How do you keep up with recent changes to privacy?
30th March 2022
Privacy is changing! That’s not a warning to lock your doors or install a security camera. We’re talking about privacy in the digital world.
Now, before we delve into how and why businesses need to have consumer privacy at the forefront of their mind, we need to discuss what privacy actually means. The definition has somewhat changed over the years.
Privacy is simply consumer’s ability to have a say in how their personal information is used by organisations.
This personal information includes, but is not limited to:
- Personal contact information
- Identifiable details
- Financial information
- Usage details such as tracking on websites, cookies, prior visits.
We are beginning to see a demand for reasonable data practices from the public this year. Consumers desire openness, honesty and the ability to take control. Whether they have protection from the law or not, consumers will choose to use services that are transparent and honest in their approach to personal data usage. Recent figures show that 73% of people say they use online services which promise high data protection such as encrypted emails and privacy-protecting search engines.
Tech giants such as Apple are already making major developments to ramp up privacy, which will change how digital marketers can use target audiences.
App Tracking Transparency requires all apps to obtain permission before tracking users, changes to email limits behavioural information and blocks pixel tracking, and Apple is continuing to make efforts across the board to block user identity.
So now you’re aware of the changes, here are some tips on what you can do to keep up.
- Focus on customer-first data protection strategies.
As a brand, you’ll want to rethink methods for measuring and reaching audiences to ensure the people you’re targeting feel in control and can manage the data they’re sharing. Trust takes time to build but seconds to break. By staying open and honest about how and when you are collecting personal information, you will be able to maintain a healthy brand-consumer relationship.
- Give customers the ability to take control.
Remember, consumers are looking for companies they can trust and companies that align with their morals and beliefs. Make it possible for customers to access or delete their data with ease.. Honouring your users’ requests will allow you to increase your brand trust and loyalty.
- Keep an eye on the bigger picture.
Try increasing ad and communication frequency as well as fine-tuning integrated brand metrics. Instead of showing one ad with a knockout message to get to the heart of your target market, why not try switching to several ads from a variety of angles. Rather than focusing on campaign effectiveness at a micro level, look at it from a broader view.
Evaluating all aspects of marketing and creating a more well-rounded approach could pay off in the future as it is uncertain whether we will have access to the same level of data that we did before.
If you want to keep up with more trends and changes on our radar this year, HDY has plenty to share. We’ve scoped out the latest consumer, marketing and design trends which are all here in our full HDY Future Thinking Trends PDF.