Big Data Just Got Even Bigger!

You may be looking at the title of this article and asking yourself what is “Big Data” and how is it important to me?

Big Data is a relatively new concept that has rapidly evolved and revolutionized the way businesses operate in the 21st Century. Despite the recent growth and usage of this powerful analytical tool in the past few years, many people are still left in the dark about what Big Data actually is and the effects it has on our society today. “Big Data is like teenage sex: everyone talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are doing it.” said Dan Ariely a Professor of Behavior Economics Patients at the University of Duke, about the confusion and lack of understanding that surrounds the vast topic of Big Data.

There is not one singular definition for Big Data but, Forbes's defines it as, “Big data is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company that represents a source for ongoing discovery and analysis.” Big Data offers broad insight, improved decision-making, and untapped sources of profit through the systems computation and analyzation of the massive amounts of data collected.

Big data systems are an essential tool for surfacing difficult to detect patterns and provide insight into behaviors that would be impossible to find using conventional means, which are not nearly as effective. Big Data collection is computed to reveal patterns and trends especially relating to human interactions and behavior.

By correctly creating and implementing systems based on the results that emerged from the large variety of data analyzed, organizations can discover incredible value and insight giving them the competitive advantage needed for company success.  It’s important to remember that the most critical part of the information and insight taken from the Big Data collected does not come from the data in a raw state, you have to take this original data a step further through analyzation. The most useful and valuable information in Big Data is presented after this raw data has been computed and analyzed which then sheds light on the market trends, insights, products, target audiences, services, SEOs, and other market data that emerged from all the mass amounts of Big Data that collected. 

When Big Data analytics first came around it was only utilized by large companies because the massive amounts of data gathered were not considered to be as beneficial for smaller companies. But throughout this past decade, Big Data has constantly grown and improved due to our generations increase and advancement in technology. This advancement has caused Big Data to become easier to access and less expensive resulting in small company’s usage of Big Data analytics not only big companies like the past. It doesn’t matter what type of industry or business size, Big Data collection, analysis, and interpretation will have an impact on every business and industry. 

Nowadays everyone has their smart phone, apps, social medias, and other platforms that have instant internet connection allowing people to always have data at their fingertips whenever need be. According to IBM, over the last two years, 90% of the world's data has been created. This enormous growth in everyday data usage has had a huge impact on Big Data analytics in the past decade and is largely responsible for the systems growth and success. Each day we produce more data than the last which directly results in more content to be computed and analyzed making Big Data analytics even broader and more accurate.  Analysts are starting to get a better understanding on interpreting the large mass of Big Data to figure out what it means and what is the best possible use for it. 

When I graduate, it has always been a dream of mine to work in the fashion industry, which is known for being extraordinarily fast-paced and continually evolving. Big Data plays a pivotal role in deciding the future of fashion through the usage of gathered analytics, which discloses upcoming trends, styles, brands, colors, and an abundance of more useful information that will impact the fashion industry trends and market as a whole. 

Big Data analytics isn't just for companies; you can utilize this data collection system as well with, Facebook’s Power Editor! Power Editors is a great tool that uses data to target consumers, and it’s for free making it even better. Below I am going to give you a step-by-step guide on how to use Power Editor. For the sake of this example, we are going to pretend we are making a campaign promoting a new website launch for the clothing store Miss Behavin on the Square in Oxford, MS. 

Step-by-Step Guide to Facebook Power Editor

1. Login to your Facebook account.
2. In the drop-down menu in the top right corner next to the "Help" button scroll down a little and click the tab "Create Ads"

3. In the search box at the top of the page type "Power Editor" then click on the eyeglass icon to search.

4. On the home screen click on the "Create Campaign" tab located on the left side of the page.

5. Fill out your campaign name, pick your campaign objective and create the first ad set and name for this campaign then click on the create button on the bottom right corner. For our example we are launching a new website for the clothing store Miss Behavin.

6. After this step you are able to control the budget, target market, and position for the campaign you are launching.

If you have any further questions on how to use Facebook's Power Editor check out the help page they have provided that should be able to answer all your questions!