Facebook + Data Science = Upclose & Professional
Last week I had the great privilege of getting an inside look into the world of Facebook’s expanding community of data and marketing scientists at the Park restaurant in New York. One of the first people that I met was Gita Lal, a stylish, enthusiastic recruiting manager at Facebook, who put together a spectacular event with her team. Why was I there – you might be asking? Well, simple. I’m a marketing scientist. I wouldn’t have described myself that way until I realized that what I’ve been doing and likely be doing years from now is stay relevant and pragmatic and market scientifically. Now wordplay aside, marketing today is no longer about big billboards and newspaper flyers. It’s analytical. It’s targeted and retargeted. It’s based on lots of tests and experiments. It’s based on testing hypothesis that require terabytes of data to be sorted and arranged, quantified and processed in a way that it can be visualized in seconds or minutes. This is a sense of what aspects of marketing science consist of. And the rate at which data is being collected from consumers is so fast that companies are scratching their heads and in some cases scrambling to figure out how to make sure they have the right talent on board to keep them relevant and competitive. This is where Facebook has begun to do what it does best – audience engagement by being innovative and engaging the talent.
Marketing and Marketing Data Science Is Now Practical
Facebook has changed the marketing playing field today. The average person who’s willing to take the time to learn can put together a marketing campaign in minutes using its Power Editor tool. And in less than 24 Hours, they can have results they can review, adjust and scale to reach 1000’s starting with a budget as low as $20. Gone are the days of needing a super big budget to be overwhelmed with and praying it hits your target audience. Facebook essentially has made marketing or at at least, some aspects of marketing scientific so can have predictable results if you know what variables to control and change.
Data, Bacon and Marketing Scientists Walk into a Bar
As some t-shirts that I’ve seen recently say – Data is the New Bacon. And Facebook is mastering the art of gathering the next generation of chefs with extraordinary skills and talent in the area of Big “bacon” in service to the companies that need it to make better marketing decisions including Facebook. As stated above, Facebook is also mastering the art of social networking offline to gather the next generation of bright minds that will be the future marketing scientists. The strategy is brilliant. And if you’re looking to be considered as one of the future minds forming Facebook’s Data Science community, you should probably register for an upcoming event.
[Register – LINK COMING SOON] Learn more about the Marketing Science Happy Hours to come.
In the mean time check out the Facebook Photo Album Below.
