Meta Releases New Report on How Marketers Can Prepare for Coming Data Privacy Shifts

How are marketers preparing for a cookie-less world, with less consumer data insights to go on, and fewer options for ad targeting?

That’s what Meta sought to find out with its latest research report, for which it interviewed a range of marketing leaders from around the world to get their thoughts on the evolving digital privacy landscape.

Based on its findings, Meta has summarized their observations into five key points. You can check out the full, 12-page overview here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at the key notes.

As noted, after assessing the responses from members of its various Global Councils, Meta says that marketers should be focusing on these five key considerations:

1. Put the consumer first

Meta says that businesses need to build trust with their audiences around how they’re utilizing their personal data, in order to ensure that people feel safe in letting them use such insights.

As per the report:

“Studies show 90% of people are willing to share information such as their email when presented with the right value exchange. Marketers need to consider a thoughtful, customer-centric approach that empowers people to make informed choices about how their data is used.”

Creating a more transparent data-gathering process is key to securing information where possible.

2. Reimagine organizational structures through the lens of data ethics

The report also suggests that companies will need to re-think their entire structure, in some cases, based around the need for data, and what can be utilized effectively.

That may mean re-thinking the types of data you need, and how that can be managed effectively, or the types of data modeling available. Meta says that “building privacy priorities into the corporate ethos” should be a key focus moving forward.

3. Build resilient data strategies

First-party data should be a focus, with the report noting that many businesses are now exploring how they can utilize the direct feedback and insight that they glean from customers to optimize their systems.

Rather than relying on third-party insights, more businesses are now re-assessing how their direct input systems operate.

“Most importantly, companies are using first party data to improve customer loyalty through their direct relationships with their customers. Customers have to choose to share first-party data with a brand, which means companies can use first party data to reach the customers they know are interested, through tactics like ads and email.”

4. Discover privacy-resilient ways to activate, optimize, and measure marketing

Meta says that brands should start acting now to better connect the dots in their data-gathering process, and ensure that they have systems in place to maintain connection across each element.

Meta recommends that businesses experiment with new measurement solutions, and consider alternate data-gathering processes, in order to keep their insights flowing as these new restrictions come into effect.

5. Collaborate with the industry to shape the future of marketing

Finally, Meta says that businesses should be looking to get involved with broader initiatives to build the next stage of privacy-first marketing strategies.

Google’s experimenting with its Privacy Sandbox projects, and Meta’s developing its own AI-guided tools, while there are also more niche, industry-specific solutions and initiatives in progress, and businesses should be looking to learn more about these options now, ahead of the next shift.

There are no ground-breaking insights here, but there are some valuable notes on the shifting data landscape, and how various solutions are being developed that can help businesses mitigate the worst impacts of such.

It’s worth noting, and it could be worth taking a read of the full report to get a better understanding of the latest changes.

You can download Meta’s full “Five steps to redefine performance in a privacy-first world” report here.