Marketing Analytics Degree Online
If you are good with numbers and statistics as well as an adept verbal communicator, and if you are interested in consumer psychology as well as business strategy, you have the skill set to start a lucrative path as a marketing analyst. This is an engaging and highly impactful job with room for considerable growth over the course of your career.
As experts in state-of-the-art data collection and tracking, market analysts play an increasingly prominent role in companies of all sizes, providing insights that can determine the direction of the business.
There are many options for those seeking a marketing analytics degree online, making it possible to get your degree at home and graduate with a highly valuable skill set. If you were already considering a general marketing degree but weighing the possibility of developing a specialty, data analytics is an excellent choice for you.
For an overview of marketing analytics as well as information about how to receive a marketing analytics degree online, certification requirements, and more, read on.
What Is Marketing Analytics?
Those who specialize in marketing analytics help businesses make sense of the complicated data they receive to monitor things like audience growth and retention, engagement by demographic, ad campaign reach and effectiveness, market developments, and more.
Beyond developing the skills to understand the data itself, market analysts must be able to make this information digestible for their colleagues.
This can be through visualizations, slideshow presentations, or simply verbal debriefs – different jobs have different requirements for marketing analysts, though it is an excellent choice to gain competency in all of the above as you move forward in a marketing analysis career. In this role, you are responsible for conveying critical pieces of information to company leadership, meaning your accurate reporting, understandable messaging, and thoughtful recommendations are central to a business’ success. If you would like to play an instrumental role in your workplace, a career as a data analyst will ensure that you always are.
There are different subspecialties of marketing analytics that are defined around particular industries or types of data collection. For more information about what specific jobs are available for marketing analysts, take a look at our list in the article below.
The Growing Role of Analytics in Marketing
The new ease of data collection that the Internet affords is a tremendous resource for businesses, allowing them to understand and track key pieces of information that help paint a picture of the company’s successes and failures. Nearly every online transaction is tracked by some analytic metric, and it would be foolish for companies to ignore the information that these measures provide.
However, raw data on its own is often overwhelming and unintelligible, meaning it needs to be organized in order to be interpreted and, in turn, acted upon. This is where market analysts come in, looking at the complex heap of data that a company produces and helping it understand what it means.
Being a marketing analyst means staying in step with the latest advances in data collection and tracking, as they are perpetually developing and growing more complex. Generally, this is a good thing for marketing analysts, as it means there is more and more data to help understand a company’s successes and weaknesses. It also means that the job promises to stay interesting as these systems will continue to evolve.
Job Growth Prediction
Those who are interested in joining the field of marketing analytics have reason to be drawn to the job: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research analysts have an estimated job growth prediction of a whopping 19% by 2031, far higher than the average across professions. This is easy to understand in light of the increasing prominence of data driven marketing, which will only continue to rise as data technology continues to grow more sophisticated and extensive. This is all the more reason to get your degree at home and pursue a career in marketing analytics.
Types of Analytics
There are three primary approaches to marketing analytics, which are as follows:
- Descriptive analytics
- Predictive analytics
- Prescriptive analytics
At larger companies, analysts are likely to focus on just one of the following marketing analytics techniques, while at smaller companies it is possible that one analyst would serve in all three roles.
Descriptive Analytics
Descriptive analytics could be thought of as “backward-looking” data analysis, as it entails looking over past data for an understanding of a business’ track record. This can mean looking for patterns and trends (such as lulls in sales at certain times of year), investigating a particular period of success or difficulty, and examining how outside factors of that moment may have produced a particular outcome.
In short, descriptive analytics uses data to try to paint a picture of what a company has done so far, whether successfully or not. Though this can be used to inform strategy, it is not intended to be directly used to guide decisions for the future, as it primarily surveys what has already happened.
Predictive Analytics
While descriptive analytics aims specifically to relay information from a company’s recent (or not so recent) past, predictive analytics uses that data to, you guessed it, make predictions about outcomes in the future. Machine learning algorithms already exist that can be used to make accurate predictions about customer behaviors, popularity among particular demographics, and what audiences will want next.
Predictive analysis technology is still developing, but it is already being used centrally by many companies to create more personalized experiences for their audiences, deepening their connection to the brand in the long term.
Prescriptive Analytics
Both descriptive and predictive analytics are used to help a company gain insight into their history and get a sense of where they are headed, but neither one is directly used to inform strategic decision making. The branch of analytics that yields direct recommendations for a company’s next course of action is prescriptive analytics. This uses insights from both data collection sets to help a company determine where to focus its efforts based on its prior performance record as well as its future projections.
Prescriptive analytics is a critical part of contemporary marketing, offering invaluable insights for a company to maximize on what it’s doing well.
Marketing Roles That Benefit from Analytics Certification
In this day and age, most industries that have marketing teams include data analytics as a central part of their operations. This means that there are opportunities for marketing analysts in basically any field you can think of. If there is an industry that is of particular interest to you, chances are there is a marketing analyst job available for you in that field.
Below are a few of the top jobs for those who get their Master’s in Marketing Analysis. Note that while some of these jobs directly deal with data research, others perform other functions while drawing from the insights of that data.
For more information about the different paths possible in the world of marketing analytics, take a look at our data science career guide here.
Marketing Manager
Marketing managers are involved in the often psychologically complex work of planning marketing campaigns to capture new audience members and maintain a connection with existing ones. Having a Master’s in Marketing Analytics will allow you to draw from the company’s existing data to help direct, refine, and enrich your campaign so that it is as impactful as possible.
If you are interested in becoming a marketing analyst, you should feel highly encouraged by the existing salary data: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an annual median pay of $133,380 for marketing managers. This illustrates how highly companies value their marketing analysts and the indispensable job they perform on their teams.
Operations Research Analyst
An operations research analyst addresses a company’s organizational issues using statistics and mathematics. This is a highly skilled position that provides invaluable and complex knowledge to the business they work for, illuminating obscure information and providing peerless recommendations.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, operations research analysts make a median annual salary of $82,360 per year.
Brand Strategist
Brand strategists help a company define its voice and overall direction, working from data and market knowledge to figure out how to package a business’ offerings in the way that will most appeal to its desired audience. This can be creative and interesting work, especially if you are working in an industry with which you have a personal interest or connection.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an impressive mean annual wage for brand strategists working in advertising and public relations, amounting to $161,940. This is a compelling reason to become a brand strategist with a Master’s in Marketing Analytics.
Computer Systems Analyst
This is an advanced job that is likely to pay off. Computer systems analysts evaluate business’ computer and software systems to be sure that they are as efficient as possible, making updates or even developing new programs when there is need for improvement. Those who excel in math and science will thrive in this profession.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer systems analysts earn a stellar median annual salary of $99,270 per year. The predicted growth rate for computer systems analysts is 9% by 2031.
Market Research Analyst
Market research analysts help companies understand the landscape – economic, cultural, technological, and more – in which they are doing business. This can be used to help evaluate the potential merits or drawbacks of a given product as well as to help identify consumer trends that a company can capitalize on.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an annual mean wage of $73,960 for market research analysts working in the fields of advertising, public relations, and related services. Meanwhile, the same report shows that the top paying industries for marketing analysts pay a mean annual wage ranging from $104,330 to $127,700.
Master’s in Marketing Analytics Degree Options
If you are inspired to take the next steps to pursue a marketing analytics degree, you’re in luck: it’s never been easier to get the education you need in a way that accommodates your unique schedule. There are numerous options to get your marketing analytics degree online, meaning you can get your degree at home and pursue your education while continuing to take care of your work needs.
Degree Requirements to Become a Marketing Analyst
Marketing analysts typically hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Now more than ever it is possible to get your degree at home.
To achieve the top ranking, high earning jobs listed in the article above, a Master’s in Marketing Analytics degree is your surest path to success.
This level of education will give you the expertise needed to be impactful, discerning, and integral to your company. Bachelor’s and associate’s degrees can provide good foundations from which to build up your skills as a marketing analyst. There are also certification programs that build one’s competence in the field to help them specialize at work.
Master’s in Marketing Analytics degree online programs typically include coursework on the following topics:
- Predictive models for marketing analysis
- Customer targeting
- Digital advertising analytics
- Strategic outlook in marketing analytics
These will leave you suited to take on the challenging but stimulating work of marketing analysis in whatever industry you choose to plot your career.
What to Consider When Choosing an Online Marketing Analytics Degree
When seeking a marketing analytics degree online, it’s important to keep sight of your specific career goals as well as your current needs. This can include the branch of marketing analysis that is most appealing to you and the field in which you would like to work as well as what your schedule will allow you to accomplish while in school.
The good news is that there is a wide variety of options to give you training in whatever area of specialization you’d like. If you’re not sure where to start, work backwards from the career you want. Some useful questions to ask yourself are the following:
- What technical knowledge is needed to perform the job I want?
- Are there recommended courses for people working in the industry that I would like to enter?
- Will this program provide me with internship or entry-level work experience?
These will help you find the perfect marketing analytics program to get your degree at home.
Taking the Next Steps to Get Your Marketing Analytics Degree Online
Now is a fantastic time to pursue work as a marketing analyst. If you are ready to take the next steps in your career, take a look at our guide to the best data programs to find the right option to get your degree at home.
You may also find you are interested in programs that involve analytics without it being the central focus. You can find a list of programs related to data science here.
Finally, for an index of articles about marketing analytics, data science, and more, visit our homepage.
