Understanding The Difference Between Reporting And Analytics

The difficulty is keeping up with the ever-changing digital landscape. If digital is just part of your marketing puzzle, you might not be able to dedicate 100% of your time to it. So, we’ve created a digital toolkit, especially for B2B marketing managers. All through a series of blogs, starting with the lowdown on reporting and analytics.

Are reporting and analytics the same thing?

Optimised content is the way forward. That means targeted your users based on research that delves into their behaviours online. Easy-peasy? In theory, of course, it is. But when people start bandying the phrases “reporting and analytics” around, they are really talking about different things. Because the two are two separate, albeit linked, entities.

Glossary of terms: Reporting

We’re all familiar with the idea of a report. Reporting in digital marketing is getting all your information and organising it.
Once the raw data is collated and organised the information can be used to do things like plan marketing campaigns and measure your progress. It might reveal the number of interactions from a campaign. The number of people who’ve visited a webpage, or, the number of sales leads you gathered.
By making sense of the data, you can set and meet goals as a business. It can also reveal areas for improvement. As an agency, we have access to the right tools to collect this data and create reports for you to move onto the next stage and gain the insights you need for your digital marketing campaigns.

Glossary of terms: Analytics

It’s safe to say that this is where it’s important to highlight both the differences between reporting and analytics and the way they are connected. Analytics is all about interpreting the data gathered and using it in marketing activities.

While it’s different from the actual act of getting and organising the data in the first place. You could think of reporting as the gathering part of the process, and the analytics as the creative brain. The part that makes sense of the data.

But the two are invaluable to each other. Because if you have poor quality data, no amount of analytical thinking will enable you to hit the mark with your digital campaign. Likewise, if you have robust data but fail to see patterns and keys within it, you won’t be able to spin it to your advantage.

Using the right tools

Fancy tools and platforms are all part of the digital marketing world. Using the right ones for your business is the key. There are loads of reporting tools out there, and they are not all made equal. KissMetrics and Google Analytics are perhaps two of the most popular.

But, if you have a digital marketing agency, like W/Brand, onboard, they will take all the hard work out of finding the right tools for you. So, you can focus on creating effective digital campaigns with the best data, insights, and support.