Why I Don’t Panic and Run When I See 'GDPR'

Many marketers panicked when GDPR was announced, despite having two years to prepare for it. I don’t believe that this panic was caused by lack of preparation because marketers cannot afford to be procrastinators. Instead, I think it was caused by the simple fact that people fear what they don’t know, what they can’t predict and what they cannot control. And, this is all true for GDPR.

So, it is time to educate ourselves. We don’t need to read all 260 pages of official GDPR text to understand it, but in case you are on a long flight, here is the full copy of GDPR.

If you are like me, and don’t have the time to take it all in, here are some articles that I found to be helpful:

• Breaking down GDPR compliance and how it protects EU citizens’ data
• MarTech Today’s Guide to GDPR
• 6 GDPR Compliance examples

And, hopefully, once you have fully educated yourself on what GDPR actually is, you can see that it’s a blessing. GDPR is meant to protect us as users and help us as marketers.

Personally, as a user, content consumer and a bit of a control-freak, I’m very happy to be able to filter information that ends up in my Inbox without extra hassle.

Seriously, there are at least 5 newsletters in my inbox that I delete each week without opening. The only reason I don’t unsubscribe is because the opt-out process is not obvious at all. I don’t even remember how I got those subscriptions in the first placeNow, marketers who send me those copies are spending their time and budget on someone like me – someone who will never convert or even read their newsletter, product update or pitch.

And, hopefully, once you have fully educated yourself on what GDPR actually is, you can see that it’s a blessing. GDPR is meant to protect us as users and help us as marketers.

Personally, as a user, content consumer and a bit of a control-freak, I’m very happy to be able to filter information that ends up in my Inbox without extra hassle. Seriously, there are at least 5 newsletters in my inbox that I delete each week without opening. The only reason I don’t unsubscribe is because the opt-out process is not obvious at all. I don’t even remember how I got those subscriptions in the first place…Now, marketers who send me those copies are spending their time and budget on someone like me – someone who will never convert or even read their newsletter, product update or pitch.

So, as a marketer I consider GDPR a blessing, because by having a consent from a consumer I get the following:

• Relevant Audience: My audience will consist only of those who want to read my content, meaning my efforts are well-spent.
• Higher Open Rates and CTRs: Users who’ve already expressed and confirmed their interest in my content or offer are more likely to engage in a further conversation.
• Good Marketing: Marketing is not supposed to manipulate, advertising is not supposed to annoy, GDPR helps to achieve just that. Let’s give marketing meaning again and reduce the noise.

Another reason I’m a fan of GDPR is because there are still lots of other marketing channels in B2B that don’t require marketing consent and are in line with GDPR. Here is a list of those that I have already included in my B2B marketing plan:

• Email: Yep, still using it. GDPR gives me an excuse for the long overdue ‘clean up’ of my list. Meaning, I will need to ask to reconfirm subscriptions from EU users that have previously signed up for a newsletter. And, we are also adding a simple opt-out form.
• SMM: Not posting, but engaging. Social media is still a go, and you can easily engage with decision-makers via content they post on their profiles. Yes, it takes time, yes it requires research, but if your primary clients are enterprise, it is worth it. Spend some time on actually getting to know who is sharing what and engage in a meaningful discussion in a comments section under their post.
• Person-based ads: I am using Influ2 for Influ2. That is the only way I can ensure that it works. So, yes, I create campaigns that are targeted at specific people and show them ads of my blog articles and other content that I think they will like. I don’t need marketing consent for that, yet I definitely know who saw what when and how they’ve engaged with it.

These are just three channels, and there are many more that can work very well in B2B, no matter EU regulations.