Data will tell you many things...
Including…
- Which social posts lead to results
- What activities are genuinely building engagement
- Which communications are reaching the target audience
- Which platforms to focus on for gaining engagement and conversion
- Which areas of your digital marketing strategy are working well and which need improvement or action.
- Why you should or shouldn’t make that marketing decision - it might feel right but data will tell you whether it is the right decision or not.
- Which audiences are delivering you results.
Ultimately data is integral for helping you make a more informed decision and adds weight to your marketing ideas and overall strategy to help you better connect with audiences.
In a fast-paced marketplace such as gaming, the needs and desires of the audience are changing all the time and we need to be constantly assessing the audience.
The gaming community is a discerning market. Your data learnings will help you stand out amid a noisy marketplace giving you the clarity and conviction to make the right decision for your game launch.Will Wheeler, Commercial Director
Best practice for a data-led approach
At Grandad, we see many examples of companies throwing a load of resources at data. To make data deliver effectively, it needs to be approached methodically. A clearer distillation of data will come from a step by step approach.
Tools to Keep you on Track
Google analytics and Google Tag Manager are helpful free tools giving you a core foundation to analysing your data. These tools work together and are all you need to get initially started. Used in the right way (without too much complexity) they will deliver key metrics and give you the learnings that you require.
- Analytics will track all your key metrics such as demographics, user behaviours, event goals amongst others.
- Tag manager will track your key UI interactions and send the data through to analytics such as newsletter sign ups and game downloads.
However, the main tool that will be invaluable to you is the Urchin Tracking Module (UTM). This integral tool will show you which of your outward bound marketing is delivering ROI. It allows you to attribute the activity to all of your success factors giving you a clear correlation between activity and result.
Key Principles
- Make it simple - what do you want to know the data for?
- Measurable - What tracking do i need to get the data?
- Relevant - How is this relevant to your overall goal?
- Achievable - Do you have the resources and team in place to deliver it?
Getting what you want from data is a step by step process which starts with defining the objective - this is fundamental in helping you understand the tools you need to extract and track the data.
Step 2 is where you implement the right tools and set your measurables based on what you want to achieve.
Steps 3 and 4: Keeping your approach relevant and achievable is key to gaining worthwhile results. Don’t overcomplicate what you need to know or waste time on tracking things that don’t matter, and make sure you’re not being overly ambitious without the right resources in place.
Be Human
Data will tell you a lot, but it’s important to use the learnings in the right context. Forming a hypothesis on the results will give you a deeper dive into what the data reports, helping you build ideas whilst refining the data you are gathering.
Forming as many hypotheses as possible will help build structure around ideas and will often uncover further opportunities - use your internal teams and get everyone involved in this process.
Recycle and Refine
Ultimately, the more data analysis you do, the more you learn and once you have developed an approach that is working for you and your team, keep refining it. You can apply this knowledge to future campaigns which saves on resources. This is particularly effective for studios who release multiple games in the same genre.
...and remember
- Data has its limitations and is never 100% certain which is why developing hypothesis as part of the process is so important. You can make fundamental errors by simply trusting data on its own and not questioning the findings enough. Ensure there is always a human element when you review the data.
- Be aware. The rise of privacy and GDPR regulations means that the opportunities for data capture are now much harder and there are less opportunities to capture data.
- Don't overcomplicate with too many tools - get started by using the simpler tools well.
- Start small and build confidence within your teams. Peer reviews are helpful in getting everyone involved in the context of what is going on. Data insight should transcend across departments and teams.
Power your Game Launch
For further help and inspiration on how to make data work for you, get in touch at will@grandadlondon.com