Brands have been using cookies for years to track their web visitors. It further helps them to collect data to target relevant audiences for their ads. Besides, brands also use cookies to track their visitors’ activities when they were not visiting websites. However, Google announced to stop using third-party cookies by the end of 2023. As a result, marketers need to change their business marketing approaches.
As Google has decided to phase out third-party cookies; it has led to the popularity of zero-party data. It refers to the data that customers voluntarily share with a brand. This information can be concerning their interest, preference, etc. If used wisely, zero-party data can help you offer a personalized experience to your customers and develop a better relationship with them.
Contextual Marketing
With the rise of zero-party data, brands need to focus on contextual marketing. To develop effective contextual marketing strategies, you need to create content relevant to your audience. Moreover, you need to be mindful of the timeline as well. For instance, if someone has subscribed for monthly newsletters or a specific e-book, you need to send the same to them at the promised time. Otherwise, the content would lose its relevance. You can use email automation to deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.
To deliver your audience contextually relevant content, you need to understand various psychological aspects of buyer personas. It would help you determine the voice, tone, and type of content that would resonate with them.
Moreover, the choice of communication channel also varies between personas. Therefore, along with understanding the preferred type of content for your audience, you need to determine how and where you should deliver your content for effective contextual marketing.
Role of buyer persona segmentation
Segmenting buyer personas is crucial to delivering relevant content to the right audience. Customer Relationship Management system collect various data points concerning each contact to categorize them as per various criteria.
You can segment your audience according to various marketing goals. For instance, if your goal is to spread brand awareness, you will target a larger audience base. On the other hand, if you want to promote specific brand offerings, you need to target audiences who are most likely suitable for them.
Customize content for general audiences
Brands that cater to multiple buyer personas often find it difficult to customize their message on platforms when anyone can reach. As a result, when you develop a strategy for social media, you should create content that is relevant to various personas.
For instance, if your brand offerings serve multiple industries, you need to highlight them in your content. On the other hand, if your offerings are relevant to any specific industry, you need to communicate the same through your marketing activities.
Making your content available in multiple formats can also boost your contextual marketing efforts. For instance, the audience who prefers video content will not be interested in reading lengthy textual content. Besides, you can also repurpose your existing content. A few examples of this can be converting blog posts into podcasts, webinars into infographics, or blogs.
Personalize your content
The majority of the marketing automation platform that can integrate with CRM systems can add context to the content for your audiences.
You can use names or company names to create a personalized experience for your audience. While you cannot address individuals in your blogs, you can use chatbots to greet names personally. Based on the position of your prospects on the sales funnel, you can even send personalized emails to encourage them to buy from your brand.
Similarly, if you are targeting other brands, you can create personalized content through emails or chatbots. In addition, you can also add relevant CTAs and links to landing pages in personalized emails.
Takeaway
While implementing the strategies mentioned above, be mindful of not overusing the same. Doing so can make it evident to your audience that you are automating contextualization. While your audience prefers personalization, trying too hard can make them perceive your brand negatively.
While gathering data and insights about your audience, never undermine the value of communicating with them. For instance, your audience has shared critical information about them with you directly. However, while you are interacting with them directly, it is wise to verify the same with them again.
As zero-party data is on the rise, the marketing approach is entirely shifting to contextual. Hence, based on their activity on your site, or how they have interacted with your brand, you can determine their interest. Accordingly, you need to deliver relevant content to them to offer optimal value to your prospects and customers.