First-Party Data

Whenever you visit a website, a popup appears on the screen to accept/block cookies from that website. But what exactly do cookies mean? Cookies allow websites to store data of the user’s complete footprints like website logins, shopping carts, and other valuable user’s data like credit card numbers, address, name, location etc. This may sound normal as cookies store this data only to serve the customer better. But there is a catch! Cookies are invented to make users transactions easy online. However, cookies might be a goldmine of private information for hackers to snoop on. As cookies importance will be phased out by 2021-22 as privacy issues grow, marketers must find alternatives like first-party data, permission marketing and completely futureproof server-to-server integrations.

First, let us understand what is First-Party Data?

What is First-Party Data?

The details you receive directly from your viewers or consumers are referred to as first-party data. This contains data from your website(s) or app(activities)’s actions, or preferences, data from your Customer Relationship Management, subscription data, and social data. As cookies importance vanishes with the emergence of first-party data collection, companies have many ways to target their audience.

For retargeting, the first-party data is the best one to use because it is gathered from the people from whom you have the most to learn – your audience. This enables the data to make forecasts and anticipate future behavioural patterns as accurate as possible.

How to Track Cookies

Most antivirus packages consider tracking cookies data collection as spyware because they can be too intrusive. Despite their bad name, they have been so popular that avoiding them is almost impossible. Via Ads, social media widgets, web analytics and many more, tracking cookies is possible.

Methods to Collect First-Party Data 

Now that Google has announced that it will focus on a cookie-less world in the next two years, let us find out few methods on how businesses can collect first-party data in absence of cookies:

  • Data from Surveys

A survey is a means of collecting input from a small group of individuals, to generalize the data to a wider community. Surveys are an important source of evidence and knowledge for about all involved in the data economy, from companies, media, government and many more. Survey data gathering has evolved, from face-and-face surveys to telephonic surveys to internet and email surveys. Every data collection technique has advantages and disadvantages when any researcher prefers to obtain reliable data from the target group. 

  • Data from Subscription

Although all of us email marketers understand the importance of email subscribers to the overall revenue cycle, it is essential to never lose sight of the valuable, meaningful material that they are getting. When customers subscribe to your email list, they likely want more material from you. Even then, to provide them with valuable content that will make them coming back to your website, you must first understand what the customers’ requirements are. Would you like to have hassle-free webmail for your business app? Then opt for OMAIL by ONPASSIVE. With smart notifications, group emailing and many more features, OMAIL is an ideal and effortless way of communication.

  • Data from CRM

Quality consumer data is the most important aspect of a CRM because without it you can’t make critical choices. To obtain consumer data, you can investigate any ethical approach. You can persuade the consumer to willingly include a large amount of data by combining rewards and greater customization of requirements. Check out few ways to collect CRM data:

  1. Forms for sign up
  2. Web analytics
  3. Email 
  4. Surveys

  • Data from Social Media

Every brand has social media accounts on various platforms. Based on your customers you can decide on which platform to run more campaigns or ads and acquire data from your customers. Based on the client’s preference you can decide which type of content attracts them.

Conclusion

Based on the above analysis, be ready, as cookies importance will vanish in the next two years. We can anticipate changes in targeting and practices through all the media platforms. The way we advertise to consumers through these platforms may be different, but paid media has always been about adjusting to the transition. The earlier we accept the move and adapt our plans to comply, the easier off your accounts will be until policy updates are implemented.