfavorable impression for your company. Go where your customers are: Twitter and Facebook are good places to start!

Once you’ve identified your audience, you need to locate them. Research and find out influential blogging sites or forums (relevant to your business) from which credible content are disbursed into the social networking sites. For example, boutiques could create or extract content from popular fashion blogs or sites. Most contents that go viral are usually created on some other site and merely passed around through social media platforms. Get active in the creative community and build a stronger presence for your brand – this can be an essential practice especially at the early stages of a startup. Apart from this, master skills in creating effective visual content. 

3) Spot the influencers

Through online interactions, your brand should treat your biggest fans well, as well as try to acquire fans who have a large following themselves. Here, your strategy should be to mark the trending issues, spot the influencers on those topics, and the nature of content people in the discussion are engaging in. Once you have figured that out, you can very swiftly get involved in the conversation. However, only get involved with relevant subjects. For example, if on Twitter, you get Ananta Jalil to retweet your tech post, you might find yourself unheard, or in the wrong conversation, given that an insignificant portion of tech-savvy people will be following the celebrity.

A business does not grow alongside its social media activities, but the two elements are synchronized. The success of your enterprise depends on a feedback loop, to some extent. The discoveries from your research on the target audience, social network priorities, and influencers can benefit other marketing and positioning aspects of your business.

Understanding, defining, and effectively promoting your business is like a social endeavor at this point. A comprehensive social media and content strategy can help ensure product launches and campaigns are noticed and spread with excitement.

See also, 9 digital value drivers for businesses.