Update: Mike Conlow is now Director of Network Strategy at Cloudflare.
Social media platforms and content makers need to step up their game to rebuild trust with the public, said Mike Conlow, head of technology consulting at Blue State (formerly Blue State Digital). Recent events have shaken the public’s trust in the truth of content and the safety of their data online, he told Velocitize Talks.
All marketers need some amount of their customers’ data to operate effectively; however there is a common sense process to determine what is really necessary, said Conlow.
“There’s a thoughtful process that an organization can go through to think about what is the data that I need and not collect more than that.”
An increasing number of brands are taking stands on issues, even controversial ones. But in many cases, this is part of a thoughtful process. The brands recognize the stand will resonate with their target market.
Marketers have their own concerns about technology and trust. Faced with a crowded marketplace, it’s a challenge to bring their multiple tools together in a seamless and personalized way. “Bringing together those five or six tools in a really tight integration,” says Conlow. “That’s the power we see in the marketing tech stack.”
Data has made some levels of personalization common, but a more sophisticated level of personalization based on behavior and other attributes is still not common. “There’s a lot to be done to increase the quality of the experience,” he said. “It’s only when you put your email address into a form and press submit that we think of you as a real person or a real conversion.”
Watch more Velocitize Talks on our YouTube channel.
To keep up with Mike Conlow, follow him on LinkedIn.