In the era of trends, Digital Marketing is the boss of trends as it is one big trend of marketing of products or services by using digital technologies. Also, it involves display advertising, mobile phones, and any other digital medium.
Moreover, the marketing industry is pretty dynamic and susceptible to change. It can be said that it has to adapt to new technologies and consumer choices by its very nature.
And now, it can be seen that we have a huge change on the horizon that promises to shake up the marketing industry from top to bottom, along with several other industries as well. Here we are talking about Blockchain. Yes, the infusion of blockchain in digital marketing is making some serious waves.
According to Transparency Market Research, the technology Blockchain market is expected to reach 20 billion dollars by the end of 2024, which has already made massive changes in the financial world.
Are you thinking, what all the fuss about Blockchain is? So, let’s start with a brief introduction to Blockchain to understand it well.
Not all can understand technical terms; therefore, the authors of the “Blockchain Revolution” explained it in very simple terms, that is, Blockchain is simply a public ledger which stores and distributes data.
The person that uses Blockchain can both use as well as share all its data. Moreover, each user plays a role in keeping the Blockchain updated and transparent.
Its transcription history in so-called blocks and the system retains all the data stored in a chain-like pattern – hence it is called Blockchain. The striking fact about the Blockchain is that you can only add information to it but cannot change or copy it.
And, the ledger would be updated on every users’ device, if someone would try to hack the system or change anything. Hacking the network is impossible, considering just how many users are in a Blockchain. That’s what makes the technology very secure.
Now, Blockchain is gradually stepping into the world of digital marketing. Based on the recent report from Epstein, more than thirty marketing apps now use Blockchain technology up to a certain extent.
How will Social Media and Digital Marketing be Affected?
Delving into Blockchain technology can be one major step if one wants to take the next step towards the future. For understanding and reaching more consumers, data is essential for marketers.
And, social media and digital marketers will no longer have to outsource to third-parties to verify data. Rather, they will be capable of validating their data through first-party verification. Now, all changes and information are transparent since all records are public on a decentralized network.
Here’s How Blockchain Will Redefine Marketing
1. Get Rid of the Third Party
The top use of blockchain technology is it will eliminate the need for a middleman. Yes, you will be paying the consumer for personal data rather than purchasing through third-parties.
Moreover, Ad networks collect data from users directly who visit their publisher websites and then further sell the user data and profiles to other advertisers. Cookies, small pieces of codes, are used to track the users across the web.
Based on the reports from Forrester analyst, if a publisher removes the middlemen or the third party, their CPM would rise from $1 to $5.
Moreover, instead of getting a date from an ad network, now publishers can create their networks to keep the data for themselves by using blockchain.
Ultimately, companies could skip the ad buying process entirely. According to Entrepreneur, the co-founder of TravelChain, Ilya Orlov, believes that the marketers could access the data from their clients straight away. Moreover, companies can track metrics like the actual audience attention and not imprints by using micro-currencies.
So now, businesses will get easier and cheaper access to their customers based on their browsing history, such as travelers would get special offers and a reward for sharing their information. This act of service providers will increase their customer loyalty towards them.
Before this, advertisers used to gain information about their audience from separate sources. And, advertisers now build the customer profile from the data shared willingly by the customer using blockchain. So, this makes for an even greater ability to create customized ads and displays them to people most likely to buy your services or products.
2. Prevent Ad Fraud
If we talk about advertisers in the marketing industry, Ad fraud is becoming a serious issue for them. That's because paying for impressions or fake clicks has become a common phenomenon nowadays. Some of the reports find that one in every five pay-per-clicks was fraudulent in January 2017 alone.
Along with emptying the pockets of marketers, Ad fraud is also distorting their analytical data, which is ultimately hitting their strategic decisions.
But it happened as if only there was a way to authenticate clicks. However, now, advertising platforms can display all click-throughs in real-time with the foundation of blockchain technology. It is also helping marketers by renting out their advertising space and delivering quality traffic to them. Companies like adChain and BitTeaser have already disrupted PPC advertising by utilizing this technique.
Gradually, social media marketers will be able to identify and purchase better ad buys due to the transparency of blockchain technology and secure decentralized network. Moreover, when purchasing ads, marketers will be able to verify the bot data and paid-for clicks data from the verified consumer data, since each block on a blockchain is secured and verified.
3. Smart Contracts
Companies can sign smart contracts now by the use of Blockchain. India’s blockchain expert, Mohit Mamoria, mentioned in one of his posts on Hackernoon,
“These smart contracts cannot be modified after being deployed. They consist of software code and are executed by the blockchain network. After being triggered, they are completely inalterable and can only be replaced by a new contract.”
Moreover, these contracts make the exchange of money or shares transparent. Blogging and influencer marketing are domains with a direct application of smart contracts.
Even when you call out to an influencer for a shoutout on YouTube or Instagram, the influencer decides their price. And, no middlemen regulate the terms of the agreement.
Also, one can enforce the obligations of every party involved with smart contracts so that payments are only made after the terms are met.
For instance, the smart contract in place won’t release the payment, if the blogger fails to publish an article or a social media post about your brand. Hence, to move to the next step of the process, each contractual milestone has to be fulfilled.
Digital marketers can also opt-in for Smart Contracts that track the terms of a contract. Once the agreed-upon terms are met, and the smart contract will complete deals, the funds are then allocated. And, by ensuring timely pay and secure contracts, these contracts make global transactions easier for marketers.
4. Better Targeting
Over one in a thousand ads get clicked in an online display ad campaign, and about 70 percent of advertisers fail to target consumers with behavioral data, especially if we consider the online advertising industry.
However, the fact is, marketers are unable to engage the target audience even after they have consumer data and pay exorbitant fees to the middlemen involved in advertising.
So how to make the right audience to find your ad and further interact with it?
Fortunately, blockchain technology offers a solution. Huge names like BitClave have utilized blockchain’s properties to create a decentralized search engine, which helps advertisers to reach their target audience with a whole new level of innovation.
More interestingly, they also pay the target audience in the form of CAT tokens for presenting personal data to the advertisers. In this way, every time people click on ads on the BitClave search engine, they get paid for it. Ultimately, it raises the hyper-targeting of ads, and the audience sees only those ads in which they have shown interest.
Therefore, blockchain’s enormous power to decentralize can solve consumer engagement and targeting factor in the field of advertising.
So, the blockchain prevents the ability to keep personal information within a central institution. That's because instead of that, information is stored within the blockchain. Somehow, this anonymity empowers users to provide personal information to marketers particularly willing to buy the data.
And as a result, the information you receive will be more accurate and better targeted towards people interested in your brand by purchasing data from consumers. In all, third-parties will no longer be needed by digital marketers for consumer data.
5. Improving Transparency
Jitendra Vaswani who is a renowned blogger and digital marketer says,
“Blockchain’s public ledger allows transparency of every product at each stage of the supply chain. One of the problems large companies face is trust. Right from where their food comes from to the factory conditions where the product was made, consumers are skeptic about so many things. As a marketer, our job is to build trust with the product such that it sells. Blockchain places tremendous power in the hands of the customer – thereby improving their customer experience.”
So it can be said that the quickest way to gain trust is by being transparent.
As one good example of it, Walmart teamed up with IBM on a project to make their supply chain process transparent. And, they used blockchain for the consumer to trace where their pork came from, starting from the retailers in China. This inclusion boosted the consumer’s confidence in Walmart.
Blockchain Can Help Promote and Strengthen Loyalty
Based on the reports from Forbes, blockchain may boost the demand for advertising. Companies will thoroughly understand whether their TA can see their ads or not, thus avoiding unnecessary costs.
And, AdChain is an excellent example of this approach. It is a company that uses a native token to create a secure space. It also allows campaign auditing and secure tracking of impressions so one can spend their budget on advertising as efficiently as possible.
Moreover, the Blockchain will be able to “clean up” the industry, and this applies not only to advertising. Yes, this new technology will transform all forms of interaction with clients.
Now, it is especially difficult for marketers to attract attention, but the use of Blockchain can solve this difficulty: now companies can offer cryptocurrency for it.
And this approach will entirely change loyalty programs.
For instance, Chanticleer Holdings Inc. hit the headlines after its brands (Little Big Burger & American Burger Co.) launched a loyalty program based on cryptocurrency. Within its framework MobivityMind on the blockchain platform, users can easily save up cryptocurrency, and further use them to pay for meals. And, its transparency is beyond any doubt since this system does not belong to the brand.
Another great example is the brand Babyghost, which later collaborated with the blockchain platform VeChain during the fashion week in Shanghai, offering customers the opportunity to verify a collection of bags.
Primarily, this method enables you to both authenticate as well as learn more about the product and the brand.
Can Blockchain Harm Marketers?
Only if marketers refuse to study and master Blockchain, it can harm them. Companies must define the role and vision of this new technology in their business, and then do not think twice before bringing such ideas to life.
Remember, this is just the beginning. Exactly like the 90’s era, where no one dreamed of search engines, smartphones, and social networks, today the blockchain promises us much more as the possibilities of the blockchain and cryptocurrency are almost endless.
The Bottom Line
So, with the inclusion of blockchain technology in Digital Marketing, marketers can gain more accurate information from the consumers directly interested in their brand. It will allow them to target ads to potential consumers based on verified data and will also increase their ROI.
Moreover, it helps marketers most who are interested in global transactions, knowing that implemented smart contracts will allow a secure deal.
