Digital Marketing and Privacy: How to Generate Business Opportunities Without Losing Transparency

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We can all agree that the rise of the Internet has made it easier for brands and consumers to interact, and what used to require a huge effort to impact a target market can now be done in minutes or even seconds, allowing businesses to grow and reach new heights faster than ever before.

However, along with immediate access to information loan database also comes a growing dependence on technology.

This is why people are concerned about their personal privacy and the general access that companies have to their information.

So how do companies that rely on digital marketing , online advertising and campaign monitoring data fit into general consumer data protection laws?

In this post we will give you important tips so that your company can find a way to balance these factors efficiently and effectively.

We will now address the following topics:

What is privacy in the digital world?
Awareness of the importance of data privacy laws
Can Digital Marketing and Data Privacy Coexist?
The limits of digital marketing
Digital Marketing and Privacy: How Can Marketers Adapt?
The future of digital marketing and privacy
Conclusion: everything changes at the same time it remains the same
Keep reading! After assimilating the information we have provided, you will have a more elaborate vision of that subtle balance between Digital Marketing and privacy. Let's get started!

What is privacy in the digital world?
Before we can discuss how companies should protect consumer privacy , we first need to talk about what that means in terms of information.

And, at a basic level, privacy is the right of consumers to determine how third-party organizations use their personal information .

When we say personal information we are talking about something very vast and diverse, but basically we are referring to:

Personal contact information : Name, address, phone number, email.
Identifications : Identity or social security number, date of birth, driver's license number, IP address.
Financial information : Credit card numbers, bank account numbers.
Usage details : Tracking across websites, cookies , previous visits.
And while this is a simplified list of the different elements included in digital privacy, it gives a pretty good idea of ​​the types of data your company is probably already using in one way or another to perform marketing analysis .

This brings us to another question: how does your brand ensure digital privacy for customers, leads and website visitors?

Awareness of the importance of data privacy laws
As more people become concerned about digital marketers using personal information inappropriately, laws and regulations regarding the use of this type of consumer data are becoming more common.

This means that more online advertisers need to be aware of what they can and cannot do in terms of personal privacy.

More specifically, there are two important laws you need to consider:

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
And the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Both guidelines regulate how entities collect information and give individuals the right to opt out at any time during their browsing.

They were also the first to regulate how website owners should manage visitors based on their specific locations, both across the European Union and in the state of California.

As you can imagine, you never know when someone from one of these areas is going to visit your website, which is why these laws made it important for everyone across the board to comply with them in some way, which was a huge game changer .

But these are not the only two laws out there. As more consumers become concerned about how their information is used, local and international laws are beginning to appear.

That’s why it’s always important to understand the latest developments in data privacy . And to do this, it’s key to monitor industry signals, as you’ll be able to adapt your company’s methodologies accordingly.

Can Digital Marketing and Data Privacy Coexist?
Of course, all of these new regulations limit the way digital marketers can use data to create a personalized experience for buyers and customers.

It’s no wonder Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of marketers will have abandoned personalization efforts.

Where it was once common to track leads throughout an entire buying journey , today certain elements of that process are beginning to evolve to stay in line with global privacy restrictions.

Let’s look at Apple as an example, starting with iOS 14.5, users must opt ​​in to sharing their unique identifier for advertisers (IDFA) with apps.

This means that if any iPhone or iPad user chooses not to do this, their digital tracking information is not shared with advertisers.

In turn, platforms like Instagram and Facebook that rely on this data for advertising analytics could lose a lot of money.

At the same time, small brands that use their services for ads won't be able to generate accurate reports to know how well their campaigns are working.

And this is just one example of the tension between the Digital Marketing industry and data privacy regulations.

While Apple wants to keep its customer base — phone and tablet consumers — happy, other advertisers are at a direct disadvantage.

In addition, search giant Google has just announced that it will end third-party cookies in its Chrome browser by the end of 2023.

This means it will be harder than ever for brands to accurately track their users through current methodologies.

The limits of digital marketing
All these major changes amount to one thing: the general evolution of Marketing towards the individual and a substantially changing dependency.

Simply put, Digital Marketing leaders will have to rely less on data and monitoring and work more on an overall message that resonates better with their niches.

Where it was once easy to segment content into very specific groups, we are returning to an advertising era where creatives must take a broader approach.

Not sure what we mean? Think of car ads or banner ads before the dawn of the Internet.

These campaigns needed to focus on reaching a broader audience as a whole to be successful.

The exact implications of such changes, however, remain to be seen, and will largely depend on whether Apple and Google's decisions lead other platforms to take similar steps.

Digital Marketing and Privacy: How Can Marketers Adapt?
Now that we’ve talked about what digital privacy is and how jurisdictions and marketing platforms are changing, it’s important to look at how advertisers can adapt.

While there are several ways to make this happen, it all starts with marketers realizing that the days of data glut are over.

Having the ability to track your target audience’s every move is a thing of the past and what little remains of that way of working is rapidly diminishing, so it’s best to have a plan for moving forward.

According to Google, the best way to balance data-driven marketing and privacy protection is to:

Collect data responsibly;
Be inventive with how you reach audiences;
Hire and train for privacy;
But what does all this mean? Keep reading and we'll explain!

1. Focus on quality content
Until now, the main focus for marketers has been to match content with specific KPIs .

However, this is where you need to shift to a focus on content quality , as this is essential.

Instead of just trying to reach a large number of segmented demographic groups with your messages, you need to simultaneously have ads and creative media that meet the needs of larger, less well-defined groups.

By doing this, you'll be able to adapt to a "crowd messaging" approach.

2. Increase the frequency of ads and communications
Again, the evolution of Digital Marketing and privacy will require you to adapt to different circumstances .

And, rather than relying on one impactful message that reaches your target customer's heart right away, it's important to increase the frequency of ads and communication to achieve a more comprehensive approach.

For example, instead of showing one ad multiple times, you may want to switch to multiple ads with different angles.

You may also need to increase the number of times you connect with an audience to increase brand awareness. While the exact details of how this will work best remain to be seen, it’s definitely an important element to remember.


3. Adopt integrated brand metrics
To survive these changes and be prepared, it's important to adjust your brand's built-in metrics .

What does this mean? Monitoring campaign effectiveness at a macro level rather than a micro level.

Basically, you stop focusing on whether individual campaigns worked or not and start constantly evaluating all aspects of your Marketing , such as:

Total advertising expenditure.
ROI .
Customer satisfaction .
In the end, the broader you can see the bigger picture, the easier it will be to hone your overall message at a high level.


4. Include transparency and compliance in your methodology
As we saw after the adoption of the GDPR, it is extremely important to include transparency and compliance in your personal data capture methodology .

While this may not always be your decision—like with Apple and Facebook ads—there are certain elements of your website that you do have control over.

For example, make sure your privacy policies and other guidelines are clearly accessible on your website.
And, it provides plenty of opportunities for users to opt in or out of specific things — like email campaigns.
The clearer you are about these practices, the less vulnerable you will be to facing a complaint or fine in the future .

5. Switch to closed offers
Instead of passively waiting for people to opt-in to sharing generic data, give them something of value in return . This is a process known as “providing a gated offer.”

Suppose you want to get information about customer satisfaction after they made a purchase or scheduled an appointment on your website, to find out their information you can:

Send them a survey requesting specific information when the process is complete.
Offer them a coupon code for a discount on their next purchase, in exchange for their time and honest answers.
This type of offer puts approval in the hands of the client.

At the same time, they don't have to opt in to sharing the data – they can click a checkbox that gives them the option to opt out, or they can skip the entire offer altogether.

The key here is that this offer provides choice when it comes to engaging in marketing activities.

The future of digital marketing and privacy
While digital advertising is changing, it's important to remember that consumer behavior as a whole hasn't changed all that much.

People continue to buy things that satisfy a need or are committed to brands they trust.

This means it's time to start thinking about the so-called good old days of advertising .

Instead of relying on analytics for all of your marketing decisions, it's time to take a closer look at your audience and find ways to engage with them more effectively.

So what should advertisers expect for the future of digital marketing and privacy? Here are some of our projections!

More options for the consumer
This may seem pretty obvious, but when it comes to personal privacy, the tendency is to focus on giving consumers choice.

This means that brands must be prepared to have many opt-in and opt-out points so that users feel comfortable with the entire data collection process.

It is also a good idea to be prepared for future legislation that would make this mandatory.

As more jurisdictions begin to adopt protocols like GDPR and others, you'll need to ensure your website and marketing channels are ready to adapt when needed .

Macrometric vs. Micrometric
As we mentioned earlier, the opportunity to use micrometrics for highly specific target audiences and data analytics is at risk.

This means that we must start looking at consumer data from a macro or high-level perspective and no longer do so in a millimetric manner.

Why does this make sense?

As the reduction in access to specific data decreases, it is better to look at the general behavioral actions of users as a whole.

When you can create links between groups rather than sets as individuals, you can create metrics that help you monitor larger audiences .

Greater reliance on transparency
As more jurisdictions begin to adopt data privacy regulations, there is expected to be more reliance on overall transparency of the process.

This means that marketers must be prepared to show people the inner workings and clearly explain how certain types of data are used.

For marketers in highly competitive niches, this can be both a blessing and a curse.

This is because it makes it easier for other companies in your industry to see what you are doing in terms of digital advertising, but it also gives you the advantage of seeing their methods.

However, in the end, it's all about the consumer. So you need to be prepared for changes that require greater overall transparency.

Fewer sales of digital data to third parties
Consumers know when they are interacting with a specific brand and typically approve the same brand using their information accordingly.

However, what they don't like is when that information falls into the hands of a third party.

This is why marketers should anticipate less digital data sales to third parties in the future.

And if this happens, there will likely be a special opt-in process that allows users to clearly understand how their information is sold and where it is used.

Increased use of AI and behavioral activities
The good news in all this is that technology is evolving to meet demand.

As Google moves away from cookies, other options are emerging to offer advertisers similar data sets to work with.

In fact, many of the newer tools emerging for Data Marketing involve specific versions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to review customer behavior in a much more efficient way.

The end result? Better data analytics than we used in the past.

Conclusion: everything changes at the same time it remains the same
This is the most important aspect to consider when it comes to the future of Digital Marketing and privacy.

While advertisers have to adapt to new privacy laws and data collection practices, the most important elements of human nature and how we consume remain the same.

Achieving balance between the two factors is the key to success.