Updated: May 2, 2022
Originally Published: August 24, 2020
Today, programming is an important factor in designing and executing digital marketing strategies. Critical digital marketing activities – such as web ads, videos, promotions and social media – can all be aided by knowing a bit of programming.
It's essential for marketers to understand programming basics. You may already know a little HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, but you may be unfamiliar with another incredibly helpful language: Python.
What Is Python?
Python is a popular and powerful computer programming language with many capabilities, which has led to it becoming a leading programming language to help improve marketing automation.
Python has grown in popularity in recent years due to its versatility. Unlike other languages that excel at one or two specific use cases, Python can be used to solve a variety of different problems. This means that everyone, regardless of their job title, can likely find a way that Python could optimize their daily tasks.
In addition to its versatility, Python is a relatively beginner-friendly programming language. You don’t need a background in computer science to learn the basics of Python. In fact, some basic tasks can be automated knowing only a few beginner-level Python commands.
What Are the Benefits of Learning Python for Marketing?
Python has the capability to improve marketing in many ways, from addressing common mistakes to automating repeatable processes to creating evaluation tools.
Let’s look at a few examples.
- Say you regularly run an ROI calculation that requires you to pull data from multiple sources and run calculations to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Python can automate that process, saving hours of work.
- Maybe you're looking to learn more information about the content on a particular website and wish you could generate a spreadsheet of every word used on a particular web page organized by how often that word is used within the text. Python can be used to scrape the website, provide a count for every word in the text, and display it within an Excel spreadsheet in less than a minute.
Other common marketing applications for Python include:
- File Management
- Data visualization
- Customer segmentation
- Data collection
- Formatting data
- Web scraping and data mining
- Populating data in PowerPoint presentations
Python’s true skill is at automating repeatable processes. I’m sure you can think of several repeatable things you do on a regular basis when creating or evaluating the success of a campaign. The more time you save by automating these repeatable processes with Python, the more time you have to focus on other critical initiatives.
Python Is Easy to Learn
You don’t need to be an advanced data scientist or a software developer to get started using Python. The language is understandable and simple, making it easy for even someone with no programming experience to learn.
There are a few great resources available for those interested in learning more about Python. These include:
These resources are great for those looking to learn the basics. Once you’ve got a basic understanding of the language under your belt, the best way to really dive in is to choose a project and start playing. Maybe you’ve always wanted to automate part of your reporting process or create a tool that scrapes website data. Choosing a project and learning while you build is a great way to fully immerse yourself in the language and learn new skills.
Python for Marketers in a Nutshell
Say goodbye to hours of data entry and analysis and hello to additional time to dive into those looming strategic problems. While learning a new skill is always a time investment, learning Python is one that marketers will see a return on quickly after they begin.
Take our word for it and start investing time learning Python. You’ll remove those repetitive tasks from your schedule in no time.
Have additional questions or need assistance with digital strategy, digital marketing, website design or development, software development or more? Don't hesitate to reach out!