Data-driven approach
Share insights derived from your audience data with your team, and put your audience at the centre of your organisation. A data-driven approach helps you to determine who your current target group is, how you can better serve this group, and where new target groups to connect with can be found. Read here what a data-driven approach is, why this is important, and what advantages it offers. We also offer some tips on what to take account of, as well as some practical examples as inspiration.
What is a data-driven approach?
Instead of relying on your gut feeling, acting on the basis of facts and insights. Sounds good? Well that’s what a data-driven approach amounts to. This will help you focus more firmly on your audience, too. A data-driven approach means that you collect and analyse data relating to your (online) visitors. Based on these analyses, you can make other choices or adapt your course. With a data-driven approach, you can better serve your current audiences and reach new ones.
Advantages of a data-driven approach
Why adopt a data-driven approach? Working with data offers lots of opportunities and advantages. You can use data about the past to create a strategy for the future. Data offer insight and enable you to make and account for choices. Below are the three advantages of a data-driven approach, with further content, to help you take the next step. Which is to better understand your audience, to tailor your communication to your target group, and to use your resources efficiently.
1. Understand your audience
Visitor and user data help you to map out your audiences and target groups. A data-driven approach means analysing demographic characteristics, visitor behaviour and feedback. This way you can discover how to better involve your current audiences and how to reach new target groups.
2. Tailored communication
If you know who your audience is, or who is not yet your audience, then you can also investigate how best to reach them. You can tailor your offer to your target groups and can use tools to appeal to them at the right time and in the right place.
3. Efficient use of resources
A data-driven approach helps you to determine your course. Audience data reveal what your target group is interested in, what appeals to them and what does not. This can help you determine how to best deploy people and resources in order to achieve your goals. See the DEN Focus Model for an integral approach and discover the value of a digital strategy.
Data, privacy and ethics
A data-driven approach offers lots of opportunities, but also demands an ethical approach. If you collect data, then you need to heed the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation; in Dutch, the Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming or AVG). DEN investigated exactly what this entails and how cultural organisations can work responsibly with audience data. You can read more about the ethical aspects of using data here.
