Digital dust is a term that has been around for some time, but recently it has been revived with a new meaning. The term now ties itself to what is known as the Internet of Behaviors, being human behavior from interacting with connected devices, such as Alexa, smartwatches, and mobile devices – all which have a common thread of knowing our location and the tracks we leave on the Internet, from social media post, reviews, and online buying habits – the list runs deep. Even our cars now have digital voice assistances and what is known as telematics, which can monitor driving behaviors.
In short, digital dust is the evidence that is left behind from all our internet related usage, and companies are getting smarter about collecting it, as it provides the intel to better understand their end-users. This information allows companies the ability to anticipate what customers will want in the future.
Data Mining is Growing Rapidly
If we look at online data usage in terms of what is called exabytes, the numbers clearly show the surge in our usage. For reference - one exabyte is equal to 1 billion gigabytes. In 2019, monthly data traffic in the United States reached 42 million exabytes. But in March 2020 alone, we had a 34-percent increase in data usage on smartphones, and 18-percent on in-home internet usage.
That massive jump of in-home data use in 2020 is certainly driven by so many companies converting to remote work. But a lot of it is coming from the fact that the typical household now has eleven Internet-connected devices – which is leaving a ton of digital dust behind.
So what is being done with all the digital dust we generate? Demographic data mining, your contact information, and location data are the most popular. These data packets are being bundled and sold to different businesses looking to target people of a certain demographic and location.
Actionable Data Surfaces Trends
The multifamily housing industry can only get smarter from using certain data sets, but that data needs to be aggregated for it to become truly actionable, as we create a mountain of data points from every user. For the record - actionable data is information that gives you enough insight into the trends that the actions you should take becomes very clear.
If you break down what would be actionable in our industry, you need to look at it in two defined segments, external and internal data. External data are actions from open usage, such as what link did a user click, a good example of external data is web traffic. Internal data is gathered from internal usage, such as when somebody paid their rent. Let’s look at what we should be able to grab pretty easy – mobile vs desktop users – this will allow us to know what devices our prospective residents are using the most and give us insights on where to market and optimize our search presence. If the bulk of our audience is mobile, we need to market on mobile driven platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok.
Slicing Data to Dive Deeper
If we dive deeper, we can see where our leads are coming from, Facebook, Google, or even an ILS. I am not talking about prospects selecting their source in a dropdown on a lead form, that is not accurate enough – this is through mining data the moment they arrive on our website. The list goes on as to what data we can gather and aggregate, such as what floor plans are being viewed most, or how many clicks are you getting from social media on your latest blog post.
We can then grab some internal data, such as general inquiries versus tour request versus applications, and then we can run some of our external data against it, such as how much web traffic we need to generate these actions, what floor plan type is getting the most tours or applications - versus which ones are not. We are now arming ourselves with actionable data to make decisions – and optimize the performance of our community.
Data has become a highly valuable asset, and over the last few years, data volumes have grown massively. Businesses that leveraged data to better understand their customers and improve their decision-making are the ones that are outperforming everyone else.
Want to learn how to leverage data to track today’s mobile renter? Download our latest whitepaper.
AUTHOR
Kerry W. Kirby is a renowned entrepreneur, technology innovator, and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of 365 Connect, the leader in providing the most advanced automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement platform for multifamily communities across the globe. Executing on a progressive vision of creating leading-edge products and services, Kerry has won more technology awards than any other company in his home state of Louisiana, as well as the industry he serves. Prior to founding 365 Connect, Kerry worked in the multifamily housing industry developing communities across the Southeastern United States. Kerry’s eye for finding buildable sites with incredible locations was his formula to creating an array of successful ventures.
Kerry W. Kirby has earned widespread recognition and numerous prestigious awards throughout his career. His accolades include the Louisiana Governor’s Technology Award and Titan Entrepreneur Award, both highlighting his outstanding contributions to the tech industry. For nine consecutive years, he has been listed on the Silicon Bayou 100 as one of Louisiana's most influential entrepreneurs. Most notably, Kerry became the first in the multifamily housing sector to receive the Bootstrapper Award, underscoring his remarkable journey of turning a scrappy startup into a leading proptech powerhouse without external funding.
Kerry W. Kirby serves on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for over 32,000 affordable housing units across the country, and general-partner services to an additional 12,300 units. He is Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation Advisory Council, an executive membership level organization with over three million multifamily units represented, focused on assisting owners and operators explore innovative solutions that will drive change across the industry.
Kerry W. Kirby and his wife Melinda M. Kirby are actively involved in supporting communities and causes, with an unwavering dedication to humanitarian, educational, healthcare, and equality programs. Through the Kerry & Melinda Kirby Foundation, they provide resources to nonprofit organizations that accelerate progress by championing causes that give a voice to those that are often not heard. They have been highly recognized for their philanthropic commitment, being honored with a Communitas International Award for their significant impact in making a difference in people’s lives.