The mechanisms that marketers use have some controversial implications for users. The collection of data for the purposes of marketing has always been a practice under some scrutiny, but the Web presents new opportunities to track interactions that were not possible before. Discrimination isn’t just a matter of data collection, it’s also the improper targeting of display advertising. Both what customers see, and what they don’t see. If you’re careful, you can get around these challenges with thoughtful messaging and finely tuned targets.
Unintentional Consequences
Targeting has the wonderful benefit of putting you in touch with your audience. It hopefully increases your audience’s chances of engaging with an ad they find interesting, or at least one they are open to hearing. Where advertising fails, and becomes borderline problematic, is when that targeting is overzealous. When someone gets engaged on Facebook, it’s almost a running gag how quickly they begin seeing ads for wedding related services. The opportunity is obvious, but what’s not always apparent is the user experience. Paying close attention to what happens to the user is extremely important.
Exclusionary Targeting
What about the assumptions we make based off of the data we accumulate? Targeting based on demographic is a great way to cut costs, but it also excludes people that may or may not want to see your ads. Plus, when we exclude targets we also cut our traffic volume significantly. Quite literally, too many cuts will stall your campaigns.
Testing is the only method to get around this form of exclusionary targeting, to get at the meat of your audience.
Conclusions
The key takeaway is to break free of your bubble. Pay close attention to what your customers are actually doing, not just in Analytics. Review your landing pages, click on things, and actually look at what people see when they visit your banner advertising. The more conscious you are of their experience, the higher your chances of avoiding unsuccessful ad campaigns.
Bio: Ted Dhanik is the co-founder and CEO of engage:BDR. Through direct marketing on mobile and desktop, Ted Dhanik has helped businesses reach new market segments. Ted Dhanik offers advice through his blog, or at engage:BDR.