The digital marketing world was rocked last year by new privacy changes from two tech giants, Apple and Google, which are bound to affect businesses across numerous industries. It can be challenging, particularly for small businesses, to navigate evolving privacy policies and understand what these changes mean for digital marketing. That’s why Mavericks Marketing is breaking down what you need to know about the privacy changes frp, Apple and Google, how they’ll impact digital marketing, and some steps your business can take to move forward into 2021 with confidence.
What Are the New Privacy Changes?
One of the things that makes pay-per-click (PPC) advertising so effective is data, both for personalizing ads and measuring results. However, data privacy concerns have risen over the last several years as evidenced by recent regulations like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). See what the new privacy changes from Apple and Google entail below so you can better understand the role that data privacy will play in digital marketing’s future.
Apple’s iOS 14 Implements New Privacy Policies
In June 2020, Apple announced privacy changes that will impact data sharing across iOS – Apple’s mobile operating system. The company believes that “privacy is a fundamental human right” which is the reason behind the privacy changes. The first new policy will require App Store product pages to feature a new privacy details section to help users understand an app’s privacy practices. The second new policy will require apps to receive user permission to track users across apps or websites owned by other companies, or to access the device’s advertising identifier.
Google Chrome Will End Support for Third-Party Cookies
Google plans to phase out support for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser within two years to enhance privacy on the web. Cookies are small pieces of code that websites deliver to a user’s browser, and remain with the user as they visit other sites. In addition to sites that users visit, third-party cookies are often added by advertisers and ad networks to track users across multiple sites, target ads, and measure performance.
How the Privacy Changes Will Impact Digital Marketing
While we can’t predict all the ways that the privacy changes will impact digital marketing, there are several things that are likely to happen, primarily affecting how advertisers reach consumers online. Regardless if you’re a business or consumer, you’re bound to notice the effects of Apple’s and Google’s privacy changes when they’ve been implemented.
Facebook Ads Will Be Less Effective for Small Businesses
Facebook has responded against Apple’s policy changes, claiming the new privacy policies will limit businesses’ ability to effectively reach, understand, and engage users online. The social network also claims that the changes will affect businesses’ ability to understand their advertising’s performance, control who sees their ads, and make informed decisions about ad budgets. Since Apple’s privacy policies will make it more difficult for small businesses to reach their target audience, it’ll be harder for them to grow and compete with big companies.
A Shift in Focus From Third-Party Data to First-Party Data
Third-party data is any data that’s collected by an external entity that doesn’t have any direct link to the user. It’s often collected, aggregated, and sold for the purpose of online advertising. First-party data is the data that your business has collected directly from your audience which can be customers, site visitors, and social media followers. It’s considered the best type of data to use for advertising because it’s more reliable for making predictions and forecasting behavioral trends.
More Subscription Fees or In-App Purchases
“Free” content and apps aren’t truly free as they cost money to create, develop, and maintain which is why publishers often rely on online advertising to make money. In order to make up for loss advertising revenue due to new privacy protections, publishers will start charging subscription fees for users to access content or push in-app purchases to support app development.
4 Digital Marketing Recommendations to stay ahead of the changes
There will undoubtedly be far reaching effects of privacy changes from Apple and Google, but that doesn’t mean that digital marketing is doomed. In fact, Mavericks Marketing has four recommendations you can implement to help your business stay ahead and thrive in 2021.
1. Build a Community
Since Facebook Ads are going to be less effective for small businesses, now is the time to build a community. Facebook Groups are an effective means for connecting with target audiences and creating meaningful brand engagement.
2. Double Down on Quality Content
Content is crucial for digital marketing and branding. Not only is quality content a must for search engine optimization (SEO), but it’s also powerful for web design and development, social media marketing, email marketing, brand differentiation, and more.
3. Increase Your SEO Efforts
When your site has top positions in search engine results pages (commonly known as ‘SERPs’) for keywords that are relevant to your business, you don’t have to rely as much on PPC advertising to drive traffic to your site. Additionally, users tend to trust organic search results more than paid ads which will enhance your brand’s credibility.
4. Create video content
There are many types of content your business can create, however, video content is what will break through the clutter. Incorporating videos into your landing pages, blog articles, and social media posts will increase engagement with your audience and improve brand memorability.
Prepare Your Digital Marketing for the Future
Although the new privacy changes will make Facebook Ads less effective for small businesses, shift focus to first-party data collection, and result in more subscription fees and in-app purchases, there are a variety of digital marketing strategies your business can employ to grow in 2021. Now is a great time to have Mavericks Marketing evaluate and analyze your digital marketing efforts to create a strong action plan.
Contact us today to schedule a call to discuss your digital marketing needs and goals.
