Bitcoins. Altcoins. Smart contracts. These buzzwords are present in just about every other business publication of late. As these catchwords have shot to fame, more and more people want to know about the tech that is supporting it all. That is where blockchain kicks into action. Blockchain is decentralized ledger technology that has disrupted different business verticals; finance was one of the first few sectors that capitalized on this innovation.

Blockchain development has the capacity to solve some serious problems faced by many verticals including digital marketing. The technology has successfully revolutionized the digital supply chain in unimaginable ways. So, in this feature, the focus will be on how this revolutionary technology is accelerating digital marketing transformation. But, first, here is a brief rundown on the science that is powering blockchain.

Blockchain Brings A Digital Revolution

This groundbreaking technology was invented by Satoshi Nakomoto—an anonymous person or group of persons. (There are several contradictory theories about Nakomoto, but we will save that topic for some other time.) Blockchain was initially supporting Bitcoin, an innovative digital currency that successfully changed the way money moves across the world.

Later, blockchain’s application went beyond cryptocurrencies and the tech was involved in developing a number of applications designed for different purposes; the world knows these applications now as decentralized apps or DApps. These interesting facts would want anyone to know how this technology works in the first place. So before understanding how blockchain will reimagine programmatic media buying, let us discover the way this thing functions.

Understanding Blockchain As A Big Shared Document

The best way to make sense of blockchain is to relate this with Google Docs. The information stored on blockchain is like a document that has been copied multiple times across thousands of computers present on the distributed network or blockchain. Then there is mammoth computational power that is programmed to update that doc regularly.

However, if editing is done on a Microsoft Word document, then only the first user will make the changes at one point. Once that first user has revised the doc, then only the second one can make the changes and so on; that is, the editing cannot be done in parallel. But that is where Google Docs come into play. With Google Docs, multiple people edit the same doc at the same time.

Think of blockchain as a big shared document. This chain is made of a number of blocks where identical information is stored across the entire network. Because of which, the blockchain will not be controlled by any one person and there will not be any single point of failure. That is why the blockchain has not faced any structural problems as such.

Also, since there is no single point of failure, blockchain allows minimal human errors. The network’s participants always make sure that every single transaction is a validated, secured one. Because of these reasons, it has become clear that why more and more industries are redesigning supply chain around this piece of technology.

Now that blockchain basics are out of the way, let us explore the impacts this technology will have on the world of digital marketing.

Blockchain Is Reinventing Digital Marketing

As per Forrester, the digital marketing expenses will go up to USD 120 billion by 2021. That is why more and more market players such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon are continuously collecting consumer information so that they can strategize better. Despite all the work done by the big players, 50 percent of the total ad traffic is still generated by bots.

It is evident that the brands, today, are paying a lot to reach the potential consumers; but just because they are spending a lot does not mean they will definitely reach their target audiences. This scenario, however, can be upended once businesses will have the ability to easily target every potential consumer individually.

That is where Blockchain is making all the difference. Thanks to its smart contracts, blockchain is innovating transparency and security in the digital marketing ecosystem. This radical technology is already changing the way ad traffic is bought, delivered, and measured. Best of all, blockchain will improve the accuracy of data-tracking efforts done by businesses and ad sellers. Below there are different ways through which this technology can transform digital marketing.

No intermediaries mean fewer chances of fraud

Trust is the building block of the global economy. In today’s world, middlemen such as banks guarantee trust; they guarantee that money remains a store of value. Today, the ecosystem of digital marketing relies on these intermediaries. These intermediaries take a huge chunk of funds to guarantee that an advertisement published on a website will be visible and clicked by real people and not bots.

However, blockchain is making these intermediaries superfluous. This technology is giving the buyer and the seller precise info about how long an advertisement was viewed and how many real people clicked on it. That is when both the advertiser and the website owner can enjoy maximum transparency, and they would not be required to pay to the middlemen too.

Streamlining payment channels

Today, businesses cannot make any transaction without interacting with complex payment models such as Stripe or PayPal. To top it all, these complex models charge a heavy transactional fee as well. So carrying out micro transactions, such as paying a handful of cents, through these payment systems is especially unprofitable.

With blockchain-powered transactions, carrying out any size of payments is possible. Because of that capability alone, blockchain easily unlocks a whole new world of interesting opportunities for the entire digital marketing landscape today and tomorrow.

Targeting consumers becomes simpler

Blockchain enables marketers to get the most actionable insight that will let them target the potential customers better. When blockchain is mixed with a bit of AI, businesses can have the potential to know how a customer or prospect will make a buying decision under a given situation.

Analyzing this information and deploying it at the right time can give businesses the edge in the world of digital marketing. Like many pieces of emerging technology, blockchain can easily empower businesses to create the best strategies that let marketers target customers accurately.

Say goodbye to bots

The negotiation happening between the executioner and clients needs verification. The businesses just cannot be sure that someone is truly a real person unless they get a confirmation. That is basically where blockchain enters. Thanks to this revolutionary technology, all the users will safely store their personal information.

Through blockchain, enterprises can bring down the risk of displaying their ads to all the bots or fake accounts. That is, with blockchain, the businesses can expect that their advertisements and other digital marketing initiatives are targeted only to real consumers in real time. With that alone, companies can save hundreds of thousands of advertising dollars.

Considering everything, blockchain’s concept and applications have the ability to restructure businesses on the digital front. That is why businesses should look forward to getting the right support and consultancy that can let them incorporate blockchain into digital marketing.