You’ve likely heard of recent privacy changes involving Google and Apple, as well as how advertising is moving away from third-party cookies toward first-party data. When confronted with this bit of news, you may have wondered, “What does this mean for my business?”
While this is a significant change, it’s not anything to be too concerned about since privacy protections are constantly evolving (though sometimes on a smaller and less noticeable scale). Thankfully, we have a few ideas for you on how to continue strategizing in your digital marketing efforts that don’t rely as heavily on these previous tools.
What Do These Changes Mean?
In order to better understand how to shift your marketing efforts, let’s dive into what this shift entails exactly. Third-party data is any data collected by an external entity without a direct link to the user. It’s usually collected, aggregated, and sold for the intention of online advertising. First-party data is the data that your business has collected directly from your audience. This includes customers, website visitors, email contacts, and social media followers.
So even though you may be worried about this development, first-party data is actually much more beneficial than third-party cookies have been in the past. It’s far more reliable for making predictions and forecasting behavioral trends, which will come in handy for your digital marketing efforts.
Recommendations for a First-Party Data World
With online marketing shifting to first-party data, it’s vital to rethink your digital strategy. Take a look at how your business can avoid getting hurt by these privacy changes, and fully capitalize on them instead:
Email Marketing
With email marketing and first-party data, you can create campaigns tailored around the metrics you’ve been gathering from your audience to better serve them. The kind of data you can glean from email marketing includes open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, which can then lead you to information about your target audience and what campaigns speak to them the most.
Social Media
With how much time potential customers are spending on social media, you would be remiss to ignore this vital marketing channel, especially with first-party data. By using your first-party data, you can anticipate your audience’s needs when creating campaigns or partnering with influencers, for example. Additionally, you can turn your social media following into first-party data by encouraging them to either subscribe to an email list (often through contesting), or purchase your product or service.
It’s also great for figuring out customer personas and building on your brand trust and driving loyalty. Paid ads are another effective tool for gathering first-party data and measuring data, although many social media platforms also offer helpful analytics regarding SEO campaigns as well.
Website
Your website is an invaluable resource. Utilizing your site’s data can help determine many key factors of your marketing, from collecting information (given through account setup or email signup) to certain behaviors such as how they found you (e.g. organic, paid) to where they’re visiting on your site. Analytics is a great tool for retargeting and strategizing in ways that aren’t invasive to the customer, like third-party cookies.
Another option for your site is allowing account creation. A user profile can be built for each person, giving a better understanding for your audience and sending them relevant emails or SMS texts based on their behaviors, clicks, and content they’re engaging with most.
Mobile Apps
While not all brands have apps, even the mobile version of your site can offer information not usually gathered from the desktop version. As for apps, when consumers download a business or brand’s own app, that demonstrates a strong customer loyalty which you should make use of. Certain companies like to promote app-specific specials or promotions, which not only furthers this brand trust between the consumer but can also drive more traffic to the app which gives helpful first-party data for the future.
CRM Software
CRM platforms are another tool helpful for first-party data, giving information on past purchases and general interest in products (such as a wish list or email notifications for in-stock items). It allows customization and personalization that some other marketing tools can’t quite provide.
For instance, it could give ideas of popular products or services on your site that people are buying or searching for. When you analyze data from your CRM, you can leverage this to grow your business and hone in on your target audience to better serve their wants and needs.
Disruptive Marketing Strategy
Though change is daunting, this is one area where it may be more beneficial than if it had stayed the same. Navigating these new practices will soon become second nature, and you’ll be able to build your marketing campaigns in some creative and clever ways that still provide you with the right data and insights you need to thrive.
Ready for disruptive marketing for your brand or business? Contact us today so we can help you with your strategy!
