While contextual data is often used by marketers and advertisers to provide a better experience for their customers, it’s also the key to a new level of performance marketing. Contextual analytics, paired with big data sources, can essentially assist marketers in analysing their customers’ behaviour patterns, contributing towards improving the customer experience.
To better explain harnessing the power of hyper-contextual data, let’s look at how to implement it with telemarketing and advertising via mobile devices.
Traditionally, marketers had to collect contextual data including information that is unique to the device and its current usage – where the device is located, how it’s being used, and what’s transpiring around the device – such as:
1. Geolocation data – where the user is in the world and where they are going.
2. Device data – what’s going on with the device at any given time.
3. Sensor data – information collected from the device’s sensors, including information about the device environment, such as the velocity of the device or the ambient temperature.
4. Behavioural data – information regarding what the device is doing, such as how users interact with their devices.
Nowadays, with many smartphone applications and different types of software – collecting contextual data on the Cloud isn’t necessary and easy because users are more and more sensitive to their privacy – instead, contextual data stays on the mobile device along with any PII (Personal Identifiable Information). This is a big plus for end-users but can present challenges to the advertisers, in regards to the accuracy of their Ads.
Indeed, PII plays an integral role in developing personalised marketing strategies. At the most basic level, PII indicates how to address, greet and send tailored marketing messages to customers. Going further, PII-based data tracks and monitors the customer journey. This enables marketers to gather the insights they need to run and maintain high performing, personalised omnipresent marketing initiatives. So, how can advertisers build on top of current limitations while increasing Ad-value?
5 Benefits of hyper-contextual data collection:
- On-Demand Targeting
By collecting real-time contextual data, via mobile apps, marketers and advertisers can gain a better understanding of the user experience – attributes such as location when users are engaged with the device, what they are doing, and what they’re interested in. This data can then be used to personalise content, enable on-demand marketing, and provide highly tailored communications, resulting in:
- Behaviourally targeted ads, which can be delivered in real-time while respecting people’s privacy.
- Personalised web experiences (such as the ability to register for an event or a webinar on the business’s website while on the road).
- Ability to target users with real-time marketing communications and offers.
- Ability to deliver contextual ads based on sensor-triggered information about the device and user.
An untapped targeting interaction is cross-app intelligence. It is believed to be the next frontier of hyper-contextual advertising. Several companies such as Digital Turbine, have been able to convince OEMs to embark their software OS-layer, enabling them to perform local and PII-friendly targeted Ads or App suggestions. In this line, the virtual keyboard is able to also gather non-PII information and cross-app intelligence as the user navigates between multiple apps during a day.
- Website Targeting
Contextual data collection can help elevate the online user experience. For example, the data collected via online engagements can help to better customise website experiences – leading to increased engagement and conversion rates. The correct data sets can be used to dynamically change the design, layout, and content of the website in question – generating a richer and more customised user experience.
With website targeting we also have to keep omnichannel communications in mind. There’s a lot of data going around that marketers and advertisers can leverage in order to make website targeting more successful. Not only does contextual data help communicationists build a customised user experience on their website, it also assists in driving website traffic from other channels and platforms – depending on how contextual data is implemented across each channel.
- Topic Targeting/Custom Keyword
Historically, to target users, advertisers would create lists in which each user was represented by a number of keywords or topics. Using this approach, advertisers would bid on all of the keywords in the list and pay for every user that was reached. This is referred to as “non geo-specific” targeting.
Now marketers and advertisers have the ability to create geo-specific keyword lists based on the hyper-contextual data that is available. For example, a Hotel brand can target users in a particular geographical area that has just booked a room without sharing data outside the device. Another example can be a Tour Organisation brand showing a relevant non-intrusive Ad inside a specific Travel booking app, bringing the hyper-contextual reach highly relevant for Advertisers and the User.
- Viewability
If you’re talking to someone but they are not looking at you, what’s the point of talking? The same applies to advertising. For marketing to be effective, the initiatives need to be visible and be seen in the correct places, on the correct platforms. Viewability is a metric that is used to determine the percentage of an ad that is in view for a minimum amount of time.
Hyper-Contextual targeting ensures that advertising is delivered to the right user at the right time and in the right way, as a non-intrusive display Ad.
- Brand Safety
Contextual data helps to make smarter decisions about where to place your ads and offers. By analysing the data, marketers can be assured that the ads they place will not appear on inappropriate sites and that their users will not view ads that are irrelevant or offensive.
Conclusion
To conclude, the world has changed, and we need to change with it. We are moving from a world of identifiable users to one of anonymous users. Hyper-contextually targeted marketing is the future of marketing and we’re already seeing marketers and advertisers use it together with PII systems to customise their messages in accordance with the customer’s unique behaviour. Therefore, the companies that are harnessing the power of hyper-contextual data today will be the companies that dominate tomorrow.
Plante is a serial entrepreneur who’s behind many of Forbes 100’s novel and disruptive digital products. His background as a Designer has brought a unique point of view across telecoms, media, banking, etc. From the future of Television to today’s contactless payment methods, he’s now leading the team at Fleksy focusing on building the future of text input technologies.