The internet, which the populations of the world are direly dependent upon, is also the platform for marketers who whip out Ads bringing wealth through interaction. As masses continue holding solidarity for free, unrestricted usage of Internet, marketers are contemplating the effects of ungated access of the democratic internet.
Marketers are pumping massive budgets into online campaigns that are propelling the Internet’s growth year after year. While all the funding is fed into the boiler for empowering the website and social network, it has managed to raise a few eyebrows, especially when they miss their mark and spew out irrelevant content.
Footing the Internet costs are made easier by ensuring the Ad campaigns are amusing and useful to the audience. It is also important not to place online services behind other gated content.
Several rounds of discussions were conducted in the past on how the Internet should receive funds. Some groups of users approve the ad-funded model, according to which the overall usage (access, consumption, and distribution) is unrestricted and free. While the other set of correspondents state that unrestricted access and utilization of its feature could flood the Internet with sub quality content. There are mounting concerns where there is a critical imbalance within this system for compensating fresh content with the revenues swept from Ads. Budgetary constraints are manifesting Ad-funded models that limit the creation of more contents.
The trickling fund further elevates pressure upon the content quality, and that becomes an overhead over a period. While subscriptions are openly accepted, there seems to be no substantial justification for the free use of Internet.
The outcome of digital marketing campaigns weighs upon the marketer’s ability to track the consumer behavior. That being said, the privacy of a user has always been a talking point due to various concerns surrounding data collection. Traditionally, the campaigners play safe with the use of cookies. It enables to collect the conditionally agreed-upon internet usage signatures.
Data Protection Regulation And Its Effects
The future of data protection in the UK is already under review where stringent standards are on the cards for securing the privileges of Internet users. The marketers will be forced to obtain “unambiguous consent” from all their target audience prior to any form of electronic distribution. The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is set to begin in 2018, is a starting point for setting a seal on worry-free online experience.
The move, however, wasn’t in the interest of most marketers because they felt such an initiative could cripple the Ad-based revenue generation and bring it to a standstill. It could also nip the future of startups and collapse any flourishing businesses.
Traditionally, the highly targeted data-driven campaigns are substantially supported by the abundance of user information obtained through social media. Limiting the data collection through cookies alone could further constrict their ability to distinguish qualified audience.
For instance, a promotional video on Facebook would unlock answers to the viewer statistics. It could help the businesses understand the audience’s response to the message by analyzing micro statistics such as the length of video watched (wholly or partially), and whether the users enabled volume or if they viewed the same with volume disengaged. Based on the findings the individual members could be identified for distribution of marketing messages.
Such fragmented statistics could prevent the marketers from sending messages to disinterested users for saving cost, time, and reputation. Facebook has made data accessible with such ease that brands can upgrade their campaigns accordingly by gauging the metrics.
However, some analysts state that targeted campaigns are suitable for brands selling niche products.
Patrons of hardcore marketing say the data-driven approach has led the creativity astray and to some extent the effective persuasion capability as well. The data-centric advertising model fails to earn the likes of many due to it falling short of personalization. Without the ideal balance between robust data and creativeness, it’s hard to engineer a conversion quality Ad campaigns.
The unanimity existed where the data obtained from cookies and form entry is best suited for campaigns that incorporate aggressive selling tactics.
Is Retargeting A Passé
Aggressively retargeting users are seen as a poorly funded strategy. The approach lacks firepower especially when the advertiser has to trail the visitors continuously across various places on the internet. It can be frustrating and disappointing should the visitor turn away from all offers extended by the advertiser.
Since retargeting misses out on the person to person level involvement, it can get tiresome despite the automated advertising programs tracking statistics on the fly. Vastly, the retargeting programs incorporate the automated software that picks up the visitor’s behavior and crafts Ads suitable to the relevant audience. However, some enthusiasts believe in the need for a certain sophistication to overcome the drawbacks by offering a seamless experience to both brands and consumers.
The automated programs help advertisers partially by finding a suitable audience but, email provides better traction despite unethical marketers abusing its potential.
Ultimately, advertisers are turning to machine learning for choosing the ideal products, content, and Ads useful to the audience. Many believe the programmatic advertising is on the right track although it needs optimization in several areas to be suitable for the marketing program.
Marketing veterans have always warned that excessively depending upon automated technology could take away the element of personalization making interactions seemingly bland and robotic.
