Why Today’s Marketer Needs To Be Both Artist and Scientist (Infographic)

What was life like before Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest? Well for the marketer looking back it feels like the dark ages. And for some odd reason every time I fly and read the inflight magazine, I’m reminded of that past.

Advertorials, magazine cover ads and the reply card – are a reminder to us all of how reaching a large audience required a large marketing budget. Even today, KLM inflight magazine charges €17,815 for a single page ad to reach 2.1 million passengers a month. When we look back at print advertising, you couldn’t measure how effective your campaign was and the only way to grab people’s attention was through pure creative genius.

Enter Technology and Data-Driven Marketing

What I’m saying here is that technology’s tendency to break out of its silos has given everyone the opportunity to become a publisher. It has enabled marketers to set up and build their own platforms from which they can reach an audience that can potential dwarf KLM’s 2.1 million passengers.

Today we’re spoilt for choice! Or should I say data. It’s no longer hit or miss and now you can make educated marketing decisions – especially with the amount of data available.

For instance if you were selling running shoes online, you’d start with Google’s Keyword Tool to help you identify keywords people are using in order to rank highly in search engines. You’d also set up Google Analytics to measure how your website is performing.

The point is that while print advertisement was deprived of actionable metrics, its emphasis was on the creative side of marketing. Now with the wealth of data available, marketers need to combine the two and find that sweet spot to compete in a rapidly changing marketing environment.

This infographic highlights the need for marketers to be both artist and scientist in today’s marketing world. Have a look and please share your thoughts in the comments below.

This infographic by Matt Wesson – a Marketing Content Specialist at Pardot – originally appeared at http://blogs.salesforce.com

Image by Happy Batatinha