As we move closer towards digitalisation, regulations are getting stronger, but how do these privacy laws affect digital marketing? For businesses in the UK, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been the biggest change, affecting how companies can collect, store and use people’s personal data. This influenced other countries to make their own versions of the privacy law, but GDPR remains one of the strictest. So, how will regulations like GDPR affect you, and more broadly, how will privacy laws affect digital marketing?
Consent is Essential
Pre-GDPR, businesses could collect the personal data of consumers with little-to-no hassle; nowadays, that’s a thing of the past. To comply with regulations, businesses must explicitly ask for consent to collect or use their data. This means that users have to opt-in to receive marketing communications and to allow the use of cookies.
For marketers, this change has impacted everything from lead generation to how remarketing lists are built. But aside from forcing it to become more transparent, how else have privacy laws affected the digital marketing space?
Email Marketing
One of the most powerful tools for businesses to get through to their customer base, email marketing, has also been shaped by GDPR and similar regulations. One example of this is the fact that businesses must ensure that all recipients have actively opted in to your emails and there must be a clear and visible unsubscribe area.
Although annoying and restrictive for some, GDPR has in turn led to better quality lists as everyone on there has actively subscribed; this could lead to improved click-through rates.
Cookies
Another way that privacy laws affect digital marketing is their impact on cookies. Cookies are tiny files that track your behaviour across sites. Marketers can use this to understand how people interact with their website, so they can better optimise it. In more recent times, cookies have fallen under strict regulation as businesses must now let users know what data is being collected and obtain consent before they start. This has led to the endless cookie banners you see when browsing the web.
Although the pop-ups asking for consent may take away from your immersiveness, they promote transparency and act as a positive way that privacy laws affect digital marketing.
Targeting
Targeted advertising (like Google Ads) relies on delivering personalised content through the use of user data. However, like the previous areas, privacy laws have limited how data can be collected and used. One change caused by this is platforms having to change their app’s algorithms to stay compliant. For example, granular demographic data can’t be accessed now unless agreed to by the user. This pushes half-decent content over invasive tracking procedures.
Data Storage
One of the biggest areas of digital marketing that privacy laws affect today is the storage and management of data. Because of GDPR, businesses must store customer data securely and only for as long as necessary. Also, it has given users the right to “be forgotten” and can request their data to be deleted.
Penalties
When businesses don’t comply with GDPR and other similar regulations it commonly results in serious financial implications.
Under GDPR alone, companies have been fined up to €20 million or 4% of their annual turnover.
Final Thoughts
Privacy laws affect digital marketing more than you can ever imagine and whilst some businesses might find them annoying, they encourage transparency and trust.
