How to use Google Cloud to get better marketing results?

In the world of marketing, the term “conventional” stopped having a clear and simple definition. Conventions and practices change so often that even some bulletproof methods have to be constantly readjusted to growing marketing needs.   

An innovative marketer always tries to find new ways to extract tangible value from different sources of customer data.    

One of them is the Google Cloud Platform.   

The tech giant’s massive online platform has a lot to offer to digital media companies. Google Cloud Platform provides a variety of tools that can aid your marketing efforts, and in this article, we’ll go over some of its key features.    

But first…  

What Is Google Cloud Platform?   

According to Wikipedia, Google Cloud is a “suite of cloud computing services that runs on the same infrastructure that Google uses internally for its end-user products.”  

Yes, it does sound a little convoluted. However, to simplify it, Google Cloud is akin to your personal cloud, an online space where you store photos, docs, calendars and more.   

The Google Cloud is similar, but on a huge scale and instead of individual users, it works for large-scale businesses. It offers an assortment of management tools, as well as data storage, data analytics and machine learning.  

The official meeting of cloud and marketing was inevitable, as the need for businesses to deliver a more personalized customer experience drastically increased. However, not every marketer is aware of the magic combination of Google Cloud and marketing.  

So, getting straight to our points – What value can it bring to your business’ marketing? 

Data Management and Analysis  

Data is the essence of quality marketing. Operating on tangible and researched information is simply a smart move, sure to bring results. 

Today, marketers have access to heaps of data more than ever before. In fact, the sheer abundance of it piling up daily is harder to handle than extracting the desired value from it. 

Luckily, Google offers a tool whose primary function is to streamline the process of collecting, organizing and eventually, analyzing the data as it comes. This way, your marketing team can take immediate action without worrying about making heads from tails. 

Enter BigQuery! 

As Google puts it, it is a “collective home for all analytical data in an organization.” It is essentially a data warehouse, where your company’s complex datasets are collected, cleansed, organized and uploaded on the Google Cloud for easy access. 

BigQuery cuts out the time that is generally dedicated to data management, so you just need to focus on providing valuable insights based on said data. 

With BigQuery Data Transfer Service, you can collect and move data from a variety of different sources, including: 

• Google Analytics 360 
• Google’s advertising network (Search Ads 360 and more) 
• Various third-party channel, such as your social media, Salesforce, AdWords, email marketing platforms such as MailChimp, YouTube and more 

Once the data is collected, BigQuery’s machine learning technology creates automated predictions concerning individual customer engagement and segment-wide initiatives. It gets you the data you need when you need it most.  

Having instant access to the latest data, along with basic generated insights, allows your team to act upon it instantly. 

In a world where agile, data-driven marketing is becoming a requirement, you need to respond quickly to stay one step ahead. 

It’s time to analyze your data, as well as complex customer journeys and identify which marketing activities drive more sales.

Having a clear picture of how customers engage with your business can help you establish new ways to attract new prospects. 

The assortment of Google Cloud features that offer sophisticated analytics and models, as well as insights derived from them, can help you better understand and predict consumer behavior.

Superb Delivery of Content

Delivering high-quality content and by extension, a high-quality experience is key to attracting and retaining your online customers. 

The average modern consumer isn’t known for their patience. Customers don’t want to wait for long to be provided with a superb experience. Being fast and agile is crucial. 

Google Cloud offers two tools that allow you to create and deliver your brand’s content effectively and efficiently. 

Google Drive acts as a central hub for all your team’s valuable documents and files (all your Google Workspace Tools files, etc.). It allows for easy storage and retrieval. 

Besides the usual features, including suggesting, tracking, approving changes and tagging team members, Drive’s machine learning can optimize the tool for individual teams’ needs, based on how they use the software. 

Google Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) “accelerates content delivery for websites and apps.” Basically, it works to ensure high loading speeds and fewer downtimes for your website. 

How? 

CDN is a network of computers located all around the world. It is a server platform that minimizes delays in loading web page content by giving users the data from the nearest location to them. This means that users all around the globe view the same high-quality content without the slow loading times.  

CDN’s technical aspects are indeed impressive, but how does it help your marketing efforts? 

We should all remember that page load speed is one of the key aspects of SEO, thus search engine rankings. As your site loads faster, it appears more reputable and trustworthy to the Google algorithm. 

Increasing your capacity to deliver content to your audience swiftly allows you to create more high quality content for your target audience. 

Automated And Personalized Customer Engagement 

A variety of GCP’s can be utilized by your marketing team to create both automated and personalized experiences for the customers. 

First, it is essential to connect with your audience on the channel of their choosing. Judging by the current trends, those channels are AI chatbots, as well as voice search. 

Google Cloud’s DialogFlow is a machine learning tool based around Natural Language Processing. It allows you to connect with users on your website, mobile app and smart digital assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, etc. It lets you establish a natural, conversational experience powered by AI. 

To set it up, you need to provide Google a list of examples, conversational keywords that users might say when interacting with your business. Then, it uses natural language to analyze and respond in the most natural and intuitive way. 

Cloud Natural Language API analyzes your library of content to reveal its structure and meaning. With it, you can extract detailed information about your customers (from email, chat, social media, etc.). 

Basically, from a block of user inputted text, you can extract the essence, the sentiment that surrounds your product/service and the overall user experience. 

This data can lead to a variety of insights regarding audience expectations that allow your marketing team to create highly targeted content and categorize it intuitively. 

Google’s AI and machine learning tools can also help you provide personalized recommendations to your customers. 

Using the aforementioned BigQuery, Recommendations AI delivers, well, recommendations to prospects based on your audience’s needs and, ultimately, your business goals.

Visual Insights 

What do we mean by “visual insights”? It may sound a little vague. However, it’s important to know that Google’s AI capabilities extend further than conversations with your customers. 

You can also gain key insights into your visuals, such as images and videos. 

For example, by uploading a photo, the Cloud Vision API can quickly scan and classify it into thousands of existing categories. It can detect objects or faces and find and comprehend the words within. 

Besides allowing a more natural categorization, it can also help you detect any inappropriate content.  

Google Cloud Vision API can find related photos online and provide valuable insights into customer moods in photos. It is the same with video content. 

The Cloud Video Intelligence API allows you to find specific moments or keywords for inclusion in any marketing materials. 

Conclusion 

Turning raw data into intelligence is the key to any marketing effort, and the Google Cloud comes with some impressive data-hunting capabilities. 

Everything mentioned above is just the tip of the iceberg, as those capabilities continue to expand and evolve at a lightning pace. As these technologies evolve, the worlds of digital and “conventional” are starting to merge into one. 

With Google’s Cloud Platform tools at your disposal, you are already one step ahead of your competitors. Turn it into profit before it completely becomes an “industry standard.”

See also:

• Cloud technologies made simple. What is cloud computing and what can you gain from it?
• Corporate cloud – everything you need to know before implementation
• 20 reasons to choose Google Cloud Platform