The Internet was awash with commentary in the past week as Google announced the upcoming demise of third party cookies.
Representatives from the advertising industry went so far as to state that this change constitutes a threat to the viability of start ups and other businesses.
Without wanting to get into the technical details, Google basically announced that they are going to make targeting ads online more difficult (at least compared to how we do it now).
Clever online advertising tech has been a real boon for marketers and businesses looking to grow.
Fortunes have been won on the ability to drive cold traffic to somewhat interested audiences, and then following that up with targeted remarketing (as well as expanding with similar audience targeting etc)
Leveraging these opportunities where and when they exist is a good idea. “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” as they say.
And even when the playbook is ripped up (as Google has just done) don’t discount the potential for immensely clever people to come up with fresh solutions.
However, at the same time it is a stark reminder that you shouldn’t be completely dependent on “clever” marketing tech.
No matter what platforms are out there, the fundamentals of getting your message in front of your target audience never change ... because that is human nature and transcends everything.
Just because it might become harder to target display ads, or remarketing might become less effective, doesn’t mean that your customers have suddenly stopped exisiting.
They are out there with the same problems (and same desire for solutions) as ever before.
Fundamentally, all you need to do to succeed at marketing is:
- Understand the pain & problems your audience have
- Understand your value (how you solve the pain/problems)
- Communicate that value in the places where you can reach your audience
Get those three bits right and you will succeed (provided your offer and pricing is a sound fit for the market).
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