The ongoing price fluctuations of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies may have captured all the headlines, but there is more to this technology than meets the eye. While cryptocurrencies may be interesting, it is the underlying blockchain technology that is most important, and this technology will continue to improve no matter what happens to the latest virtual coin.
Blockchain technology is already quietly changing industries as diverse as healthcare and banking, enhancing security, improving privacy and giving consumers greater control over their personal data. The world of marketing is also being transformed by the blockchain, and here are some of the ways this emerging technology is already making a big difference.
1) Reducing Click Fraud
Click fraud has been a problem ever since the earliest days of online advertising. Marketers rely on online ads to reach their target audiences and build their brands, but all to often the companies involved become the unwitting victims of click fraud.
Click fraud costs businesses millions of dollars every year, and the numbers are only expected to grow. Every time search engines try to combat click fraud, the bad guys look for ways to circumvent their efforts.
In the future, blockchain technology could help businesses combat click fraud by verifying identity and making online transactions more secure. Many businesses are already experimenting with this novel use for the blockchain concept, and if those experiments succeed, click fraud could become a thing of the past.
2) More Efficient Customer Targeting
Businesses know that targeted ads get results, but identifying the individuals most likely to make a purchase is not an easy thing to do. Blockchain technology could make targeted ads more effective by better identifying customers based on demographic data and a host of other factors.
In just a few years, marketers could be using the power of the blockchain to not only identify their hottest prospects by customize offers just for them. This efficiency could translate into lower costs, higher profits and ongoing benefits for the businesses involved.
3) Enhanced Privacy for Advertisers and Their Customers
Online privacy is a big concern in the digital age. Every week brings news of yet another security breach, and some of the biggest retailers have already been targeted.
These constant security breaches have led to an erosion of trust, one that promises to harm future marketing efforts. The inherent security and privacy of blockchain technology could change all that, giving consumers greater control over their data and building trust between buyers and sellers.
4) Cutting Out the Middleman
For more than a century, the media has been the middleman between advertiser and customer. First it was newspapers and magazines, and later television and radio.
The online revolution changes the media landscape, but not the middleman concept. In the future, however, blockchain technology could cut out the middleman, having a profound impact on the world of media by directly connecting buyers with the products they are looking for. Thanks to the power of the blockchain, big media could get a lot smaller.
5) Greater Ad Transparency
Anyone who has been paying attention has heard about the flood of fake online ads. From the political advertising that surrounded the 2016 presidential campaign to the phony virus warnings that plague internet users, this kind of fakery is everywhere these days.
Blockchain technology promises to change all that, making advertising more transparent and giving consumers far more information than they currently enjoy. Some of these enhancements to advertising transparency will be driven by social media companies, while others will be consumer-driven. But no matter where they come from, these changes will be enabled by the power of the blockchain.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may get all the attention, but it is the underlying power of the blockchain that will really make a difference. Even if Bitcoin crashes and burns and every cryptocurrency goes up in smoke, the blockchain will still be there, quietly changing the world in a number of different ways. The upcoming changes to the world of marketing is just the tip of the iceberg, and just one example of what blockchain technology has in store.
