In this digitalization era, technology plays a vital role in transforming different industries. Specifically, digitalization has the most significant impact on the marketing field. Recently, one of the most disruptive innovations has been blockchain technology. Blockchain has earned immense popularity. It is because of its potential to revolutionize business transactions. It does this by providing a secure and transparent environment.
Furthermore, in this article, we will discuss the impact of blockchain technology on digital marketing. We will also talk about its key benefits. Also, we will see the ways how blockchain impacts digital marketing.
WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY?
Blockchain technology is a decentralized ledger system. It allows the transparent and secure storage and transmission of data. Moreover, it is a groundbreaking concept that can change multiple industries. These industries include supply chain, management finance, healthcare, and more. At its core, blockchain technology works on a network of computers called nodes. These nodes work together to record and verify transactions. Unlike traditional centralized systems, blockchain works on a peer-to-peer basis. It eliminates the need for intermediaries and enhances trust among participants.
HOW DOES BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Let us now take a closer look at how blockchain technology operates. The mian key to its functioning lies in consensus mechanisms and cryptographic algorithms. Both of these ensure the immutability and integrity of data.
Every transaction conducted on the blockchain is collected into a block. Then, it is added to a chain of previous blocks that forms a permanent record. Each block has a unique identifier called a hash. Hash links it to the previous block. In this way, it creates a secure and tamper-proof information chain.
You must be wondering how these blocks are added to the chain. Here is the explanation. Blockchain depends on a consensus mechanism. It is a set of rules that tells how transactions are verified and then added to the ledger. The most common consensus mechanism utilized in blockchain technology is “proof of work.” In the proof of work mechanism, nodes compete to solve complicated mathematical puzzles. Also, it authenticates transactions and earns rewards.
The Role of Blockchain in Digital Marketing
Digital marketing comprises different online strategies. These strategies promote services and products. They also focus on engaging with customers and leading business growth. Digital marketing has transformed the way businesses connect with their target audience. It enables them to reach a broader market. Also, it facilitates attaining their marketing goals more effectively.
In today’s digital era, customers are increasingly depending on social media platforms. Particularly, for making buying decisions. As a result, businesses have had to change their marketing strategies. They have to do this to meet their customers’ changing preferences and needs.
Yet, the digital marketing landscape has its challenges. These challenges include ad fraud, data privacy concerns, and lack of transparency. All these have become major obstacles for marketers to overcome. These hurdles impact the effectiveness of marketing and also destroy consumer trust.
The Challenges Of Digital Marketing
Digital marketers usually face challenges in ensuring security and data privacy. They also face the issue of verifying the authenticity of customer information. There is an increase in cyber-attacks and data breaches. Thus, customers are getting more cautious about giving personal information online.
Furthermore, ad fraud has become a persistent problem in the digital advertising industry. Click fraud involves fake clicks to increase ad revenue and counterfeit impressions. Fake impressions display ads to non-existent users, and businesses are paid millions of pounds yearly.
These obstacles result in financial losses for businesses and damage their reputations. Customers are increasingly considering online advertisements, questioning their relevance and authenticity.
How Can Blockchain Address These Challenges
Harrison Jordan, Managing Lawyer of Substance Law, said, “Blockchain technology can deal with the challenges faced by digital marketers. It gives solutions that boost security, transparency, and accountability. By leveraging blockchain, marketers can make a more efficient and trustworthy ecosystem. It will work for digital advertising and consumer data management. One of the significant benefits of blockchain is its immutability. When marketers record on the blockchain, no one can temper or alter it. It ensures the integrity of consumer data. Plus, it also prevents unauthorized manipulation and access.
Moreover, blockchain can enable transparent and secure transactions in the digital advertising landscape. Smart contracts can help avoid ad fraud. It does this by ensuring that advertisers pay for authentic clicks and impressions. Here, let us tell you what smart contracts are. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts. It comprises the terms of the agreement written into code.”
Blockchain technology can empower customers by giving them control over their personal information. With blockchain-based solutions, people can select which data they want to share with marketers. Also, they can revoke access at any time. In digital marketing, the integration of blockchain technology can revolutionize the industry. It addresses the obstacles of ad fraud, data privacy, and lack of transparency. By adopting blockchain, digital marketers can build trust. Also, it enhances consumer relationships. Plus, it leads to business growth in the digital era.
How Will Blockchain Affect Digital Marketing?
As we have said before, blockchain influences digital marketing in plenty of ways. We have discussed the four ways blockchain could be used in digital marketing. Here they are:
Keyword Tracking
Vicky Cano, Chef & Recipe developer at mealfan, said, “What an individual sees on Google is usually unique to them. Results seen by other searchers will rely on their location. Also, it depends on the device they are using. It makes it challenging for marketers to track keyword rank. Integrating blockchain into search could store individual page rankings on the blockchain. Plus, location and device data usage could be stored with the ranking position.
Marketers could use this data to understand what actions they need to take to improve. They work on improving their function in areas and on devices where they’re not performing well. They can use the same data to understand why some locations are featured on Google Local Pack results while others are not.”
Improved Lead Quality
Customers who provide your brand with their data may be interested in your company. This makes it much easier to score conversions and leads. It is because these are already prospects ready for nurturing. Recently, data collection for marketing has had a varied strategy. Many marketers gather data from multiple resources. After that, they put it all together and run a campaign based on that. This approach could be better; many campaigns run from inconsistent or wrong data.
Blockchain transactions are decentralized. Therefore, marketers need to go right to the source: the customer. There are many examples of browsers that block ads. However, this is not new. These browsers show ads to their users. These are the ads that they sell to firms through their Basic Attention Tokens (BAT). Users get 70% of the value of the tokens, while the browsers get 30%.
Tools For Dealing With Ad Fraud
John Smith, Founder at Sparkaven, said, “As marketers know too well, advertising fraud is frequent. According to the report, by 2023, advertisers could lose approximately $100 billion to ad fraud. To combat ad fraud, a tool uses blockchain. This tool analyzes first- and third-party data. It does this to calculate a score showing how likely it is that a user genuinely saw an ad.
Different tools promise advertisers that they will pay only for authentic views. Plus, they promise publishers that they’ll be paid more and faster. It is because of the blockchain’s accuracy, speed, and immutability.”
Better Transparency for Consumers
Authenticity is crucial for any brand that wants to attract Gen Zers, and millennials. It is also vital for supporting causes such as fair trade and environmental problems.
For instance, a hot drink brand could use blockchain to market its supply chain. A person who wants to buy ethically sourced coffee may go through the blockchain of a brand. Especially the brand they’re considering buying from. They might want to know who grows their beans and how much they get paid. They could track the complete life cycle of that brand’s coffee to know when it leaves the farm. Furthermore, they will try to understand how long it was on the ship and which facility ground the beans. Customers could even see the average storage temperature of the coffee beans on the transport ship.
Blockchain provides transparency. Plus, its immutability means it can be trusted. Brands could benefit from lower transaction costs and greater efficiency.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology has immense potential to change digital marketing. It does this by boosting transparency, improving data privacy and combating ad fraud. It also increases efficiency and enables creative reward systems. As technology is transforming, its adoption in digital marketing is likely to increase. As a result, it paves the way for a more efficient, secure, and trustworthy digital advertising world.
For digital marketers, being ahead of the curve is vital. They can do this by understanding and combining blockchain into their strategies. By doing so, they can give a significant competitive advantage. As with any revolutionizing technology, the key is to experiment, learn, and transform to unlock its full potential.
[…] ledger that records all transactions in an unchangeable and transparent way is provided by blockchain technology. Startups may build a supply chain traceability system that records and verifies each step by using […]