The DatoRoundup — August 5, 2016

In this week’s edition of our DatoRoundup blog, which features the best stories dealing with the AdTech, MarTech, and data space, we have the following: A great piece from eMarketer on what marketers will get out of blending AdTech and MarTech; Nicki Howell writing a story on why data-driven storytelling is the next big thing; Scott Vaughan for Business2Community telling us to think evolution not revolution — and in a similar vein, Al Urbanski for DMNews telling us that “really good” is good enough — when it comes to MarTech solutions; Finally, we have an article from Emma Dunstone of Showpad on how you are doing content marketing analytics all wrong. Enjoy!

What Do Marketers Get Out of Blending Marketing and AdTech?

eMarketer

Great. Just when you thought we were all done playing buzzword bingo, we’ve just been thrown another one. “Madtech,” otherwise known as the blending together of MarTech and AdTech. According to research recently conducted by The Relevancy Group, who surveyed over 400 marketing and advertising executives about their approaches to “Madtech,” people-based marketing is the leading priority for marketers.

Why Data-Driven Storytelling is the Next Big Thing in Content Marketing

Act-on

By Nicki Howell

This is a timely piece by Nicki Howell on how data-driven storytelling is the next big thing for content marketing. Why? Because even though B2B marketers know there is no shortage of data, sorting through that information and using it in new and innovative ways to connect with your target audience is a different story. In fact, most companies estimate that they’re analyzing only 12 percent of the data they have available. The result? Howell says, “Eighty-eight percent of it is left on the cutting-room floor, and some of this data is valuable.” Read on to find out her tips for conquering data-driven marketing.

MarTech Health Checkup: Think Evolution, Not Revolution

Business2Community

By Scott Vaughan

Are you suffering from “Shiny Object Syndrome?” This is what Vaughan calls the increasingly common ailment in the tech-dependent marketing world where we get distracted by the influx of new technologies hitting the market. With a total of $10 billion in MarTech funding since last year alone, it’s an easy trap to fall into. So, what is Vaughan’s practical advice for not succumbing to this trend? Read his story to find out.

On MarTech: Forget the Quest for the Best and Buy the Really Good

DMNews

By Al Urbanski

In similar vein to the Business2Community piece above, Urbanski talks about what makes the ideal solution for your marketing department’s investment. Touting recent feedback from Direct Marketing News’ 2016 Marketing and Tech Innovation Summit, he says that flexibility, functionality, mobilization, popularity and integration are the MarTech measurement benchmarks. A VP of Marketing Technology was quoted as saying, “The word ‘ideal’ has little or no meaning in the context of MarTech. It used to mean ‘perfection,’ but things are moving too fast for that to be achieved,” he said. “Don’t seek the best of the best; find the really good.”

Content Marketing Analytics: You’re Doing it Wrong

Showpad

By Emma Dunstone

This is a great read that details the need for deeper and better marketing data analysis. In this article, Dunstone says that with the advent of MarTech, and greater emphasis on content marketing, it is still remarkable that content marketing analytics haven’t improved much. We still depend primarily on page views, downloads, bounce rates and social shares to judge content performance. Beyond time on page, it’s hard to measure whether people truly like the content marketers spend time and money to create. She says it’s time to talk about how we can deepen our understanding around the success and failure of content.

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