The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data privacy law that unifies data privacy regulations in all EU member states. Under the previous standard, the Data Protection Directive, each member state had its own data privacy laws governing the collection, analysis, use and storage of users' personal data.
The goal of the GDPR is to better protect the personal data of EU citizens. For businesses that rely on email marketing campaigns, this law means adjusting their strategies to be GDPR compliant. Here's how to do it while keeping your marketing campaigns successful.
How has GDPR affected your marketing strategy?
At its core, GDPR is about data protection. It contains provisions that give users (“data subjects” in the text of the law) powers regarding the collection and processing of their data.
These provisions include the right to consent to data collection, the right to understand how and why that data is used, and the right to request deletion of that data under certain circumstances. It also includes provisions requiring timely reporting of data breaches, as well as a complete understanding of what personal data may have been compromised.
Although these provisions sound simple, implementing the structural changes necessary to meet GDPR requirements is a daunting task for many companies, especially those in the United States, where data privacy rules are significantly more lenient than in the EU. It was work.
Marketing departments had to pay especially close attention to GDPR. There is no avoiding the impact of GDPR requirements on digital marketing activities, particularly email marketing campaigns and email lists.
“Every marketing activity can be affected by GDPR in some way. That's clear,” says Oksana Chyketa, Product Marketing Manager at Newoldstamp. “That being said, I understand.” [the] GDPR has huge implications when it comes to email marketing. ”
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What does GDPR mean for email marketing?
Email marketing is a common advertising tactic that has never been easier to implement. However, after GDPR, this is another area of business that requires careful consideration.
For example, businesses should ensure that a contact has given their explicit consent before continuing to send email to them. This requires a more rigorous subscription process. This should include double opt-in and simple opt-out capabilities, and exclude involuntary or mandatory opt-ins.
Double opt-in confirms that the user is interested in receiving emails and eliminates fraudulent or accidental requests (for example, the user did not uncheck a subscription box that was automatically checked) To do. If the consumer provided their email address for the subscription, they will need to access the email and consent again.
The double opt-in requirement serves as a safety net for businesses sending promotional emails. Anyone who subscribes to your email should be free to do so and should not feel like they are being bribed to subscribe for a particular product or service. You should also be able to unsubscribe from your email list at any time without any repercussions.
The best email marketing software includes tools to help you track compliance with laws like GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
How can I profile my data to send personalized and targeted emails under GDPR?
GDPR specifies two entities: data controllers and data processors. The data controller is responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing personal data. This is usually a company that collects personal data for some business application. A data processor is an entity that performs the actual analysis of that data. This may be a single business, but most often involves the use of third-party service providers in conjunction with the business.
As a data controller, you are responsible for the actions of the data processors you use. In other words, if the third-party service provider you use suffers a data breach or otherwise violates your GDPR requirements, you could be in trouble. However, the GDPR regulation provides an opportunity to conduct a full data audit to ensure compliance and organize personal data more effectively for email marketing campaigns.
“Organize a complete information audit to review the existing data you have and pay particular attention to where this data is coming from and with whom you are sharing it,” Chiqueta said. . “If you are marketing to an email list acquired through non-compliant methods. [with the] GDPR, you should not contact individuals on this list unless they have double-opted in to your communications. ”
Impact of GDPR on engagement and click-through rates
Complying and staying compliant with GDPR is a big challenge, but there are some silver linings. Targeting your email marketing campaign only to users who have expressed interest and explicitly consented through double opt-in should increase click-through rates and engagement.
Measure email marketing metrics such as open rates, click rates, and unsubscribes to determine the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Data from digital marketing company Acoustic, formerly part of IBM, shows that GDPR is already having a positive impact on engagement. The company's 2021 Email Report examined marketing data from thousands of brands across 40 countries. Among other findings, the report found that email open and click-through rates were at their highest early in the pandemic, increasing by more than 5% in some months. This trend is a continuation of the increase seen since the introduction of data privacy laws such as GDPR.
“Marketers were initially skeptical of privacy and data regulations such as: [the] UK GDPR and [anti-spam legislation] “In Canada, there are restrictions on how brands can access and use customer data,” Lauren McDonald, electric vehicle analyst and consultant at EVAdoption, said in a statement. “However, our data shows that these regulations actually improve outcomes by driving changes within marketing organizations, many of which include a greater emphasis on consumer trust and customer experience. In addition to improving permissions and data management practices, brands are increasingly using AI to personalize emails, analyze and analyze big data, and reduce campaign performance. We are detecting that
There is no doubt that GDPR is a big change for many businesses, but the work involved in maintaining compliance is valuable not only for regulatory reasons, but also for business reasons. After all, digital marketing works best when the audience you reach is actually interested in your product or service. Uninterested users are wasting your marketing dollars.
Transparency in email marketing campaigns
Marketing activities need to be transparent to consumers. Explain exactly what data you're recording and what you plan to do with it. We will alert your contacts and provide a way to unsubscribe each time our privacy policy is updated. Many consumers opt out when faced with privacy policy updates, but sending tailored messages to your customers is more effective than sending generic ads to a wide audience. Therefore, if you want to recruit and retain contacts, you need to know how to attract them.
“What we're likely to see is an increase in unsubscribe and takedown requests by brands,” said Jennifer Horner, senior director of relationship marketing strategy at Markle. ” he said. “We believe that when presented with a privacy policy update, customers will either ignore the email or, if they have little engagement with the brand, take the opportunity to unsubscribe from the email. ”
Horner added that consumers now expect personalized communications and businesses need to leverage data to customize messages and ads. That way, the contacts you have will be satisfied enough to continue subscribing.
Data privacy rules are important for marketers
As data privacy regulations become more prevalent, people want their personal information to be safe, secure, and away from scammers. Email providers are doing their best to filter spam, but there are some signs of hope. The effort and due diligence you put in will pay off in customers coming back to your business. After all, digital marketing will prove effective if your target users are actually interested in your product or service. Our best advice is to get ahead of problems and get help. Communicating and having the necessary tools are great ways to deal with problems.
Elizabeth Veras and Sammi Caramela contributed to the writing and reporting of this article. Interviews with sources were conducted for a previous version of this article.
