Psychographics How big data is watching you

Have you ever approved a website cookie to monitor your online behavior, or downloaded a mobile application and allowed it to access personal data on your phone? Most likely you have. But havent you ever wondered what kind of information your digital trail leaves behind and how this data is being used? This article will reveal the digital influencers new secret weapon–coined  Psychographics–and how easily accessible online data is being used to psychologically influence your behavior in both the online and offline space. Psychographics The term Psychographics refers to a quantitative method to describe and segment consumers on the basis of psychological attributes such as behavioral preferences, personality, beliefs, opinions, interest, attitudes, values, and to some extent habits and lifestyles. An individual’s psychographic profile can be inferred, to an accurate level, from the data one leaves behind when surfing online, engaging on a social media site, making an online purchase or using a mobile application. Using linear regression techniques, algorithms can predict psychological traits and states of individual users and thus tailor messages, web designs, background colors, and products on the fly to match individual needs. Google knows you better than you know yourself   Search engines, online platforms, and mobile applications collect a tremendous amount of data about their users. Not only do these platforms collect information about the devices and applications you use, but also a lot of (real-time) personal information about you (e.g. voice and visual data, biometrics, personal characteristics) and the data stored on your mobile phone (e.g. phone numbers, call history, private messages, social media likes). They also monitor your behavior online, carefully tracking the time you spend on sites, the locations you have visited, the reviews you leave behind, and even the payments you make. The online collection of demographic data (e.g. gender, age, income, nationality) and behavioral data (e.g. online purchasing behavior, clicks, likes), together with psychographic profiling, provide these platforms with highly detailed insights about their users and razor-sharp abilities to accurately predict (predictive analytics) and influence behavior online (targeted actions). Digital platforms now not only know  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœwho’  you are and  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœwhat’  you do, but with psychographics can also explain  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœwhy’  you do it. Benefits of using Psychographics to improve performance Reading the above, you now understand that psychographic information can be used to create predictive tools, optimize online services, and effectively target consumers. The following will provide examples of how psychographics are currently being used in real-life applications. Predicting (future) product choice Choice prediction makes use of complex algorithms to analyze consumer data to predict life situations, psychological traits, and product matches. Using predictive analytics, new products are presented to people matching predefined customer profiles based on historical data. A great example of a company making effective use of product choice prediction is U.S. retail company Target. Using demographic and psychographic data, search queries and historical product purchase patterns of existing consumers, Target is able to predict current life situations of existing customers. Based on the above-mentioned data, one specific life situation Target can predict is whether a female customer is pregnant (and more precisely, in which stage of the pregnancy cycle she is in), allowing the company to target  specific products  to the  precise people  at the  right time. Political campaign effectiveness Psychographic data analysis can also be used to influence attitudes and beliefs, potentially swaying voting decisions. Using segmentation data based on demographic, geographic and psychographic data, highly differentiated target groups can be identified (e.g. location, ethnicity, beliefs, opinions, current sentiments, biggest fears), which are then contacted using tailored messages to improve communication effectiveness. Moreover, standardized media campaigns and communication messages can also be automatically adjusted to match the belief systems, motivations and fears of its target audience, allowing for different variations of the same communication (e.g. email campaign, news article) to reach a single household fitting the exact beliefs and motivations of each family member. It is believed that the company Cambridge Analytica supported the 2015 Brexit campaign in the UK and the 2016 U.S. presidential elections by providing behavioral insights based on psychographic data to increase political campaign effectiveness. Personality-based advertising campaigns Research by Sandra Matz and colleagues (2016) from the Psychometrics Centre at Cambridge University suggest in their article  Ã¢â‚¬ËœMoney Buys Happiness if Spending Fits our Personality’  that creating advertising campaigns (product and design) which match consumers’ most dominant personality traits, can increase online conversion rates of campaigns. Moreover, according to the article, purchasing products which fit one’s personality has been found to increase happiness. A great example of such a personality-based advertising campaign is that of Hilton Honors. Hilton developed a mobile app for Facebook called Holiday MatchMaker, which personalizes messages to its users based on personality types and lifestyle preferences inferred from social media likes or mini personality quizzes. Media reported that the Hilton app improved higher click-through rates and online sharing of targeted posts compared to conventional online marketing campaigns. Crime management In the movie ‘Minority Report’ people are arrested for future crimes which havent taken place yet. Sounds pretty Sci-Fi, doesn’t it? Well, guess what, recent advancements in predictive analytics have made it more probable that the future arrest of Howard Marks’ could happen very soon. Police and intelligence forces around the world have started to use artificial intelligence to predict the likelihood of crime offenders recommitting a crime. Using various data points (e.g. national historical data of criminal offenders, demographic data, psychographics and crime severity), algorithms are used to aid jail sentencing and parole decision-making. In the spring of 2017, Eric L. Loomis was sentenced to six years in jail, based in part on a predictive analytical crime management system called  Compas,  created by U.S. company  Northpointe. Equally interesting to mention is an online platform to identify crime-based danger zones in a city. Using predictive analytics,  rio.crimeradar.org  predicts potential crime hotspots in the city of Rio de Janeiro (one of the world’s most dangerous cities). It is probable that in the near future national security organizations will use more advanced algorithms to enable improved prescriptive crime-preventing decisions. Healthcare precision An increasing number of insurance companies and healthcare providers are using psychographics and artificial intelligence to improve diagnostics, advance precision treatment therapies, predict/promote positive health-behaviors and predict/minimize the occurrence of potential health conditions. In the UK, the NHS uses Google’s  DeepMind  program to help healthcare professionals improve early disease detection and improve treatment decisions using big data and predictive analytics. Insurance companies, on the other hand, use predictive analytics to better align insurance premiums with specific risk profiles.  Confused.com  is an example of an online insurance company which uses psychographic data to predict the likelihood of a first-time car insurance taker to have an accident. One of the algorithm’s indicators of risk is personality, which is used to calculate the premium to be paid for a first-time car insurance. For example, it is considered that a highly conscientious first-time driver is less likely to have a car accident than other personality types. One last note Interested in finding out what kind of psychographic information social media sites are collecting about you? Check out  www.dataselfie.it  to track the type of data Facebook is collecting about you, based on your online behavior and your social connections. Learn how Facebook’s machine learning algorithms are using this information to predict your personality to adapt content and advertising to fit your persona! Want to learn more? †¢ Attend a global Hult Masterclass:  The Addictive Elements of Social Media Design   10th March, Mumbai 11th March, Delhi 14th March, London 20-21 April, Dubai For registration, please get in touch  to secure your seat. †¢ Sign-up to receive a *FREE copy of my new E-Book called Digital Psychology–Understanding and Applying Psychology Online. Or for a free online course in Behavioral App Design, click here. *Release date Spring 2018: Limited copies available. FREE copy provided on a  first-come-first-served basis To learn about Hult’s forward-thinking curriculum and Digital Strategy courses,  download a brochure here. Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog How to swim through the ocean of big data†¦ and survive. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself. Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021 Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021"> During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . Happy New Year, Hultians! . Happy New Year, Hultians! .