When it comes to advertising in today’s digital world, consumers want two sometimes-conflicting things: personalization and privacy.
A recent Lucidpress study found that effective personalized content could increase brand revenue by an average of 48 percent. However, only 21 percent of marketers say that most of their content is personalized, meaning that the majority of marketers are failing to create content that is relevant to the consumer.
So how do marketers solve this disconnect and realize their full potential return on ad spending (ROAS)? Here are three ways.
3 Ways Marketers Can Deliver Better Personalized Content
- Lean on quality data.
- Anticipate your audience’s needs.
- Segment by demographics.
Lean on Quality Data
Personalization starts with having accurate information about consumer behaviors and preferences to understand what they want from a brand. Quality data goes beyond just developing relevant content for the consumer, though; it’s also about the timing.
In a Savanta study, 65 percent of consumers said that the communications they receive from brands lack a personal touch. Furthermore, 37 percent reported that they continued to be targeted by ads for items already purchased — showing how important it is for marketers to have the right data in order to send the right message at the right time.
New privacy regulations like GDPR can make gathering this type of data more challenging since it allows consumers to opt out of tracking, but brands can still reach new audiences through lookalike-audience modeling and creative methods like questionnaires and giveaways that encourage users to subscribe.
Anticipate Your Audience’s Needs
Once a brand has reliable data and understands consumer expectations, marketers can more easily curate content that responds directly to these needs. However, just reacting to what a consumer wants in the present isn’t enough — marketers need to take the time to think about what the customer wants next to create a more seamless experience.
In addition, creating a two-way communication channel that enables the brand to receive direct customer feedback can go a long way in building close relationships with consumers. This can include online forums, reviews or even phone conversations.
Segment Your Marketing by Demographic Data
Varying age groups have different preferences for how they like content to be delivered to them. For example, a younger audience may respond better to an ad on TikTok than a traditional email campaign.
For Generation Z, email is associated with the stress of work and seen as an “eternal chore.” Additionally, the formal language email campaigns may use, such as “Dear X,” may feel out of touch with the casual language younger consumers use on a day-to-day basis.
On the other hand, a recent Kantar study revealed that TikTok’s ad visibility nearly doubled this year as the app continues to grow in popularity, particularly among Gen Z users. For marketers, TikTok’s appeal shows what young consumers respond to in an ad: innovation and authenticity.
As cookies continue to be phased out in the martech industry in the coming year, personalization will be a critical tool for brands looking to create real connections with consumers without encroaching on their privacy. Customers aren’t willing to settle for anything less, and the marketing industry shouldn’t want to settle either.
This means that you must take the time to analyze data strength, anticipate customer behavior and segment audience demographics to determine their preferences. While crafting a personal consumer experience is more time consuming, this extra effort is worth it when it means a higher ROI and an engaged customer base that is loyal to the brand.
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