The OSEMN Framework: A Marketer’s Best Friend for Navigating Data

Hey there, fellow marketers! Let's talk data. I know, I know, the word "data" might make some of us yawn, but hear me out. Understanding your data can be a game-changer for your marketing strategies. And guess what? There's an easy way to do it, and it's called the OSEMN framework. Yep, it's pronounced like "awesome," and it's about to make your life a whole lot easier.

What's the Big Deal with OSEMN?

Quick heads-up for those who might be scratching their heads—OSEMN stands for Obtain, Scrub, Explore, Model, and Interpret. Hilary Mason and Chris Wiggins came up with it, and it's the MVP for making sense of all that data we have to deal with. It’s our go-to playbook for diving into anything from Google Ads metrics to customer surveys.

Step 1: Obtain - Where's the Data At?

First up is collecting our data. Let's pretend we're analyzing a recent ad campaign, targeting different age groups across social media platforms. Here's our raw sample data:

Step 2: Scrub - Cleanliness is Next to Data-liness

Our sample data looks pretty neat, but if this were a real-world scenario, we'd often need to scrub away duplicates, fix formatting inconsistencies, and patch up any missing values. For today, we’re good to go!

Step 3: Explore - Channel Your Inner Sherlock

Now, let's look for some clues in this data.

• High Rollers: The age range 18-24 is leading with a combined engagement score of 365.
• Low Engagement: The 45-54 range is falling behind with a total of 157.

Step 4: Model - Let's Get Mathematical

So, we need a model to determine our next targeted age group. How about using weighted criteria?

• Clicks (weight = 0.5)
• Likes (weight = 0.3)
• Shares (weight = 0.2)

For the 18-24 age group, the weighted score would be (210 0.5) + (130 * 0.3) + (25 * 0.2) = 171.

Step 5: Interpret - The Grand Finale

After running our formula, the weighted scores for each group would look something like this:

It’s pretty clear that the 18-24 age range is our golden ticket for the next campaign.

And There You Have It!

So, there it is, folks. We've just applied the OSEMN framework to a sample marketing dataset and, voila, actionable insights are on the table! If you've been holding back from diving into data analytics, I hope this example shows you that it's not as daunting as it seems—especially with OSEMN by your side. Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes!