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Control Issues: Are You Giving Away Too Much When You’re Trying to Build Your Business?

Control Issues: Are You Giving Away Too Much When You’re Trying to Build Your Business?

When The Economist magazine used their cover to declare the world’s most valuable resource was no longer oil, and was in fact data, they were telling a very important truth – not only for Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and the other big brands featured in the story, but for every business, including yours.

[Tweet “Data can help business owners make better business decisions in every area of your business.”]

Data is not only a valuable asset, it’s a powerful one. When you can access and understand your data, you’re positioned to develop a deeper understanding of who your customers are and what they want. Additionally, you can use your data to identify opportunities you should be taking advantage of and mistakes that you should stop making.  Data can help business owners make better business decisions in every area of your business. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on the area we know best: marketing data.

Understanding Your Marketing Data

Every marketing platform can be – and generally is – configured to capture data about the people who engage with your messaging on that platform. This messaging can be organic – this includes the copy on your website and social media posts – as well as paid messaging, which includes Google Ads, Facebook ads, and more.

You may use this data as it is to understand your performance on that specific platform. You may use a dashboard or other data analysis tool to collect all of your data in one place and make meaningful apples-to-apples comparisons regarding effectiveness. Your data is yours to do with as you like – yet many times, business owners find themselves denied access to their own data by marketing agencies, social media management companies, and other third-party service providers who the business owner has engaged in an effort to build their business.

Why does this happen? We can’t answer this question definitively, because we don’t do this – but if we were to speculate, we’d say that third-party service providers often block client access to their own data because they don’t want their clients to see how effective their efforts have – or haven’t – been. Rather than face awkward, potentially uncomfortable questions, they do what they can to keep their clients from asking questions at all.

Taking Back Control: Gaining Access of Your Digital Marketing Data

Rest assured, there is nothing you can do to damage your website or social media marketing simply by accessing and looking at your data. If you’re not sure if you have access or not, ask your third-party provider how you can see your data for yourself. Ideally, this should be a simple matter of logging into the platform with your user name and password – remember that you always want to have this vital log-in information for all of your digital marketing platforms.

If you encounter resistance, remind your third-party provider that a good partner wants to share. Your data is your asset and you have every right to it. If the reluctance continues, ask yourself what you would do in any other business relationship where the third-party provider continues to limit or prevent you from accessing your own assets. If the bank you used didn’t let you check your account balance, would you bank there? We can’t tell you what to do on this front, but we urge you – strongly! – to think about the idea that a third-party service provider who won’t give you access to your own data clearly doesn’t have your best interests in mind.

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Creative Director/Senior Designer

Tom DiGrazia

With over a decade and a half of professional design experience, Tom brings his knowledge of design principles and focus on user experience to every aspect of his contribution to TTG. Paying special attention to each client’s brand, personalized needs and individual interests, he strives to create compelling concepts utilizing intuitive and highly-refined design solutions. In addition to traditional and digital design work and oversight at TTG, Tom also boasts a wide portfolio of web development projects with the company, allowing him to stretch his CSS and HTML skills across multiple platforms and disciplines. He feels that being a designer in the digital landscape of websites, eCommerce solutions, email marketing platforms and social media, it is important to understand the code that goes into these areas as it assists his ability to tailor designs specifically targeted to achieve the best end result and further builds understanding and communication with backend development teams.

In his off hours, Tom is an avid pop culture enthusiast, staying up to date on the latest shows, films, comics and games. He can also typically be found taking part in a whole host of artistic activities that help him further stretch his creative legs. Regardless of the activity, Tom is always accompanied by his dog, Eli, and his cat, Tib.

Specialties:
Design, Photography, Illustration, Digital Imagery Manipulation, Wesbite Development

Platforms/Tools:
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, HTML/CSS, Wordpress

Analyst/Strategist

Courtney Dumont

As Senior Marketing Strategist & Analyst at Technology Therapy Group, Courtney is energized by the ability to flex both her left and right brain daily. Courtney discovered her passion for Marketing at Bryant University, where she spearheaded research on students’ perceptions of Social Media Marketing for her Honors Capstone Project. After graduating Bryant in 2012, she joined the Technology Therapy team, where she’s honed her skills in social media, search and social advertising, email marketing, SEO, and more.

Since joining the team, Courtney has created digital marketing strategies and managed campaigns for clients across the country, ranging from plastic surgery centers, to jewelry stores, to construction companies. With a cohesive, cross-channel approach and a focus on data-driven decision making, she has increased their leads by up to 217%. But Courtney doesn’t leave her zeal for social media at the office; she also runs a local foodie Instagram account with her husband to document their meals across Rhode Island and beyond. Check them out: @hoppilyfed.

Specialties:
Marketing Strategy, Data Analysis, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Social Media

Platforms/Tools:
Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Facebook Creator Studio, Instagram, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Emma Mail, Google Data Studio, WordPress, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Microsoft Office