The world of ecommerce is constructed of an ecosystem of online interactions that help marketers connect with and engage their audience. To do this, brands and marketing teams use a flurry of tools and strategies to learn more about potential customers to reach them on a personalized level.
Facebook ads are one of the most effective tools for reaching online users in a relevant and personalized way. The ability to insert your ads directly into their feeds and resonate with their interests is a powerful strategy. But that personalization has been limited by the access of third party data due to policy and privacy updates throughout the world of ecommerce.
But third party data still remains an efficient tool for maximizing the outcomes of your Facebook ad campaigns. Without this data strategies around segmenting audiences, personalizing narratives, and optimizing your ad traffic becomes less accessible to marketers.
There are ways to combat this rising issue. While not a full solution, it’s important to find ways to close the gap between audience data and marketing strategy. So today we’re breaking down why it’s too soon to give up on investing in third party data and some of the tactics you can use to stay invested.
First party data is a vital aspect of understanding your audience but third party tracking provides a bigger picture vision of your potential customers. Think of it like a puzzle. The first party data are the pieces that create the main image on the cover art of the puzzle box and help you get going. But third party data is more like those surrounding pieces that all have the same color and no discernible image to match them too. They’re harder to find, harder to place, but without them you can’t get a complete picture.
In marketing terms this means having more insight on your audience for longer funnel buyer’s journeys. Without third party data it’s hard to track customers who have been searching around for rustic kitchen remodel inspiration or if they’re already searching for quotes. Your first party data might inform you the potential customer is interested in bathroom remodeling, but if you don’t know they’re interested in pricing or a particular style it’ll be hard to hook their attention with an ad not personalized to that stage of the buyer’s journey.
Here’s what that complete picture of third and first party data looks like:
– Narrowed down audience segments
– Higher conversion rates
– Better optimization opportunities
– Easy to target new audience types
– Increased personalization efforts
Before it was easier to rely on the on-platform tracking of sites like Facebook to provide this data upfront but times have changed, which means it’s time for a new investment.
Some tools are able to gather data from leading marketplaces to help marketers source relevant leads and audience segments to build their Facebook ads campaign around. Deep Sync Labs is one of those platforms.
Deep Sync is able to supplement marketers with third party data by providing access to 100s of leading Data Providers via integrations with leading marketplaces like LiveRamp and Oracle Data Cloud. These data points allow marketers to search for specific audience segments that fit their audience campaign goals. This is a great starting place for a marketer looking to deploy an audience focused ad campaign.
Using these provided audience segments brands can unlock blind spots in their audience data. This can open up branching pathways to new strategies and buyer types. Even more impactful is the optimization opportunity. With a bigger picture of your audience you can test different conversion influences, buyer types, and funnel level customers. With this optimized audience you can utilize tools like Facebook’s lookalike audience to continue tracking these specific segments and testing new audiences.
Once you choose a data segment to your liking you connect your Deep Sync account to your Facebook business manager account to begin accessing your enhanced data. This opens up opportunities to get back to marketing strategies that helped you drive results before privacy changes impacted your data.
Once you have access to third party data you’ve set your Facebook ads campaign up for success, but achieving that success still relies on execution and strategy. The data is only one half of the equation, results will require the know how to utilize that data. Of course you can always partner with an experienced team that knows how to provide both the data, and the strategies to help you succeed.
My team and I have spent the last couple of years helping marketers around the hurdle of obtaining third party tracking and finding ways to maximize the results. If you want to meet to learn about our Facebook strategies or discuss a personalized partnership with my team then we’re available to meet. It’s up to you, simply click here and book some time so we can evaluate the best path forward for you.