First-Party Data is Only the Beginning
As you’re probably painfully aware, Google has pumped the brakes on Third-Party Cookies. As a result, many marketers have been seen setting their hair on fire and scrambling to find ways to target the most appropriate audience with tailored ads.
The natural go-to became First-Party Data. This consists of associating the IP address of someone visiting your site with their email domain. The downside is that this visitor would’ve had to have been on your site in the first place. Net new prospects? Sorry, no dice.
And what about accuracy? Even the ad platforms that help you convert all of your First-Party Data into actionable insights are claiming an accuracy rate of 85% at best.
The more accurate and specific solution is Zero-Party Data (or ZPD for short). There are several ways to capture this data. One option is to have your prospects complete a survey (good luck with that).
The upside is that you’re able to ask a prospect what they’re interested in and you can use that information to target them with specific and relevant ads. The downsides however, are many. First of which is that you need to get the prospect to your site in the first place, and then you need to convince them to complete your silly survey (so once again, net new prospects are out in the cold).
So what’s the alternative? LinkedIn.
Nowhere on the internet is there a more accurate or relevant source of Zero-Party Data. People sign up for a LinkedIn account and voluntarily tell the world where they live, where they work, and the position they hold.
If you’re using a First-Party Data solution to find your audiences, then it’s likely that you’re capturing the email domain of one of your site visitors then using that domain to find all the people within a certain job function at that same company. This means that if you’re targeting a specific role within the HR function (for example), then you’ll be advertising to the entire department. Not only Recruiters and Business Partners, but HRIS, Compensation & Benefits Managers, HR Generalists and more. Think of all the wasted clicks you’ll be paying for.
Tapping into LinkedIn’s data is more accurate and with the right tools in place, can help you target only the individuals who can help you move a deal forward.
So is your First-Party Data useless? No, not at all. Leverage this data to determine which accounts are showing interest in your brand. Let this data inform your account-based efforts. Your outbound team can only go after so many accounts each month so use your First-Party Data to help them prioritize those accounts. Create a personalized, account-based ad for each of these accounts and coordinate the launch of your ads with the launch of their outbound sequences.
Your First-Party Data will help you go after the most relevant accounts. Your Zero-Party Data will help you get your ads in front of the most relevant audience.