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Two decades ago, the consumer industry built a complex set of tools and systems to track and analyze what people do online. This has caused a lot of debate over the past five years as different people have different opinions. The backbone of digital marketing is built with third-party data and rented partnerships.
The process involves a website visitor visiting your website and loading a pixel for advertising partners to track their activities on your website. Most visitors leave without purchasing anything. After that, you can re-target audiences who bought nothing to encourage them to return to your site. This worked fine until big tech platforms and global regulations changed it.
D2C brand owners might still rely on third-party data, but you may not be aware of the dire consequences for your brand. It is time to think about how to build stronger relationships and grow your D2C brand.
Don't rely on Facebook Ads alone
You can test other platforms to find out what works. You will see a diversification in your brand, which is great especially during busy seasons such as Q4. You can test if your ads need to be more organic, as recent changes may not have the right customers in mind. Keep testing the content that works well with your audience and scaling it up. Boost the organic content that is doing well. You can use organic content to answer questions, provide user-generated content, or even give a quote. It might be worth scaling up if it is popular with your audience.
Continuously build your brand
Everyone believed that paid media was easy and provided instant data and gratification through Facebook Ads. The steps required to create a brand that people love to shop from were taken for granted by brand owners. It is not enough to have a convenient store that delivers when you need it most. It is important to get to know your customers in order to build the brand. This will create a community that is better than a brand without a story.
Related: 7 Things You Need to Know About Digital Marketing
Ads can be viewed differently
Advertising can be viewed differently. Instead of focusing on what has worked in 2020, think about building a story for your brand. This is something I've noticed over the past few months, and I expect it will continue to grow in the months ahead.
You should be looking at other channels
Instead of focusing on targeting users with paid ads, focus on collecting phone numbers and email addresses. This will help build the brand and strengthen the ties mentioned in the previous point. Once you have all the information, make sure to keep the community informed about what's happening with the brand. This allows them to connect more.
Related: 6 Essential Digital Marketing Trends For Small Businesses
Enhance the website
Your website's speed and performance should be your top priority. This is more important than ever. Many brand owners assume this is a given, but customers don't like a slow website. It is a routine that I do every month to speed up my website. This has a positive impact on conversion rates. Always test your website with different versions to find the one that works best for your audience.
Differentiate better
Your products should be differentiated more than ever. Your brands and your offering are now more important than ever with digital advertising. Consider how your offerings can be improved over those of your nearest competitor.
Data is not oil
Your pixel may have data from the past couple of years but that doesn't necessarily mean you are sitting on gold. You need to analyze this data to gain a better understanding of your customers and their buying habits. Your brand will not grow if you just collect email IDs or phone numbers. Regularly analyze, segment and reach customers.
Related: 5 Digital Marketing Trends for Your Business in 2021
