5 ways marketers can use APIs for better results

APIs are big business at the moment. These ingenious pieces of software seem far more complicated than they really are. In simple terms, they allow different applications to communicate with each other, sharing data and functionality. While this might not seem immediately useful for marketers, there’s a lot you can do to leverage the power of APIs. 

#1 Gather data

One of the most profound benefits associated with APIs is their ability to harvest vast amounts of customer data across apps and multiple parts of the internet. Data including ages, locations, time spent online and even hobbies can all be used to inform future marketing campaigns. Targeting isn’t only essential for reaching the right customers, but it also saves money. An intricately targeted campaign is an economical one, and APIs can help you do just that.

#2 Patrol social media

APIs are commonly used to maintain and manage social media platforms. Most businesses are aware of the importance of social media for marketing, but running a social media account is also time and resource-intensive. APIs can be programmed to curate content, generating Twitter posts, following similar accounts and even liking posts that relate to your business. Relationships are at the heart of all marketing campaigns, and the right API can help you to form new connections.

#3 Streamline your dashboard

Marketers often operate at the centre of a tangled web. Multiple social media platforms, email accounts and company applications are all used to inform advertising choices. This is, again, time-intensive, but APIs can help. Since these programs allow apps to communicate with each other and share data, the shrewd marketer can use an API like the one available from Octopart to gather all of that information in one place. A unified, single dashboard not only makes data management easier, but also helps with data analysis. It’s much easier to make informed decisions when everything you need is laid out in one place.

#4 Infinitely scalable 

Advertising campaigns are always constructed to scale. They might start small as the marketer tests the waters and then expand exponentially after a successful campaign. APIs can be scaled in exactly the same way. Much of the work you’ll do with an API involves setting simple and repetitive tasks, perhaps sharing a post on social media. The very nature of these tasks means that they can be upscaled and their frequency increased as and when necessary.

#5 Save money

Automation is undoubtedly the future, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the world of marketing. Hiring extensive advertising teams is expensive, and the sometimes fraught with hurdles - even the unpredictable nature of online marketing makes it difficult to budget for. 

APIs aren’t (yet) capable of replacing an entire team, but they can pick up the slack and take over many of the more routine, repetitive tasks. This shrinks the size of your team and, by extension, the size of your payroll. If you’re a small business or a startup that can make all the difference.