Not as Bad as You Think: Why the Notorious Cookie Apocalypse Is Actually Good for Marketing
November 29, 2021 5 min. read
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For decades, cookies and third-party data have served marketers well by being the primary source of information for targeted advertising. But guess what? Users got tired of having their info shamelessly collected, so they started complaining en masse about this on the internet. World-renowned brands like Google and Apple heard the talk and soon implemented new privacy policies, marking the outset of the notorious cookie apocalypse.
While “cookie apocalypse” sounds like the end of marketing, it’s actually just the beginning. The new confidentiality restrictions are paving the way for improved advertising, happier customers, authentic brands, and a new era of marketing. So turn off your survival mode because there’s nothing to survive!
Here are some reasons why the cookie apocalypse is good for marketing:
Improved Privacy for Users
Yes, marketers all around the globe moan about privacy policies taking away personalized ads and targeted campaigns, and we can’t blame them for it — after all, cookies have helped customize advertisements for, what, ages? But what we all should keep in mind during these seemingly hard times is that it takes two to tango, just like it takes more than one party to make a sale. In other words, happy users = higher sales, and one way to gratify clients is by giving them what they want (aka protecting their private data).
How many times have you heard friends and family complain about being terrorized by annoying ads or worry about their cell phones eavesdropping on them? Exactly. Customers have been fighting for confidentiality for too long, so let’s finally respect their desire to stay anonymous.
Plus, having client data finally protected is a huge benefit for marketers because it gives users safety. Secure prospects have lower skepticism about advertising, and that equals higher trust both in marketing overall and brands individually (no need to explain how faith in a company and a great reputation increase sales, right?).
So instead of blatantly scanning data on users’ online activity and preferences, focus on first-party data that users voluntarily provide, or resort to other advertisement techniques (more about that here).
High-Level Branding
By the time the New Year rolls around and we sing our Jingle Bells, pretty much all (flexible) companies are expected to have adjusted to the privacy updates. And, trust us, there’s something to adapt to — in a good way. Take brand building, for example.
The end of cookies sets higher standards for successful brand building. Simply put, corporations now have to invest more resources in building a great brand image (something we all should’ve done a while ago but “oh well”). While this may sound terrifying, it’ll be well worth it in the end because look what the marketing world’s getting in return:
Better Product Quality
The new rules encourage companies to pay more attention to the quality of their products. Many brands often used to skip this part and move straight to advertising, no matter how poor the quality of their products was. Well, this ain’t gonna work in the post-cookie-apocalypse world.
Since brands can no longer rely on targeted ads as much as they did just a few months ago, they have to go back to the basics (you know, creating awesome goods) and actually improve their product quality. Therefore, we’ll get way more high-quality products.
Excellent Content
Luckily, we can still rely on a lot of “old” promotion methods. Moreover, some of them have become more impactful than ever — like content.
Consumers don’t buy from companies with the lowest prices or brightest banners. They buy from brands who have their own identity, invite you into their community, and promote great values. One way to do that is through content. Taking into account the rapidly rising importance of content, businesses worldwide will definitely pay special attention to what kind of information they share, thus, enhancing the significance of brand reputation.
What does this mean for everybody? Improved SEO, terrific storytelling, useful posts, better visuals, fewer annoying ads for consumers, as well as high expertise, more interested prospects, and better conversions for brands.
More Organic Interactions
Because decent content is becoming so valuable, there are no prizes for guessing that we’ll soon notice a huge spike in organic traffic. Potential clients are expected to be drawn by helpful content with plenty of insights rather than search engines or traditional ad campaigns. Yes, we’re talking about everybody’s favorite — inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing means natural traffic to your channels and more genuinely interested leads (which also presupposes viral marketing). In the end, this organic activity will lead to a reduced budget on promotion, better and quicker conversions, as well as a lower CAC index. But that’s not all.
Chances are, influencer marketing will also get more popular. People have always trusted friends and family more than ads, and in 2022, this tendency will only strengthen. Content creators, bloggers, and influencers will have more power and users’ trust, marking their contribution to the growth of organic interactions and the future of influencer marketing in general.
Effective Communication with Clients
Since businesses will now get limited access to users’ data, they’ll actually have to listen to their audiences to get any additional info. What else does this mean? Customers will finally be heard! Going back to the basics ? But seriously, communication will drastically improve.
Companies will seek any kind of feedback and data from their audience. Be it a survey on a website or the comments section on their social media channels, companies will now closely listen to both their leads and loyal clients. And if you’re thinking, “Cool, but how is it beneficial for marketers and entrepreneurs?” we’ve got an answer for you: firsthand feedback. It’s the most objective kind of customer reaction, and also a great way to connect with your audience to hear their thoughts on “what could be improved in the future.”
A Leap in Creativity (aka New Marketing Tools)
Where there’s a disease, there’s also a cure. And if it’s not there, experts will do everything in their power to discover it and implement it in everyone’s lives ASAP.
The hopefully not-so-scary cookie apocalypse encourages people to get creative with tactics that can get them any piece of valuable data (oh, and yeah, ad campaigns can still be data-driven). Marketers, entrepreneurs, and businesses overall will start to think outside the box. This, of course, leaves a trace on the marketing landscape by introducing new promotion tools (spoiler alert: they’re better than what we’ve used so far).
Breath of Fresh Air
We could name a bunch of other reasons why the forthcoming changes are great, but the most important thing is that they’re refreshing. Times are changing, and so should the marketing world — otherwise, how are we going to evolve?
The new privacy updates are like a breath of fresh air. It’s a chance to throw away the old and open your mind to new innovative solutions. The cookie apocalypse is basically a wake-up call to folks running for money and KPIs. It’s a friendly reminder that we should take care of what truly matters: customer experiences, communication, and product quality. And if you’re flexible enough, you’ll accept the challenge.
The only question is: are you up for it?
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