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Facebook Marketing Transparency

As the Facebook transparency debate rumbles on, almost three-quarters of senior marketers admit to feeling 'overwhelmed' by data

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

October 5, 2016 | 4 min read

Facebook's recent admission that it has been overstating its video views for the past two years by up to 80 per cent has sent waves throughout the marketing world. As the transparency scandal rumbles on with Dentsu Japan being found to have overcharged for digital work, a new study has revealed that almost three quarters of marketers feel "overwhelmed," rather than empowered by data.

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As the Facebook transparency debate rumbles on, almost three-quarters of senior marketers admit to feeling 'overwhelmed' by data

Earlier this week, The Drum examined how the fallout from Facebook and Tokyo-based Dentsu's recent miscalculations indicated the need for marketers to address the gaps in their own knowledge when it comes to being data and media savvy.

Fresh research undertaken by Callcredit Information Group, which spoke to 151 UK senior marketers, has now revealed that while 80 per cent of marketers are increasing their time spent working with data, 71 per cent feel overloaded by the amount of data, with seven in ten (70 per cent) noting that it was a valuable asset that isn't being fully exploited in their organisations.

One explanation for this could be the fact that only 29 per cent of marketers believe they have the necessary skills to analyse data, with 44 per cent planning on investing in further training over the next two years to boost confidence within their organisations around the handling of information.

"Despite the fact that marketers are overwhelmingly accepting data as an integral part of marketing, our research shows that many feel that more can be done," said Steve McNicholas, managing director of marketing solutions at Callcredit Information Group.

"The next step for marketers is to implement a number of processes, tools, and ways of working, that can improve the quality, not just the quantity of their data, and bring clarity to complexity. More businesses need to find their ‘sweet spot’ of data that helps define customer segments and acquire new, more profitable ones. An external perspective can often help companies bring the right amount of insight and creativity to the process."

Currently marketers are spending, on average, five hours and 36 minutes a week working with customer data, and the study found that close to a third (29 per cent) of marketers believe they aren’t spending enough time on analysing their data, a sentiment echoed by Tom Denford, chief strategy officer at marketing consultancy ID Comms.

"It’s all too easy to have the wool pulled over your eyes if you don’t understand the market in which you are operating,” he told The Drum in response to the furore over the miscalculations from Facebook and Dentsu.

"Without such knowledge, [marketers] can’t interrogate the value of what’s being offered to them when it comes to specific media opportunities or implement the proper procedures, targets and protocols to ensure that the advertiser retains control of their media budgets."

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