What is Big Data and why it is called “new oil”

The phenomenon of Big Data received a big resonance in all spheres of activity of the person. It is called revolution of a digital era and compared to oil on significance value for society. This is not just a part of any industry, but a whole science (Data Science), able to predict the future. In the field of Internet marketing, big data is a trump card that allows you to predict demand, identify and find the target audience, create a unique trade offer and build a successful business.

Big Data is a difficult phenomenon. On the one hand, this concept includes a huge number of unstructured information, with another – a set of approaches and technologies for operation with it. It is no wonder that Big Data call “new oil”. As well as raw materials, large data volume in pure form have much the smaller significance, than the products received as a result of its processing and the analysis. “Big data” is a source of knowledge which is capable to change our life.

A vivid example of the Big Data application is the Yandex.Probki service. In real time, the computer service system receives data on traffic congestion. The information obtained is analyzed, after which a map is constructed that reflects the forecast of the traffic situation. Thus, “large data” allows the driver to learn about the current traffic jams and choose the least loaded route.

Where do the data come from and how are they processed?

Sources of “big data” surround us everywhere. These include mobile and GPS-devices, computers, browsers, social networks, search systems, measuring devices, customer bases and so on. Specialists describe the phenomenon of Big Data in three variables:

• Large volume (Volume);
• Variety of types and sources (Variety);
• Processing speed (Velocity).

To quickly process unstructured information and extract the necessary data from it, special computing techniques are required. To date, about 26 methods of analyzing “large data” are known, including machine learning, Data Mining, crowdsourcing and others. For example, machine learning is widely used in Internet marketing, in particular in search technologies (MatrixNet Yandex).

It is important to note that the result of data processing always assumes a certain percentage of probability due to the presence of various kinds of “noise” and can not be considered as accurate and reliable as possible.

Big Data in online advertising and business

Information is an advantage that any company aspires to have. In particular, information about the target audience is the most important for marketing purposes. After all, knowing your customers, their behavior, interests and preferences, you can build effective communication with them and, moreover, to predict demand.

In addition to retrieval technologies, “big data” found successful application and in media advertizing. The RTB model which provides show of advertizing banners only to the interested users, based on the analysis of their behavior on the Internet became widely known. Thus, the largest advertizing networks in case of cooperation with suppliers of data (Data Suppliers) help businessmen to find the target audience. Similar approach to show of not retrieval advertizing is used also in the newest technology of the SeoPult System applying Big Data to improving of behavioral metrics of the website and increase in efficiency of SEO.

The significance of Big Data for development of business is not restricted only to frames of advertizing. Knowledge of target audience is possible and it is necessary to scoop from own data arrays and available open sources. First, it will allow to understand better habits and features of the taken place clients and by means of causes and effect relationships to look for similar audience (look-alike) among other net surfers. Secondly, data analysis will tell you about the current situation: what works well and that is bad what preferences at this or that type of clients and as it is possible to change service taking into account their needs. Thirdly, data management will allow to create unique services which will be incredibly demanded and popular with users.

Many companies do not use their assets at all, which is a big mistake. The knowledge gained can be very useful and save a lot of money on advertising. There are many examples when, thanks to the analysis of “big data” collected in the course of their work, companies received excellent results that contribute to the successful development of business.

The startup Jawbone, which launched a line of gadgets for tracking sleep, traffic and power, earned several million dollars on it. However, the cunning strategy of the company is not only to receive a one-time profit: their product helps to collect a huge database of impersonal data on the life cycle of people around the world. This is a serious marketing material for research, the results of which can be of great importance for manufacturers of furniture, medicines, health products, food products and representatives of other industries. Finally profit on sale of information can seriously superimpose income from sale of bracelets.

Conclusion

Big Data is a technology of the future, which starts today. It is designed to change the quality of our life for the better, make it more convenient and safer. Nihilists, on the contrary, see it as a threat of surveillance and punishment for predicted, but not yet committed offenses. Whatever it was, today, working with big data brings huge benefits in many areas. In online marketing, it helps businesses find customers more effectively and meet their needs by offering what they really need.