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As the ecosystem transitions to the use of publisher first-party data (1PD) as the currency for targeting, Publishers are getting smart on other ways to leverage their investment in 1PD to leverage it safely to increase the number of products in their revenue portfolio.
As most know, First-party data refers to the data that publishers collect directly from their website visitors, app users, or other platforms they own. Here are some steps publishers can follow to leverage their first-party data to safely sell their data and build additional revenue lines via existing marketplaces.
- Data Collection and Segmentation: The first step is to ensure that the publisher is effectively collecting relevant consented first-party data from their users. This data can include demographics, user behavior, preferences, purchase history, and any other information that can help in understanding their audience better. This data can also include PII, like name, address, age, gender, email, etc. This PII information must be managed differently from more generic data. Once collected, the data should be segmented into various audience groups based on common characteristics or interests such as contextual signals or audiences like IAB categories or Seller Defined Audiences.
- Audience Profiling and Insights: Publishers need to analyze and profile their audience segments to gain actionable insights. This involves understanding the interests, behaviors, and preferences of each segment, which can help in targeting the right advertisers and buyers on site and off-site via marketplace sales of audience data.
- Data Privacy and Compliance: Before sharing any first-party data with external parties or marketplaces, publishers must ensure they are compliant with relevant data privacy laws and have obtained appropriate user consent for data usage and sharing and are passing this per these legislative structures.
- Data Packaging and Pricing: Publishers should package their first-party data into actionable segments that align with the needs of potential buyers in the marketplace. Data segments can be based on demographics, interests, intent, or any other relevant criteria. Pricing for these data segments should be set based on their value, reach, and demand in keeping with market rates.
- Partnering with Data Marketplaces: Publishers can partner with data marketplaces or data management platforms (DMPs) that facilitate the buying and selling of audience data. These marketplaces act as intermediaries, connecting publishers with advertisers or other businesses looking to target specific audience segments. Publishers need to package their 1PD in a fashion to easily pipeline it onto these partners for easy consumption by the demand these marketplaces have aggregated.
- Data Activation and Onboarding: To share the data with the marketplace, publishers may need to onboard their data onto the marketplace's platform. This process involves securely transferring the data to the marketplace while maintaining data integrity and user anonymity. This could be done using the RampID, Throtle, Eyeota, Fabrick, etc. Additional costs are often incurred for this service.
- Marketing and Promotion: Publishers can promote their data offerings within the marketplace to attract potential buyers. This can involve showcasing the unique qualities of their data segments and how they can help advertisers achieve their marketing objectives.
- Ongoing Performance Measurement and Optimization: Publishers should continuously measure the performance of their data offerings in the marketplace. This involves evaluating the demand for different segments, understanding which segments are popular among buyers, and optimizing data packages based on buyer feedback and market trends.
- Maintaining Data Freshness and Quality: Regularly updating and maintaining the first-party data is crucial to ensure its relevance and accuracy. Fresh and high-quality data will be more appealing to potential buyers.
- Adhering to Transparency: Transparency is essential in data sharing. Publishers should provide clear information about the data being shared and its source to build trust with potential buyers. Tools such as the data labeling standard from the IAB are great ways to share the provenance of data and build trust with partners.
By following these steps, publishers can effectively leverage their first-party data to sell audiences into marketplaces, creating a win-win situation for both publishers and advertisers. Publishers safely generate additional revenue with their 1PD, while advertisers can access valuable audiences without cookies to improve their targeting and advertising efforts.