Source: Pixabay by Geralt
When most people think of blockchain technology, one-word ‘cryptocurrency’ may be what first springs to mind. But beyond greatly adding value to the finance industry, did you know that blockchain is actually having many benefits within digital marketing?
This article will aim to explore the interconnection between blockchain and cryptocurrency, and its potential uses for enhancing marketing efforts.
What is Blockchain?
In simple terms, blockchain is a decentralised database in which information is distributed within the nodes of a shared network of computers. It stores data in blocks that are linked together using cryptography; the decentralised blockchains that these forms are ‘immutable’ which means it is impossible for the data to be penetrated or edited. By way of illustration, in Bitcoin, the fact that blockchain is decentralised means that all users have collective control over the information entered, rather than any one single individual or group.
Moreover, it has now been widely used across a range of industries including finance, IT, and banking. By removing the need for a ‘middleman’ or some other centralised third party to regulate transactions, it has opened the way to complete transparency in the way digital information is stored.
How does blockchain work within the marketing space?
Businesses gather customer data which is used to inform key developments such as new product launches, campaigns, and business strategies. Whilst customer data enables businesses to create better campaigns based on insight into who their best customers are, one downside here is that customer data is becoming increasingly susceptible to fraud, being tampered with, or being leaked. And with new technologies fast emerging, today’s digital age is only set to become more digital, which means businesses will need a secure mechanism in place for ensuring the security of their sensitive customer information is protected.
As mentioned above, Blockchain provides a transparent and time-stamped (i.e. parameters are used to establish the exact moment a block was mined and the amount of time taken to extract blocks for a given period) decentralised database in which several parties can obtain copies of that said database. This allows members of the public to verify the accuracy of any individual record by accessing and cross-referencing across more than one database and also ensures that an invalid transaction can not be added to the chain from any one single computer. The main benefit this has for the digital marketing industry is that by reducing the risks of data breaches and cyber attacks, it thereby provides a secure system for stored data, preventing the risk of it being hacked or manipulated.
How is it shaping marketing strategy?
Having provided an outline of what blockchain is and where it lies within the digital marketing ecosystem, this section will explore some of the main competitive features that blockchain offers for marketing and advertising campaign strategy.
1. Combating fake metrics
There is already a marked amount of existing fake and manipulated data, which presents a challenge to marketers when ensuring their campaigns are based on verified data. According to Keenfolks, influencer marketing – where a brand partners with an online influencer seen as an expert within their niche, who they work with to boost their own brand recognition – has been considered both a concern and an advantage for many companies. As such, it can be hard for marketers to generate significant return on investment (ROI) from their marketing spend. One competitive advantage of blockchain here is that it makes it easier to ascertain where money spent on ads is going, largely as it allows advertisers to bypass working with a third-party intermediary. This greater level of transparency also allows businesses to see exactly where their ads are being displayed and who they are reaching, in turn improving the effectiveness of their campaign performance.
2. Advertising
Digital marketing is particularly vulnerable to fraudulent clicks from illegitimate suppliers when it comes to advertising, such as in pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, for example. By allowing each click or interaction to be tracked, Blockchain allows marketers to better understand who their genuine customers are, and in turn boosts greater fraud prevention.
3. Improved marketing and digital advertising campaigns
As mentioned above, blockchain technology tightens transparency within the digital advertising field. The blockchain records all data from click-through rate, impressions, and engagement, thereby avoiding the need for verification from a third-party platform. This leads the way to more accurate and accessible data, allowing companies to better optimise their marketing campaign performance in real-time, whilst having the confidence that their results are based on robust data when presenting them to clients.
4. Verifiable engagement data
By having the capacity to eliminate click fraud, the blockchain record ensures that any click-through engagements are coming from verifiable humans and not some robotic agent.
5. Loyalty schemes
Most companies now offer loyalty programmes where their customers can redeem points, like Waterstones Plus where customers earn one ‘Plus stamp’ for every £10 spent in-store or online. However, each time a new transaction takes place on a decentralised ledger, it will then create and assign a unique token to that transaction. This has resulted in allowing multiple loyalty point currencies to be instantly redeemed and exchanged within a single platform.
Final Thoughts
In sum, by providing greater end-to-end transparency, Blockchain technology enables marketers to improve ad targeting, get the most from their ad spend and reduce costs, receive improved and more authentic data, have greater reassurance in the validity of their campaign results, and be more reactive to the need to protect the privacy and security of consumer data they store.
With advancements continually on the rise, Blockchain, along with AI, is set to be one of the biggest disruptive technologies over the next decade.
In essence, all companies from start-ups to established brands will need to explore how they can integrate it into their existing business models to remain agile in today’s volatile digital ecosystem.
Bibliography
Byam, G. (n.d.) An Introduction to Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Marketing. Bigwave. https://bigwave.co.uk/blog/an-introduction-to-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-in-marketing.
Fairlie, M. (2023, Feb 21) How Will Blockchain Affect Digital Marketing. Business.com. https://www.business.com/articles/blockchain-online-marketing-help/
“How Blockchain Marketing Technology Can Give You A Competitive Advantage”. TheKeenFolks (n.d.), https://thekeenfolks.com/blockchain-marketing-competitive-advantage.
“The Impact Of Blockchain In Digital Marketing”. Originstamp (n.d.), https://originstamp.com/blog/the-impact-of-blockchain-in-digital-marketing.