Digital marketing is not the shiny new object it was a decade ago, but is still a crucial piece of any business’ tool kit. Privacy concerns from users have pushed tech giants like Meta, Google, Apple and others to adopt stricter security features, making it more difficult for user activity to be tracked online thus providing a conundrum for marketers.

That is great news for the consumer who is wary of one too many oddly specific and prescient ad placements. It’s not as welcome news for marketing professionals who have poured millions of dollars into digital because of how granular they could get with ad targeting and the detailed reporting that followed.

Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in 2021, an explicit opt out option presented to iPhone users regarding in-app activity tracking, which threw a wrench into many marketer’s digital strategies because it fundamentally altered how campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram were run. Facebook itself has claimed the iOS privacy change will cost them $10 Billion in 2022 alone.  

Just a few years ago a marketer could target a hundred people on Facebook and track 10 definitive conversions from that original audience. Over time Facebook increased the minimum size of a custom audience that one could create with externally uploaded information (i.e. email lists) due to data scraping concerns. The nexus event of these privacy concerns originate from the disaster that was Cambridge Analytica. 

News stories like that, the trend of social media algorithms favoring sensational and engaging content above all else, and even Congressional hearings, have led to public pushback, putting tech giants on their heels forcing them to adapt. 

Marketers, as is their nature, were forced to do the same.  

So now with the privacy and security concerns of users leading to changes made by the platforms in response, the easy days are a thing of the past. 

That doesn’t mean that digital marketing is any less effective though. It just means every business needs to go beyond just the numbers of what the CPA is on this creative targeting that audience vs another. 

Here are the Top 5 Ways to Maximize Your Marketing Amidst Customers’ Privacy Concerns

1.) Influencer Marketing 

The effectiveness of Influencer Marketing lies in the ability to partner with a personality that consumers already trust and admire. Partnering with creators allows a brand to go beyond direct marketing and provides a warm referral. Facebook has recently doubled down on Influencer Marketing with a full Creator Marketplace for marketers to find and work with top talent.

It’s not just a buzzword marketing tactic either, the numbers back it up: 

“Research from Meta for Business in 2020 found that 84% of global consumers say they would purchase, try or recommend a product based on influencer content if it is relevant.

Influencer marketing is especially powerful in driving sales when paired with other ads. Facebook and Instagram campaigns that combined regular ads and influencer ads are 85%3 more likely to drive people to add products to shopping carts, compared with using regular ads alone, according to 2021 Meta for Business research…For brands, the most effective influencers to partner with are those seen as authentic, trustworthy and relatable by their audiences. In fact, 60% of global consumers say they’d follow a brand, product or service after seeing it promoted by a creator who shares their values and interests.

2.) Put a Face to Your Brand

It’s incredibly rare for a brand to build sustainable success through advertising alone. It takes branding and marketing to drive awareness and make people familiar with what a business is offering. Putting a face to your brand helps create a connection, build a community and a sense of trust, but most importantly it arouses emotion.

“Emotions drive people to action. They make us laugh, shout, and cry, and they make us talk, share, and buy.” – Contagious: Why Things Catch On

3.) You Have to Give Before You Can Ask

In the era of privacy concerns online, trust takes time to build between brand and consumer. It’s important to understand that you can’t always be looking to sell, especially not in the first interaction with a user. Provide content that’s meaningful, educational, informative, and entertaining. Connect with your target audience and build a tribe of users that want to be associated with your brand. Provide more than you ask for so when you do go for the ask, users are ready, willing, and able.

4.) Differentiate Your Content

Too many brands create one piece of content and then share the same exact thing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. It isn’t just a recommendation anymore, it is vital to differentiate your content. 

Give people a reason to follow and engage with you on different platforms or you run the risk of siloing your audiences. Create native content for each platform in order to reach the user where they are, but more importantly reach them with content that speaks to the behavior of the specific platform.

5.) Become More Than Transactional. 

Provide value beyond just the product you hope to sell if you want to build a lasting relationship with customers. For a brick and mortar business that might mean selling coffee in the morning to reach customers at different times of the day while eliciting different behaviors. 

Another example of becoming more than transactional is the renowned customer service of e-commerce pet retailer Chewy. With big box stores, Amazon, and local pet stores it’s difficult to cut through the white noise when many customers are just comparing prices. Chewy became more than transactional with its personal touch in customer service.

With articles appearing on the likes of Fortune and the Today Show, the customer service interactions of Chewy include not just refunds, but handwritten notes and even flowers delivered to customer’s doors.

Customers will remember you and more importantly talk about you if the relationship becomes more than a transaction.