Personalization: An Enduring Trend in Digital Marketing

Digital marketing evolves fast primarily due to changes in the market (e.g. consumer behaviors and activities, tools, etc.) brought about by technological development. For this reason, several digital marketing strategies emerge over time and become new trends in this practice. One of these trends is personalization or personalized marketing, which is about individualizing consumers’ experiences with a brand or product.

Personalized marketing continues to be a trend because it effectively allows brands to build personal relationships with consumers. Consequently, consumers respond positively to the brand because they feel that the latter knows or understands them. In a research study conducted on the efficiency of personalized promotions, researchers agree that this practice works because consumers feel in control when promotions and other marketing materials are relevant to their personal experiences.

Personalized marketing is also trending because of social media. Consumers all over the world has their data available for marketers, which then allows brands to develop content that suits the needs of a diverse audience. When you see an advertisement for an iPhone after Googling new phones in the market, that is personalized marketing at play, and it effectively connects brands to consumers’ needs. Despite this advantage, however, many are talking about the impact of personalized marketing on people’s privacy, especially when brands rely on big data taken from social media to target consumers.

In the following Ted Talk by Nicole Martin, she talks about personalized marketing and the ways that it improves consumer experiences despite growing concerns about privacy and the collection or distribution of big data from social media and the Internet.

Martin presents important points in the video. It may be true that privacy is a concern among consumers and brands should ensure that they are not violating people’s right to privacy. However, there are ways for digital marketers to protect consumers privacy. For this reason, even if people voice their concerns about privacy issues, personalized marketing will still endure as a trend in the coming years not only because it works but also because brands may adopt practices to protect privacy.

I personally believe personalized marketing will continue to be a trend in the future, especially because as we continue to rely more on the Internet and use social media, the easier it is for brands to know their markets. Consequently, the better they may target users based on the latter’s needs.