08 Jul More policies will come to protect user privacy, be ready!

Is it wrong to give users the power to decide what personal data to share with apps? We say no way! 

Should you review what cookies you allow when visiting a website? We say of course, it’s your right!

The latest Apple software update will now ask whether the user wants to allow the app “to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites” via a visible pop-up.  The user can then select whether to allow the app to track them and share their data.

Facebook, among other big companies whose income comes from targeted advertising, is not happy with Apple for its new privacy policies. Why would they be? After all, it would protect all that valuable data on our preferences and behaviors, which could thus affect the effectiveness of the ads. Facebook assures that “the average small business advertiser stands to see a cut of over 60% in their sales for every dollar they spend”.

Google, on the other end, plans to eliminate the use of cookies in Chrome for the sake of transparency and privacy. And with that we say good-bye to the individual tracking of user actions.

This will definitely have a significant economic impact for these companies but it’s time to get ahead and figure out ways to continue targeting the right audiences. 

Are you worried about how these policies, and other similar ones, may affect the personalization of your campaigns? 

Google already has an artillery of resources for advertisers which according to them do not compromise the privacy of their users. Privacy Sandbox and Google Marketing Platform (which we will cover in another post) are just some of them. 

However, there are other ways to get to know your buyer persona. Just be creative!

Check out some ideas to obtain priceless, and updated information on your target audience to boost your ads and online content (even with all the privacy policies):

• Ask. Use your social media channels (stories are perfect!) to ASK your audience questions and find out about their favorite activities, what they bought online during the last months, check on any problems, needs, and everything consumer related that comes to mind.
• Stalk. Check out your competition’s social media profiles, websites, and even Amazon accounts (if pertinent). Not to copycat! But to analyze the comments, questions, and reviews left by customers. Your competitor’s weaknesses could be your potential strengths.
• Track. Is your customer satisfied? Send online surveys about the products they already bought in exchange for a discount coupon. Make sure you build a relationship.

We have yet to see how the new policies, when implemented, affect our marketing efforts, but take these ideas from our tank and get ahead of the game as many economists predict this could be a big hit. 

And if you need consulting or implementation, feel free to contact us to strategize other ways to get to know your clients in-depth!

What are your thoughts on the impact of these new privacy policies?