Marketers today have access to more data than ever before. And the methods for collecting and activating that data are becoming increasingly complex.  While website tagging remains crucial, businesses must expand their tagging strategies to encompass mobile apps, connected TV (CTV), and other emerging channels. By doing so, companies can gain a more comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and make data-driven decisions that drive growth and profitability.

Let’s take a closer look at how tagging is evolving beyond traditional websites:

Mobile Apps

With the average consumer spending 3.5 hours per day on their smartphone, mobile apps present a golden opportunity for data collection. By implementing SDKs and server-to-server data transfer, companies can gain valuable insights into user engagement and behavior within their apps. 

For instance, an e-commerce app might track which products users view, how long they spend on each page, and which items they ultimately purchase. This data can then be used to optimize the app experience and drive more conversions.

Alternatively, for brands advertising on mobile apps like gaming and news, implementing specialized tracking tags within the ads enables them to capture granular data on performance metrics and attribute user actions back to specific placements. With the upcoming changes to third-party cookies on browsers, these tagging solutions are crucial for brands to measure the true impact and optimize the effectiveness of their in-app advertising campaigns.

Connected TV (CTV)

As more and more people cut the cord and shift towards streaming services, CTV advertising is experiencing rapid growth. By leveraging tagging in their CTV ads, advertisers can collect data on viewer engagement, ad performance, and more.

For example, a streaming platform might use tagging to determine which genres of shows are popular among different age groups, and then make audiences available to advertisers to inform their ad strategy. Advertisers, in turn, might use tagging to measure ad performance and engagement metrics such as start/stop, mute, skip, and quartile view-times.

Emerging Channels

As new technologies continue to emerge, so do new opportunities for tagging and data collection. Voice assistants, smart speakers, wearables, and AR/VR are just a few examples of emerging channels that are ripe for exploration. By developing innovative tagging strategies for these channels, marketers can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences. 

For example, a smart speaker company might use tagging to track which voice commands are most commonly used, and then use that data to improve their natural language processing algorithms.

Unifying Disparate Data

Of course, with all of this data collection comes the need for proper data integration and identity resolution. By unifying data from various tagged sources, companies can create a single, comprehensive view of each customer across all channels and devices. This, in turn, enables more personalized and effective marketing campaigns.

At the same time, privacy and compliance considerations cannot be ignored. With regulations like GDPR and CCPA in place, it’s essential for marketing data companies to be transparent about their data collection practices and obtain proper user consent. Finding the right balance between data collection and privacy is an ongoing challenge, but one that must be addressed head-on.

Looking ahead, it’s clear that emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and blockchain will play an increasingly important role in tagging and data collection. As consumer behavior and privacy expectations continue to evolve, marketing data companies will need to stay agile and adaptable to stay ahead of the curve.

Level Up Your Company’s Tagging Capabilities

Tagging beyond the website is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a must-have for any company that wants to remain competitive in today’s digital landscape. By taking a holistic, cross-channel approach to data collection, and by staying on top of emerging trends and technologies, marketing data companies can position themselves for success both now and in the future.

Aqfer is here to help. Our Marketing Data Platform is designed to help marketing service providers get more from their customers’ data. Our privacy-compliant  tagging solution enables MSPs to collect more, better data from across marketing touchpoints, and unify that data to deliver better audience insights and improved marketing experiences. Reach out to discuss Aqfer’s tagging solution and your marketing data use cases.