by Caroline Leach | Apr 11, 2016 | Learning, Marketing & Analytics
Since small steps add up to big change, what are some blogs that accelerate learning about marketing analytics and big data?
A great place to start is with this post: Want to Learn Marketing Analytics? Start With These 9 Great Resources.
From that and other searches, these are 3 to check out regularly.
- The KISSmetrics Blog. Here there’s daily content about marketing analytics, marketing and testing.
- Alexandra Samuel’s blog. Here this “technology researcher, writer and strategist” covers how the social web is changing every aspect of our lives.
Is this last one strictly about marketing analytics and big data? No, it’s bigger than that. It’s about life.
And isn’t the point of analytics and big data to enable better decisions and therefore better lives?
My post 6 Brilliant Blogs for Marketers covers more general marketing blogs, including FiveThirtyEight on “using statistical analysis to tell compelling stories.”
by Caroline Leach | Apr 5, 2016 | Learning, Marketing & Analytics
When I started my learning project, the plan was to alternate posts between learning how to learn and learning more about data science.
A data review would show I’ve focused too much on the former and not enough on the latter. The data-driven conclusion? It’s time to shift the balance.
As I’ve worked in a new role the last 6 months focusing on marketing analytics, I’ve drawn heavily on my academic background. There’s economics with its emphasis on statistics and communications management with its reliance on research.
My professional experience is key, too. Leading an employee engagement survey strategy for several years and conducting corporate communications surveys has helped tremendously.
It’s fascinating how many parallels exist between seemingly disparate areas. And problem solving and team leadership are often similar from function to function.
One of the skills I’ve needed to sharpen is thinking critically about data measurements. I’m learning to ask better questions. And I’m learning to anticipate questions from colleagues on how data was collected and analyzed.
Harvard Business Review is a valuable resource in generating good questions – from branding to market insights and from big data to the customer experience.
A March 2016 article by Thomas C. Redman – 4 Steps to Thinking Critically About Data Measurements – gives great tips on asking good questions about data. Here’s a short summary:
- How does the actual measurement line up with what you want to know? Ask yourself if the measures are good surrogates for what you really want to know. Redman advises to “distinguish ‘pretty close’ from ‘a good-enough indicator’ to ‘not what I had in mind.'” If you’re settling for something less than perfect, you should be aware of it.
- What do you want to know? Clarify what you want to know. This is similar to asking, “what problem are we trying to solve?” It’s also important to make sure all stakeholders are aligned on the exact nature and outcomes of the measurement process.
- What are weaknesses in the measurement process? Here Redman advises a thorough understanding of the entire data collection process. He suggests listening to customer calls if you’re measuring customer complaints or going to a factory if you’re measuring factory productivity. This helps to “develop a feel for the weak links.”
- Have you subjected results to the “smell test”? If results don’t seem right to you, based on other knowledge you have, dig into them. If results come in much better or worse than expected, consider the possibility of bad measurement and investigate further.
Thank you, Thomas Redman, for a few simple litmus tests to think more critically about data.
by Caroline Leach | Apr 1, 2016 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Learning, Marketing & Analytics
Who doesn’t love binge watching a favorite show?
Whether it’s Game of Thrones or Billions, watching multiple episodes in a single sitting makes the experience more intense, rewarding and fun.
That’s a fun part of working for at the company that provides DIRECTV. Whether it’s the DIRECTV app or a programmer app with the subscription, it’s easy to stream great content on a mobile device.
It got me thinking about how binge watching might apply to online learning. Could it make learning more effective? More efficient? How about more fun?
And why was I pondering this question?
A Fortune 10 CEO was recently quoted in the New York Times on reskilling people for the future. “There is a need to retool yourself,” he said, “and you should not expect to stop. People who do not spend 5 to 10 hours a week in online learning will obsolete themselves with the technology.”
(Full disclosure: I work for this great company. Opinions in this blog are my own.)
While it’s true that small steps add up to big changes, it’s possible to accelerate learning by binge viewing great online courses.
As an example, for professional certifications that require ongoing education, binge viewing online courses is highly effective.
Why?
- It eliminates the inefficiencies of starting and stopping courses.
- It amplifies learning by increasing the ability to see patterns and make connections between seemingly disparate concepts and information.
- And a significant amount of learning can be completed in a relatively short time, fueling more motivation to seek out further coursework.
As I rectify my accreditations in public relations and human resources every 3 years, this strategy has made ongoing learning more efficient and more fun.
And it’s worked well for a series of marketing essentials courses I co-created with colleagues in my new career role. And for several weeks my action-item list has included “complete this series of online courses.” But somehow it didn’t happen. Until today. And here’s why.
Schedule time. The 5 online courses I need to complete are 90 minutes each, totaling 7.5 hours. Have you ever found a full day without meetings that you could commit to online learning?
Earlier this week I looked at my schedule and saw I had a few open late afternoon hours on a Friday. So I booked it for 2 online courses. Which then became 3, as I was pulled into the reward of completing course after course.
It was much easier to click into that next course as long as I was already online, in a comfortable place, and with a few hours of time I’d blocked out.
Make yourself comfortable. Maybe there’s a comfortable chair in your workspace. Or a standing desk. Or even a treadmill desk. What would make the environment even better? Your favorite coffee beverage? A healthy snack?
Focus on the course. Find a quiet place. Close your door if you have one. Turn off email and text notifications and other sounds on mobile devices.
Enjoy the experience of focusing intently on only one thing. Research shows that humans can’t multitask anyway, as much as we delude ourselves into thinking that we can.
Write notes on key points. Listen for 3 key takeaways. There’s magic in the number 3. It focuses your thought processes and forces you to prioritize what you heard and saw.
Taking notes on those key points helps to solidify the learning, especially if you hand write them. And you have something you can quickly refer to when you want to refresh your learning.
Take one immediate action. Of those 3 key points, what’s one thing you can put into action right away?
As part of my PR recertification, I listened to an IABC webinar on the art of social media by Guy Kawasaki. That’s how I discovered Canva. It makes anyone, including me, into a graphic designer. Many of the images in this blog are from Canva.
Given the need for all of us to prepare for our next career, why not binge watch your way to a new skill?
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