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4 tips for navigating sensitive customer data

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4 tips for navigating sensitive customer data

Consumer data collection has exploded over the past decade. As users, we’ve grown too accustomed to sharing very personal data in this loosely regulated digital age through every topic searched, email sent and double-tap on a friend’s post. All these signals build a rich profile for targeting and personalization.

Data-driven marketing has had a transformational shift not only in how we engage with our customers but, even more importantly, in how we target new prospective customers. But for many, this new era of ultra-sophisticated audience-based targeting is begging more questions than the martech industry can answer. Most pointedly, is today’s reliance on data-driven targeting becoming a surveillance state? 

This recent backlash led to California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which went into effect in 2018. More states have since followed, giving them more control over what personal data can be collected, brokered and used for marketing. 

Dig deeper: Why marketers should care about consumer privacy

Sensible vs. sensitive data targeting

As marketers, it’s more imperative than ever to respect a person’s privacy and still utilize all the available data responsibly to create personal ad experiences. With little overall regulation, all types of data are at our fingertips to build cross-channel campaigns that can feel tailor-made for the user. It’s a fine line, though, on which ads will be met with delight and which ads will feel intrusive and even offensive. 

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As users of all this tech, we know all too well when marketers overstep. That line depends heavily on what’s being sold and how personal the marketer makes the ad experience. A gut check on your data strategies can quickly unveil how personal or behavioral data may inadvertently target a minority or potentially stigmatized group. 

Suffice it to say, if you’re selling pet food, you can likely create some hyper-targeted and personalized ads without tripping the sensitivity trigger. On the other hand, if you’re targeting people with ailments, new or prospective moms or even plus-sized clothing buyers, it’s critical to take a close look at:

  • What data is being used.
  • How those audiences are modeled.
  • How you’re differentiating your messaging to existing customers versus prospective buyers. 

Since it’s never a cut-and-dry answer, here are four suggestions for navigating sensitive data.

1. Steer clear of potentially stigmatizing data

Ad targeting prospective customers based on ailment data, LGBTQ+ or racial background can put us in an all too obvious danger zone. However, it’s just as crucial to be aware of targeting audiences that could be stigmatizing or just too personal. Some more obvious examples of these audiences could include religion, political affiliation, mental health, military status or even data that reveal personal or financial hardship. 

Martech platforms have removed the most sensitive audiences over the past few years. Yet, many ad targeting platforms still contain this data in less conspicuous derivations. For instance, you can no longer target by race in Meta’s properties but can still target BET Awards viewers. 

One way to avoid crossing the line from sensible to sensitive targeting is to review the audiences Meta has removed over the past few years and see if any of your data strategies could touch a sensitivity nerve for your customer or prospect.

2. Data usage for customer vs. prospect targeting

Collecting data on your customers open all sorts of innovative and clever insights that can be used for targeting. With that comes the responsibility to use personal data carefully when building audiences and personalized recommendations. 

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They may be your customer, but be cognizant that some data-driven recommendations can be interpreted in a way that may make your customers uncomfortable or even find offensive. 

A big-box retailer learned this the hard way when they relied too heavily on programmatically generated ads and inadvertently served personalized ads for weight-loss products to plus-size apparel buyers. No surprise that the backlash was swift. Be aware of how you use data across the customer journey to avoid inadvertently putting consumers on the back foot.

For prospect targeting, it’s even more critical to be judicious about how personally identifiable data is used. A good rule is to stay close to demographic and publicly available audience data. 

As in life, it’s true in advertising that brands get one chance to make a good first impression. An overly personal ad with a new prospect can feel like a stranger asking or assuming more about the user than they are prepared to share.

Overstepping with new prospects will not only result in lower ad engagement but can quickly trigger a negative brand bias that will be a long road to winning that trust back.


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3. Be clear about why you’re collecting data

It’s always a good idea to be open with both your customers and prospects on:

  • What is the benefit to them of sharing their information with you.
  • How you plan to protect and use their data. 

Consumers are wise to data usage now. It’s crucial to let them know if the data will only be used for product recommendations or for tailored ads and/or personalization. Most importantly, if you utilize a retailer or data cooperative, let consumers know that portions of their data may be shared with other similar marketers for products and services they may be interested in. 

A critical piece of data collection is also giving your customers an easy way to opt out of having their data used for some or all of the marketing services.  

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Dig deeper: Going beyond cookie consent: 3 strategies to achieve data compliance

4. Don’t forget traditional data gathering

With the deprecation of third-party cookies and ever-evolving restrictions on data sharing for iOS devices, it’s even more essential now to look to tried-and-true ways to capture user data. 

Whether it be collecting email addresses at checkout or developing a rich content strategy for your brand that incentivizes your customers or prospective customers to subscribe to ‘member only’ content or newsletters. 

Another way to gather new data is to work with other brands that have a high customer affinity for your brand and build second-party data assets to send direct mail or target across display or social media where the likelihood of them engaging with your brand and ideally purchasing is higher than off the shelf audience selections. 

A great example of this is seeing premium fitness brands including Lulu Lemon, and even boutique brands like Vuori, partner with Equinox to merchandise and market their products with luxury-minded fitness consumers.  

Maximize your ad targeting strategy without overstepping

Audience-driven targeting is ever-evolving. The data scientist that gave us the early tools to do data-driven targeting relied on complex programmatic data modeling with the promise to reach people with the right product, at the right time with the right message. 

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What we’ve learned since is that while this promise may finally be possible, it’s up to us to decide which of those levers to pull and which ones to push back so we don’t overstep and always keep our marketing and messaging securely in the comfort zone of our customers.  


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About The Author

A leader in the data-driven AdTech space that spans 20 years across both the US and the EU. Ken Zachmann’s worked on the ground floor of a data start-up that yielded an eight-figure exit and served as VP and SVP for two leading digital data firms and saw them through to acquisition in 2017.
In 2018 Ken launched his first consulting firm focused on identity-based solutions and helping companies navigate a cookie-less future. Ken’s background in data and identity resolution, paired with his experience of living and working in both the US and Germany, has afforded him a unique understanding of the complexities of sourcing and building data, identity and measurement solutions.

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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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