Many B2B marketers are concerned about the impact online privacy changes, including Apple's iOS 14.5 release earlier this year and the depreciation of 3rd party cookies coming soon, will make to their digital advertising and marketing efforts.
Impacts on the collection and use of personal information have been a focus for both governments and platforms alike since 2017. The chart below summarizes some of the major privacy-related changes and regulations.
Yes, some tactics will be heavily impacted by the iOS 14.5 update and the depreciation of cookies; however, most tactics that are important to B2B marketers will remain pretty much the same.
In this article, we'll show you how to make a few tweaks now that will not only set you up for success but will also enable you to better serve the very prospects you are trying to reach.
Access to user behavior data on third-party sites will not be as available as it has been in the past. Why? Historically 3rd party cookies (browser tracking) and user identification (phone tracking) have been key dependencies for advertising and are being depreciated to improve users' online privacy.
To be clear, this user data isn’t gone. It’s just no longer shared between sites (see image below). You will still be able to reach and track users on your own site(s) and channels where users congregate.
What Privacy Changes Are Going to Impact My B2B Company?
What’s changed is the level publishers and advertisers can track users from one site to another. A big drawback here will be that this data will now live largely in “walled garden” silos making cross-channel targeting/tracking almost impossible.
The two 800lb gorillas in the world of user access and identity, Google with chrome and android and Apple with safari and iOS, have discovered the value (i.e., profiteering opportunities) in controlling this access and data under the guise of “privacy.” Soon you’ll have to go to the throne of Google and Apple (or anywhere else your users congregate) and comply (i.e., pay) for use of this data.
The bet these channels are making is that, as advertisers, we will choose to invest more money in a single channel vs. spreading it across multiple channels, enabling them to capture a larger share of our advertising budgets. We will be forced to ask ‘what is the biggest pond (channel) to fish in?’ and then go all-in with our advertising dollars.
Advertising and attribution solutions that leverage data collected by third parties across multiple websites will be impacted the most. This includes:
The good news is that there are still many ways to connect and engage prospects with B2B digital advertising and marketing regardless of privacy, iOS 14.5, and the demise of the cookie:
Follow this simple 7-Step framework to ensure that your message is getting in front of the right buyers regardless of demise of 3rd party cookies or other privacy-related targeting challenges.
Step 1: Write really, REALLY, good content that helps your prospects solve business problems and achieve their goals. This is what your buyer wants; so start there. Share interesting insights, research, and steps on overcoming challenges. (hint: that’s what this blog is doing). Check out our content marketing resources for more tips.
Step 2: Optimize your content for search engines. SEO needs to be an essential part of your B2B marketing strategy if it isn’t already. According to Google, 89% of B2B buyers will use search engines during the buying process. Find out what’s keeping your website from ranking well in Google with our website audit tool.
Step 3: Advertise your content directly on sites where your prospects go to look for information. For B2Bs this probably means LinkedIn, but could also include Facebook, Twitter, Google, Bing (PPC) and industry-related sites. 40-60% of your advertising budget should be invested here because this is where you will build awareness and drive qualified traffic to your website.
A great place to start would be to upload a target account list or CRM list to these platforms to ensure your content is getting read by your target audience. On LinkedIn, you can also combine this with an audience selection based upon industry, role, geography, etc.
PRO Tip: Install a website visitor analytics tool to show you the companies visiting your website. You can use this information to feed into channels like LinkedIn to expand your targeting.
Step 4: Get your sales reps, C-Suite, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to share your content on social media. This will exponentially increase your reach and exposure online. As a bonus, have your sales reps send Direct Messages (DMs) to contacts with links to your content. This is a great way for a rep to engage a prospect via social media without coming across as too salesy. To learn more, download our comprehensive Social Selling Guide here.
Step 5: Develop and promote gated “premium” content that buyers want. Gated content allows you to deliver useful information to your prospect in exchange for information about them, like their email address. This is a great way to build your First-Party email/CRM list. We recommend that you create at least one new gated offer per quarter. Examples include; Guides/How To’s, Checklists, Video Series, and Calculators. Be prepared to offer an “outrageous exchange of value” for a user’s permission to market to them.
Promote your gated content in industry-specific sites, content syndication, and First-Party retargeting ads. This is where you should spend the rest of your advertising budget.
Send emails to your CRM list with links to your “premium” content and have your reps post links on social and via direct messages.
Step 6: Stay top of mind with email. We can’t control when the buyer is ready to buy, but we can control that when they are ready, they think of your company first. Sending out a drip email sequence and weekly emails promoting your content is a great way to leverage this very valuable First-Party data (email address).
Step 7: Call your leads. Following the first 6 steps will get new leads flowing into your marketing system. However, the best source of First-Party data is data you collect by actually talking with prospects. Have your SDRs call and find out firsthand where leads are in their decision journey and put this information in your CRM.
Advertising and marketing have been around a lot longer than smartphones or cookies. When you own the fundamentals of B2B marketing, you are in a strong position to adjust as the tide turns. For smart marketers, this new cookieless world will create opportunities to capture more attention and market share.
Follow the framework outlined in this article, and you’ll stay ahead of the competition while engaging your prospects with the information they want in channels that matter to them.