With the entrance of GDPR into force in May 2018, it is assumed that digital marketing will not remain the same. The field of digital marketing increasingly relies on collecting consumer’s data for targeting ads. This could impact their potential to do so. Before getting deep into the ways GDPR will affect digital marketing, let us focus on the main aspects that the law emphasizes on. Companies using personal user data must:

• Ask for permission to use personal user data.
• Also share how data will be used and who all will be having access to it.
• Allow data portability to let customers transfer their personal data within the organization
• Must guarantee “right to forgot” which makes it easy to delete personal data whenever required in the future.
• Implementation of “data protection by design” which guarantees security of personal data.

What GDPR has to do with Email Marketing

GDPR impacts the way email marketing is done. Among all the forms of marketing, email marketing has the highest conversion rates. GDPR marks email marketing as the most spamming tool. To comply with GDPR, email marketers must pay attention to the following:

• The permission for opt-in requests must be freely given and indicated with a clear action. Marketers must adopt the most efficient way to reach out to their prospects. This will upgrade the consent level.
• Use of smart technology to save consent forms electronically or on a paper. The storage system must be secure. It is advisable to take assistance of pattern identification and concept analysis technique to amalgamate discovery analytics with machine learning.

The use of Cookies

Cookies also come under the GDPR, until and unless they can identify individuals via device tracking. This includes web analytics cookies, advertising cookies, or survey tools that record users ids in cookies. Cookies also require permission and therefore a clear opt-in is required. Since the permission is subject-specific in email marketing, it requires getting consent for every single cookies the website uses.

Not only does websites needs to offer a smooth user experience but also a granular choice for permissions in a friendly way.

Social Media Websites

The “right to be forgotten” is an important right included in GDPR, and Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges for social networks. Most of us are logged in to social networks but what happens when we delete an account. Though social networks have made the process of deletion easier, however there is still lot more to do. With the help of user’s request, businesses need to identify and fully delete the data associated with an account.

Content marketing

Under GDPR, brands require a positive “opt-in” permission from everyone they wish to send marketing material. Online users always look for personalized experiences but are also concerned about cyber security and privacy. To fulfill these requirements, GDPR calls for opt-in. Businesses, therefore, need to focus on inbound marketing. This is also referred to as content marketing by professionals. Useful and timely content is the need of hour and is expected by all online visitors or social media followers. This is the place where GDPR can act as an enabler to offer personalized and consented experiences. Marketers can create and deliver content that harvest business results the way it is expected.

An open content, organic or paid social media, website subscriptions are some of the sources that can generate leads to enhance consumer’s experience or drive sales or conversion. What marketers need to do now is to help audience understand where the data goes and is saved.

How GDPR will have a positive impact

GDPR shows us a great picture of a relevant policy for consumer protection. It is important that digital marketers abide by the rules and regulations and also incorporate policies that sustain the same principles to make sure consumer protection and loyalty.

Implementing the GDPR policies requires real transformation in the way an online business is transformed. European law framers have gone into so many details. Whether companies like it or not, GDPR refers to the future of all privacy data to be adopted by businesses across the globe. Sooner of later, other areas of the world will make use of strict data standards.

Whenever a company is providing personal data to any of the advertising platform, they require doing so under the GDPR. In context to lead generation every platform helps in generating leads via lead generation forms. This will only facilitate the expression of consent in the terms as specified by GDPR. In the case of lead generation ads, the major responsibility is certainly in the hands of advertisers.

From the above-mentioned aspects, it has been made clear that the effect of GDPR on digital marketing has proved to be progressive. Online marketers will not have any choice left rather than evolving, thereby resulting in a productive expansion. A solid and imperative action plan is required for the growth of business and should be considered as a final call to put your digital marketing efforts into play. So, if you are also looking for data insights for your marketing needs, you can write to us. We offer services that increase the quality of your profile across multiple marketing channels. If you think, we have missed out some points, you can also mention them in the comments section below. We will be glad to refer your feedback.

  This article is contributed by Tom Hardy , Digital Marketing Consultant at Sparx IT Solutions.