Blockchain is undoubtedly one of the most advanced technologies nowadays. Some people may have heard about it only in the context of cryptocurrency, but the blockchain is beyond Bitcoin. Many blockchain applications exist, from monetary transfers and personal identity security to healthcare and business.
Companies around the globe have started to leverage blockchain and integrate this innovation into their business operations to make them more secure, sound, and faster. That is how the concept of ‘blockchain marketing’ has existed. The use of blockchain in marketing is a relatively novel approach, so not many businesses make use of it.
Being skeptical about introducing such technology into your business operations is expected, mainly since you know little about it. But that is why the Internet is here. You can be informed about the various applications of blockchain in marketing to understand this technology comprehensively and further decide whether it is suitable for your organization.
Some of the most significant domains blockchain can be applied in include social media, digital platforms, fintech, and martech. Blockchain’s immutability, transparency, and security peculiarities can serve many purposes. But let us limit to just marketing and explain what this innovation can mean for marketers, brands, and consumers.
What does blockchain mean for marketing?
Blockchain is used mainly for purchasing, selling, and digital trading currencies. Still, the more people learn about this technology, the more they integrate it into day-to-day activities and business operations.
One of the most revolutionizing concepts lately is ‘blockchain marketing,’ which merely refers to blockchain use in digital marketing. Increasingly more marketers have benefited from blockchain’s vast applications, including financial transactions between vendors and customers.
Blockchain is expected to change how brands and consumers interact, allowing businesses to design more targeted advertisements and take their marketing campaigns to the next level. Delving further into blockchain technology, we have come to discover that it has countless advantages, including:
Improved transparency for brands and consumers
The underlying technology of blockchain can fuel transparency and trust regarding integrity in the behavior and honesty of a particular brand. Ideally, a company aims to generate consumer-centric transparency, providing customers with information about products, services, the quality of materials used in manufacturing, supply chains, etc.
How does this happen?
Companies incorporating blockchain in their marketing strategies benefit from decentralization, meaning that the ledger makes the heritage of a particular product or service available to consumers.
Transactions on blockchain do not imply digital intermediaries, and all data can be checked. Thus, consumers can verify, for example, the origins of an allegedly carbon-neutral or organic using this technology. Brands may pretend that they provide 100 percent organic products, but they cannot prove the origins of their goods - where they were made, where they came from, and what materials have been used.
For this reason, customers are often skeptical about the quality of the products they buy and lose their trust in companies if what the latter pretends to be organic is just a lie. Data like these can also make a significant impact as regards competition.
Once you gain consumers’ trust, there is a chance for them to remain loyal to your business forever. Moreover, blockchain can enhance transparency and trust by opposing malicious marketing for fake products, which impacts the intellectual property (IP) relating to original manufacturers. This has long been an issue for numerous marketers struggling to fight against malevolent actors who do everything possible to steal their recipe for success.
Near-zero transaction costs
It is nothing new that financial transactions today have substantial costs. This is also one of the reasons many individuals have considered working more with cryptocurrency and less with fiat currency.
Due to the technology underlying cryptocurrency - blockchain - people can benefit from zero transaction costs when trading or transferring their digital assets. It is understandable why people are becoming increasingly curious about crypto and types in their browsers what is the price of Bitcoin - the world of crypto comes with hundreds of financial opportunities for investors and traders alike, including reduced and even zero costs per transaction. But just as blockchain can facilitate crypto transactions, so can business-customer transactions.
Any company incorporating blockchain in its operations can avoid considerable costs and fees that are often the main reason customers refuse to make a purchase. Financial corporations, including Mastercard and Visa, have already made their choice and now allow for zero-cost transactions when sending money in a local currency over blockchain.
It prevents data fraud.
Blockchain in marketing can end up data fraud forever, particularly click fraud. Online advertisement has surged in popularity lately, but so has click fraud, facilitated by digital marketing.
What does this mean?
Loss of money. Every time a consumer clicks an advertisement on the Internet, they can be victim to the so-called click fraud meant to influence the marketing budget of a competitor. Pay-per-click (PPC) is a robust marketing strategy, but it comes with risks impossible to neglect.
There is undoubtedly a need for advanced click tracking and end-to-end transparency. Blockchain is thus brought into play. It allows businesses to effectively prevent fraudulent ad clicks and traffic and prove the validity of their campaigns to customers.
More emphasis on decentralization
Decentralization has opened opportunities for companies that can now replace traditional intermediaries by providing a broad range of solutions and services for modern commerce. Some e-commerce services include communication, search capabilities, advertising, and information brokering.
Major social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter already give brands new and various options to reach their consumers, relying on decentralized digital intermediaries.
This approach has started to be increasingly adopted among companies as a solution to all these intermediary-related concerns, so are you considering it, too? We hope you have a clearer idea of the significance of blockchain and understand that it is not limited to just cryptocurrency.
