As Founder & CEO of Solutions 8 and co-host of the Perpetual Traffic Podcast, Kasim Aslam has many accolades to his name. He’s also got a huge amount of knowledge and experience to draw on, which he recently shared at Traffic & Conversion Summit 2021.

Here’s a look at some key takeaways from Kasim’s talk on, “The Future of Traffic: Uncovering Hidden Opportunities Amid Massive Disruption.” 

The Current Reality of Data Limitations

Digital marketing is a data-driven process. And yet we’re losing data and will lose even more moving forward due to increasing government regulations—and efforts by companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple to present themselves as data protection authorities. 

While it’s ultimately not a bad thing to be moving toward privacy, it does make digital marketing more challenging.

A New Digital Marketing Challenge

One significant disruption? Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). Here’s how it works:

• It groups people based on their browser history and behavior into interest “cohorts”
• It recalculates these cohorts approximately every 7 days
• It voids cohorts based on race, sex, politics, and medical history
• Bidding will be based on cohorts, not individual users

So what does all of this mean?

• Advertisers in the Google ecosystem will now be “flying blind”
• There will be a much greater emphasis on automated bid strategies
• We’ll depend on Google more now than ever
• Google will have unique data that no one else will have

We will also be more reliant on smart shopping campaigns and smart bidding — with the right strategies in place, that is. 

Opportunities Abound for Small Businesses

According to Kasim (rhymes with “awesome”), big brands will suffer the greatest fallout from the changing ecosystem, while small companies that can “niche down” can expect big payoffs.

In order to do this, however, they must have the right strategies, including the following:

1. Capturing as much data as possible using software supplements

2. Using Facebook’s conversion API if you’re still using Facebook

3. Pushing pre-conversion events to Facebook using tools like HotJar and Zapier

4. Prioritizing first-party data through the use of forms, lead magnets, newsletters, chat, etc.

5. Tracking first-party cookies 

6. Using a lawyer to craft your Privacy Policy to protect you from litigation

7. Using broad targeting on Facebook Ads

8. Using Broad Match + Smart Bidding in Google Ads

9. Investing more in content marketing along every stage of the Customer Value Journey

10. Harnessing the power of video marketing with formats including product overviews, short videos, live streams, webinars, stories, podcasts, and user-generated content

11. Cashing in on the influencer marketing boom by focusing on micro and nano influencers, finding long-term ambassadors, trying new platforms, and offering performance-driven agreements. 

Kasim concluded his talk by emphasizing two things: the importance of the customer journey and that the opportunities ARE out there — if you know where to look. His parting four tips?

1. You have to go omnichannel
2. You have to market through the entire customer value journey
3. You have to think long-term
4. You have to focus on overall ROI (NOT ROAS, CPA, etc.)