The Influence Of Big Data On Digital Marketing: An Interview With Mehmood Hanif From PureVPN

March 14, 2018

by Virtucom Group Team

Mehmood Hanif is the senior digital marketing strategist at PureVPN – a global VPN provider devoted to online privacy and digital security. In late 2017, Mehmood was involved in creating a cyberstalking campaign for PureVPN to bring attention to this worldwide issue. The campaign ultimately went viral due to Mehmood’s and his colleagues’ digital marketing efforts, and it was written about by several major publications, including Forbes.

Data is everywhere. Each day, you’re personally creating an incredible amount of digital data – while you search for something on Google, while you scroll through your Instagram feed, while you use your Fitbit to track your morning run. And with the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), devices are only going to become more intelligent and connected.

In fact, by 2020, the number of smart connected devices is projected to reach 20.4 billion, with other sources more liberally estimating numbers in the range of 30-50 billion. Analysis of this Big Data will have a widespread impact on almost every industry – especially marketing. In this era of robotic vacuums, driverless cars and smart appliances, how is the field of online marketing going to be affected?

In today’s interview with PureVPN’s senior digital marketing strategist – Mehmood Hanif – we explore the intersections of Big Data, digital marketing and online privacy.   

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Britt: As more people become concerned about their digital privacy – and new digital privacy regulations take hold, such as cookies consent, data security and data gathering limitations – how do you think digital marketing will be affected?

Mehmood: I don’t believe there should be much of a concern when it comes to cookies consent. Cookies are something that help us optimize the user behavior on a website, and cookies don’t involve any personally identifiable details. As far as data gathering limitations are concerned, there are a plethora of ways marketers can collect data, such as through customer’s social profiles, real-time behavior on a website or application, customer support queries, etc.

Britt: What is your stance on marketers using Big Data to offer consumers a personalized digital experience?

Mehmood: Big Data indeed has a tremendous impact on the digital experience and buying behavior of consumers. In fact, IBM claims that over 60% of retailers agree that they’re experiencing a higher competitive edge due to the use of Big Data.

Britt: Do you think there’s a point where it becomes abusive or ethically wrong for marketers to use Big Data?

Mehmood: Of course. There should be ethical guidelines or a code amongst marketers. Moreover, when marketers collect data, they usually do it through customer consent. Take for instance, cookies consent you see when you visit a website.

Britt: Do you think that marketers can still effectively target their ideal audience without using Big Data?

Mehmood: It hasn’t even been a decade into Big Data. Moreover, Big Data is still a developing technology. My point is, marketers were effectively targeting their ideal audience even before the advent of Big Data. The technology has simply expedited and optimized that process.

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Britt: Do you think that a great online experience can only be created if it’s been highly personalized using Big Data?

Mehmood: As I have mentioned - Big Data has optimized the overall process for marketers. Through these data-gathering technologies, marketers can pinpoint the customer’s pain points, likes, dislikes, behavior on the Internet, inspirations, interests and whatnot.

Britt: What’s the best way to create a targeted digital marketing campaign that resonates and appeals to your ideal audience?

Mehmood: I would say buyer personas. If you are targeting different types of customers, build different buyer personas for each customer. Make sure to keep the buyer persona as close to your ideal consumer as possible.

Britt: Can you give advice to a digital marketer trying to build buyer personas/consumer profiles for the first time?

Mehmood: Don’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to building personas or profiles. Conduct surveys if you want, or ask customers through questionnaires, and analyze consumer behavior through analytical tools to ensure that you have an ideal persona.

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Britt: Can you provide any examples of how your market research has directly led to an improved digital marketing campaign?

Mehmood: Last year, PureVPN ran a successful cyberstalking campaign, which was later published on Forbes and other platforms. During the planning phase, we made sure that everyone on the team made their best efforts when doing market research. As a result, we came to know the readers’ pain points and uncovered their interest toward sharing their cyberstalking experiences.

Britt: What role do you think the Internet of Things (IoT) plays in current and future digital marketing strategies?

Mehmood: It is the job of a marketer to stay ahead of the curve, identify consumer behaviors, analyze trends and know what the consumers want. IoT is amongst those technologies that can help you with all of those things.

Britt: Is there anything else that you would like to say on the topic of digital privacy and digital marketing?

Mehmood: We are social animals and what makes us human are emotions. Make sure that you make the customer feel like you care about their feelings, and they will feel more inclined to share their data with you.


Stay up to date on the latest news in digital marketing and online privacy by following Mehmood Hanif on Twitter and connecting with him on LinkedIn.

 

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