In 2018, blockchain became one of the most actively discussed topics for its range of possible applications that seems to be infinite. Being invented for a revolutionary cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, the blockchain technology became even more popular, offering a completely new approach to a vast variety of electronic operations.
Today, blockchain is much more than just a tool for the cryptocurrency market. The blockchain market itself is expected to reach $20 billion by 2024. This technology offers countless opportunities for advertising and digital marketing, and wide implementation of this technology is just a question of time.
Blockchain Technology — Burgeoning Platform
First of all, what is blockchain? This is a technology that allows making secure transactions between two parties. Unlike all the other existing solutions, blockchain implies using a decentralized network, instead of storing data on a single server. Being put in a blockchain, every piece of data is distributed among many peers. Such information can be verified at every point of this network, and its validity is ensured by a multilevel decentralized encryption system. Ledgers are completely transparent and visible to everyone. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to write new data into the existing blockchain without permission. This technology can be used to create transparent digital marketing services, though it’s not the only possible application. Blockchain reduces costs by increasing the efficiency of the whole system. In addition, it can help in fighting fraud.
The first and the main advantage of blockchain is a new level of privacy protection. Scandals around Facebook and Cambridge Analytica demonstrated that popular advertisers are not trustworthy and users don’t have complete control over their personal information. Blockchain will allow users to choose personal information that can be shared with marketers, building a new culture of trust between the advertising services and visitors.
Another important application of blockchain in digital marketing is associated with its ability to increase audience. Today, it’s almost impossible to get all sorts of the necessary information about your customers in one place. You need to search for the information on their age and sex on certain sources, while other services provide you with the details on their preferences, location, or work. With blockchain, users choose what data they are willing to share in order to get targeted ads. Therefore, you can invest in the audience of customers who are interested in your particular product.
How Blockchain Will Change Digital Marketing
1. Eliminating the middlemen
The relationship between sellers and buyers is going to change dramatically due to the opportunities of a decentralized advertising system. For example, a technology of smart contracts will allow clients to contact freelancers directly. Smart contracts are encrypted and verified by every node of the blockchain network, and then automatically executed. Peer-to-peer relationships are becoming a new standard because smart contracts create a system of self-executing agreements. In the world of digital marketing, this technology means direct communication between marketers and website owners. There is no third party involved, and the safety of such communication is ensured by complicated encryption algorithms, regardless of whether or not these parties are honest with each other.
2. Trusted ad buys
Today it’s impossible to understand whether your data is accurate. All digital marketers need to take into account fake clicks. People and bots are able to change statistics, increasing rates many times. Such drawbacks of the classical approach made business owners lose more than $7 billion in 2016. Blockchain is protected from such a kind of fraud by default, as the system of data protection is what this technology is built on. Every block of information is encrypted at the very moment of its creation. At the same time, the transparency of the whole system allows advertisers to easily monitor views of the target audience. AdChain is the example of such a decentralized and transparent system that allows digital marketers to control the first-party data.
3. Tracking everything
Blockchain allows you to track virtually anything. Working with ads, blockchain makes sure that only right, verified audience sees certain ads. The reason is that the main function of the blockchain technology is to make sure that everything is in the right place and all the information is properly distributed. Ad frauds are not the only problem of modern digital marketing. Along with fake clicks and fake statistics, there are fake goods as well. Blockchain allows you to track the whole history of the product, from the moment it was manufactured to the moment when a customer unpacks it. Not only do customers track the shipment, but they can also make sure that they receive the original product. The blockchain validation system can be used for goods, as well as for messages and email deliveries, significantly simplifying communication between sellers and customers.
4. Detailed and accurate consumer profiles
With the help of the blockchain technology, marketers won’t need to put so much effort into building consumer profiles, as they will be able to get all the necessary information in this decentralized network. Some people think that blockchain will create more difficulties for digital marketing, as the traditional methods of obtaining user data will be impossible. This is wrong because the difference between the traditional methods of collecting data and blockchain is that you won’t need to buy data from third parties. This technology allows you to buy user data directly from consumers. This system is beneficial for both consumers and sellers. The former are motivated to share their data with the companies they are interested in, while the latter get the most accurate information possible from a perfectly targeted audience.
Conclusion
The blockchain technology is capable of changing the world of digital marketing as we know it forever. Effective verification and tracking, as well as the complete safety of transactions, simplify numerous areas of advertising and establish new standards. Even though this technology is young, it’s evolving faster than anyone could expect, leaving no doubts about the direction digital marketing is moving in.
Image: https://pixabay.com/en/bitcoin-currency-technology-money-3089728/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
Author’s Bio
Berta Melder is an experienced brand manager, co-founder of the Masterra Professional Writing Services, enthusiastic blogger. She cooperates with different education courses covering a broad range of digital topics as a guest lecturer. Follow @BertaMelder on Twitter.
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