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NZBUSINESS.CO.NZ 31
Not all of the solutions on the market are on some moral crusade to
protecttheconsumerfromunwelcomecontent.Manyadblockersoffer
awhitelistingservicethatmeansifaretailerpaysenoughmoney,they
permittheiradtogetthrough.BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION
NewZealandbusinessesshouldnotautomaticallybeafraidofad
blocking.Iftheyprovidecontentthattheaudiencewantstoconsume,
thentheaudienceisfarlesslikelytoblockthem.It’simportantto
remember that online advertising is not the only way to get content to a
relevant audience.
Ahugetrend,especiallywithGenerationZ,isforusingmessenger
apps,suchasWhatsApporFacebookMessenger.Consumerfacing
businesses can reach out to their audiences through these apps.
Normallythemessengerappaskswhensomeoneiscreatingtheir
accountwhattheirhobbiesare,etcetera.Basedonthat,theuser
agreestoreceivethird-partyadsaslongastheyarerelevanttothem.
Thoseadsdonothavetobeintheformofabanner.
Asanexample,whenauserischattingwiththeirfriendaboutashirt
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thendeliveramessagetotheminthatchattellingthemthatitcansee
whattheyaretalkingaboutandaskthemwhethertheyhaveheardthat
theyhaveasaleonasimilariteminacertainonlinestore.Thebotis
addingsomethingthatisrelevanttoboththeuserandthechat.
Thebotrecommendsaproductnotonlyfromwhatitknowsabout
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discussiontheyarehavingatthatprecisemomentintime.BUILD A COMMUNITY, NOT JUST A BRAND
Inordertoengagewithcustomers,itisnolongerenoughtosimply
promote or build a brand; rather businesses should be focusing on how
theycanbuildtheirownonlinecommunity.
People respond positively when they feel there is a sense of
communityaroundabrandonline–reviewsofproductsandservices,
socialmediasharebuttons,forums,ablogwiththepossibilitytoadd
comments are especially important.
Theultimategoalforallbusinessestodayshouldbetocreatea
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oftheseeffortscanleadtohappyandengagedcustomers,whocanact
as brand advocates in their own right.
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out.*https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/308814/us-publishers-158b-
annual-revenue-lost-to-ad.html“In an increasingly
fragmented digital
environment,
businesses need
to be thinking
about how they
make their content
meaningful,
personalised and
relevant from
the outset.”
WAYNE JASEKIS DIRECTOR OF APAC OPERATIONS FOR
KENTICO.HESPECIALISESINHELPINGSMBSDELIVER
EXECUTIONAL ONLINE EXPERIENCES THAT TURN
VISITORS INTO CUSTOMERS.MARKETING
The advent of ad blocking technology should not be feared by
local businesses, it actually presents real opportunities for savvy
owners and managers that know how to leverage customer data
and insights to stand out from the crowd. Because, if everything
else is blocked and only they are getting through, their business
or brand is going to get more visibility.
UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
For SMBs to make their promotional campaigns more relevant and
personalised, they need to properly understand their customer
base through segmentation. Unfortunately, many businesses still
segment by age, gender, income, etcetera – demographic data
that isn’t relevant anymore.
It doesn’t matter if people are 16 or 65, they may still like the
same Facebook pages.
Businesses need to think again about how they segment their
audience. They need to think about what data they are using to
identify if a certain person falls into that segment or not. They
cannot rely on a single source for data anymore.
AD BLOCKERS ARE BUSINESSES TOO
It is important to remember that many ad blockers are
commercially driven and have their own business model as well.