It goes without saying that digital marketing relies heavily on data. Data collection enables the hyper-personalization of campaigns and advertisements, the individualized customization of content for each consumer, and the precise correlation between marketing expenditure and results. This is known as data-driven marketing, and it is impossible to achieve without, well, a lot of data.
Though this is very useful to marketers, it raises an alarming concern for consumers, which brings us to our topic today: Data Privacy.
How businesses gather and utilize customer data is evolving as a result of new laws, rules, and efforts aimed at safeguarding consumer data and adhering to local data laws.
Consumer sentiment is part of the growing focus on data privacy and security. Consumers are becoming more and more worried about how their data is being used, whether it is safe, and how much of it they actually want to give up.
The topics we’re going to cover in this article are listed below:
What Is Data Privacy?
Prior to discussing how firms must preserve customer privacy, we must first define what that means in terms of data. Fundamentally speaking, privacy is the right of the consumer to control how third parties utilize their personal information.
Personal information data can include:
Personal Contact Information
Name, location, contact info, and email address.
Identifying Information
Date of birth, IP address, Social Security Number, and Driver's License Number.
Financial Details
Bank account numbers and credit card numbers.
Usage Specifics
Website tracking, cookies, and previous visits.
Why Is Data Privacy So Important?
The goal of data privacy is to gain informed permission while also making it clear what information will be gathered and how it will be used. This process includes making certain that the appropriate policies and procedures are in place for the collection, sharing, and utilization of sensitive data (mostly what data privacy regulation is entirely about)
Marketers should be concerned about this since customer privacy invasion is detrimental to their bottom line and is becoming an increasingly unlawful practice. Over-data collection also has a "creepiness" component that might damage a brand's reputation.
Prior to delving into some of the more specific data privacy laws, we would first like to emphasize the significance of data in the current marketing environment.
TAKE NOTE: Although they are not the same, data security and privacy are intricately related. Data privacy is concerned with the collection of data and how it is managed, shared, and utilized. Data security focuses on preventing data from being hacked.
How Does Data Collection Help Marketers?
Every component of the marketing ecosystem is improved, optimized, and informed by data. Data-driven marketing is an inevitable byproduct of a more fragmented customer experience.
Data enhances the client experience
Companies can synchronize their communication, content, and overall marketing strategy across the numerous contact points, channels, and devices customers use to study goods and engage with brands by using a data-driven approach to marketing. Customer journeys may now be streamlined and personalized thanks to new technologies, platforms, and solutions that are all data-driven.
Data allows businesses to market more successfully
Personalized and targeted advertising is more profitable. Acquiring client data from all contact points and bringing it together in one place is the greatest approach to guarantee that your advertising is reaching the right people (at the right time and in the right place). Customer experience platforms (CXPs), CRMs, and CDPs are tools that may be used for this.
Data is necessary for automation, AI, and machine learning
Automation is fueled by AI and machine learning, and these technologies require data to function. Numerous marketing automation platforms and technologies depend on AI and machine learning to automate a variety of marketing ecosystem processes, including audience growth, content personalization, and customer and prospect communication. Automating personalization requires machine learning and AI in order to scale.
Data are essential for measurement and optimization
Various sorts of data are required to optimize various consumer touchpoints and interactions. Web analytics tools gather and analyze website visitor behavior, demographics, and other visitor information, whereas CRM data centrally aggregates customer interactions.
Retailers may leverage transactional data from customer transactions to better understand historical consumer purchasing patterns, which can then be used to promote products and provide content that appeals to customers directly. Together, all of this data is utilized to enhance, simplify, and optimize websites, customer journeys, and customer care methods.
The End Of Third-Party Cookies
In light of the most recent Apple iOS update. With iOS 14.5 applications must request your consent before tracking you across other apps and websites that are controlled by other businesses. In Settings, you may adjust your preferences for each app or prohibit apps from asking for permission at all. As a result, third-party cookies will become obsolete as most users prefer not to disclose their data.
Cookies from third parties are little pieces of code that hold data about website visitors. When a person visits a website, a cookie is stored on their computer and then recalled by ad serving (and other) software to show them tailored advertisements after they leave the page where the cookie was obtained.
Due to the fact that they are produced by a domain other than the one the user is currently on, they are known as "third-party" cookies. The third-party cookie, once installed on a user's computer, remains there and may be accessed by any website loading the third-party server's code. Digital ad networks frequently employ third-party cookies to tailor advertisements and monitor consumer online browsing.
For marketers who have used third-party cookies to build targeted ad campaigns for almost two decades, the death of these cookies is particularly pertinent. Marketers are unable to target audiences or set frequency limits without third-party cookies.
Without a doubt, this will lessen the efficacy and efficiency of the campaign. But do not worry! This is where first-party data come in, enabling marketers to target and customize their adverts, which leads us to our next headline.
Using First-Party Data For Marketing
Any information about a company's clients that is gathered and managed by the business is referred to as first-party (1P) data. This might include prior transactions, interactions, information from loyalty programs, user preferences and profiles, and behavioral data.
By encouraging visitors to register on their website, marketers may start developing solid consumer profiles (collecting more information about a user over time). Employing event-based monitoring techniques, such as call tracking and profile linking, businesses may further develop their client profiles.
Data Privacy Tips For Marketers
Digital marketers must adjust to the evolving legal landscape and customer expectations. This entails making adjustments to the way they carry out their campaigns and acquire data.
Transparency
Transparency in data management procedures goes beyond merely being moral. In many countries, it's also required by legislation. Visitors to a website or the targets of a campaign should understand how and why their personal data is being utilized.
Ask for permission before using cookies if your website does so. If users refuse to accept cookies, certain websites will block their content. Avoid doing that since it seems that your primary objective is to take advantage of people rather than to add value.
Digital marketing is all about reaching out to customers who are in need of your great product or service rather than trying to get as much revenue as you can out of each one.
Make opting out simple
A user's consent to share their data does not provide you the right to store and utilize such data indefinitely. Many people unwittingly consent to the sharing of personal data online. They might choose to opt out after receiving a few advertising emails or texts.
Make it simple for individuals to refuse. Your marketing emails must include an "unsubscribe" link at the conclusion. A solid rule of thumb is to make sure that opting out of data sharing isn't more complicated than choosing in.
Limit the visibility of customer data
The use of an access control mechanism is essential for both marketing and data privacy. Though useful, not every individual in the company requires access to customer data in order to perform their responsibilities. Ensure that only those who truly need it have access to customer data. Information that consumers share with the company shouldn't even be accessible to everyone in the marketing division.
Access should be controlled by those who have received the appropriate training. Data breaches or leaks may have far-reaching repercussions. The likelihood of a data leak increases with the number of persons who have access to customer data.
Offer a trade-off
Private information has value. Create engaging campaigns that ask for user information in exchange for coupons or discounts. This technique is getting more and more common. If you're inventive, you may think of a lot of fun ways to "trade" with your clients.
Example: Subscribe to our newsletter to get 10% off your first purchase!
Implement new metrics to evaluate success
The less precise landscape makes it more challenging to gauge the performance of your initiatives as data protection restrictions tighten. However, tracking engagement may still be sufficient for determining what is effective and ineffective.
Some examples of engagement are:
Clicks
Conversions
Unsubscribers/Subscribers
Click-through rate
The CPL (Cost Per Lead) and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) are additional beneficial measures that don't violate consumer data privacy. You may decide whether your strategy needs to change by knowing how much money you spend on gaining new customers. All of these can be helpful measurements. You may need to revise your marketing content to reflect the new metric for success.
In conclusion, regulations and data protection issues are altering how digital marketing operates. As consumers grow more conscious of the risks associated with giving their data, advanced tracking and cookies are discouraged. This forces digital marketers to come up with original solutions in order to maintain their effectiveness while adhering to evolving expectations and legal requirements.
SO, WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS PARTNER?
Well, aren’t we glad you asked! We at DigiCom are obsessive data-driven marketers pulling from multi-disciplinary strategies to unlock scale. We buy media across all platforms and placements and provide creative solutions alongside content creation, and conversion rate optimizations. We pride ourselves on your successes and will stop at nothing to help you grow.
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