Why First-Party Data Is Important to Your Brand

Businesses rely on data to make smart decisions, but not all data is created equally. First-party data collection is a vital (and undervalued) component of digital marketing, often assumed to be something only the biggest brands can do efficiently. That’s simply not the case! Brands of all sizes can develop a first-party data strategy to improve marketing results and guide smarter business decisions.

What Is First-Party Data?

First-party data is any information you collect about customers, audiences, or social media followers based on their interactions with your brand. Perhaps the most important characteristic of first-party data is that it’s yours; you own it, control it, and use it exactly how you see fit.

A few examples of first-party data include:

• Demographic information – Age, gender, education, employment status, location, etc. This information may be part of a user’s social media or browser profile, for example, and shared with a user’s consent – but still typically anonymized.
• Behavioral data – Specific actions users have taken on your website, app, or in-store. This includes purchasing habits, engagement metrics like average session duration, and app usage data.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) data – This includes digital interaction history, purchasing behavior, and more.

What Is Zero-Party Data?

A sub-category of first-party data has sprung up and been given a new name: zero-party data. This is data that people intentionally share with your brand, usually through forms or even a paper sign-up sheet. (These definitions may be splitting hairs, but we weren’t holding the scissors.)

A few examples of zero-party data include:

• Survey data – Survey data through market research, post-purchase surveys, or customer service surveys are excellent examples of zero- or first-party data activation collected via email automation, strategic ads, or similar methods.
• Newsletter signup form data – Information provided in a newsletter signup form is one of the most delightful forms of first-party data, as these users willingly share their information in exchange for valuable content and offers.
• Gated content form data – This is data someone shares in a form to receive a unique resource, like a PDF checklist or an e-book.  

What Is a First-Party Cookie?

A first-party cookie is a tiny piece of code used by a website to store user-related information when someone visits the site. First-party cookies can store login information (if you choose to do so), location and language settings, and other site-specific preferences or interactions.

There’s been a lot of cookie-talk in the marketing world, most of which has focused on third-party cookies. First-party cookies are less controversial because they’re created by the site users have chosen to visit, and they can select which cookies are associated with their visit. That wasn’t always the case with third-party cookies, created by advertising companies like Google to follow users across websites to serve relevant ads.

Perhaps the biggest difference between first- and third-party cookies is how the information is used. First-party cookies shape the interaction between the website owner and the user; third-party cookies can be used, purchased, or aggregated by any number of other organizations, whether the user knows it or not.

First-Party Data vs. Third-Party Data

Third-party data extends beyond cookies to data brokers and data marketplaces, where businesses and marketers can buy email lists, demographic information, and other datasets. It’s worth defining data types to illustrate the benefits of first-party data for marketers.

Why Is First-Party Data Important?

For marketers, first-party data has several advantages over purchased or aggregated data. Most importantly, you’ll know the exact methodology behind first-party data collection, which helps gauge accuracy and quality. There are additional benefits of first-party data worth considering as well:

Compliance – When user consent is properly managed, first-party data collection is GDPR and CCPA-compliant, which protects your organization from privacy violations and stiff financial penalties.

Lower costs – In most cases, first-party data collection is more cost-effective than purchasing lists or aggregated data.

Personalization – A well-designed first-party data strategy ensures you collect the right information from the right audience. Let’s say your company is planning to roll out a new line of shoes; you might include shoe size or color preferences in your email list signup or a related automated email flow. This would inform how many of each size and color to make, and which colors should be emphasized in imagery.

Competitive advantage – With complete ownership, your data is yours alone. First-party data offers industry and brand insights that give you an advantage over your rivals.

How to Collect First-Party Data Efficiently

There’s a good chance you’re already collecting first-party and/or zero-party data. Good work! The next step is to review the data generated by your website, email list, CRM, and social media and make adjustments to enhance its usefulness.

You can collect first-party or zero-party data anywhere users interact with your brand. The key is to get granular with data collection without overdoing it. Marketers need to balance speed, ease, and privacy – from a user’s perspective – while creating their data wish list and designing surveys, checkouts, forms, etc. Longer processes have lower completion rates, so consider keeping it simple to start. Then use automated emails to gather more information; users will qualify themselves by opening certain types of emails consistently or staying subscribed for 30 days, 90 days, or longer periods.

Need support with your first- and zero-party data strategies? Oneupweb can help! From designing balanced forms and email flows to gathering high-quality data, we’ve got you covered. Just get in touch!

Putting First-Party Data to Use

There are many ways to use first-party data effectively. Good marketers learn to ask the right questions and leverage findings creatively; they also don’t overlook the basic tactics with proven track records. Here are a few ways to gather and use first-party data on core marketing platforms.

On Your Website

Use tools like Google Analytics 4 to define and segment audiences based on location, behavior, or other dimensions that can be associated with conversions. For example, you might monitor return users to a specific product page over a 30-day period and target Google Ads to those users.

With Your Email List

Segment your list based on engagement, purchase history, or time-based metrics. Looking to reduce inventory at a specific location? Send a promotional email offering free shipping to subscribers living within 30 miles of that location! You can also use robust email lists to improve your paid media performance.

With Your App

Take a page out of Starbucks’ playbook for a crash course on leveraging your app. They’re known to send discount offers for customers’ favorite drinks or snacks (I love the pumpkin scone) and even push offers based on the user’s location; you’re more likely to get your notification when you’re within two miles of a store than at home!

In Decision-Making

Market research and customer surveys offer tremendous insight into what your audience really wants. From post-purchase (or post-service) surveys and reviews to surveying a broader audience, this data is vital to making informed decisions and discovering new opportunities!

To use its jargony name, first-party data activation is simply putting what you’ve learned to work for your brand.

Realize the Value of First-Party Data with Oneupweb

Data makes the world go ’round. Brands that take real ownership of their data have a competitive advantage that isn’t dependent on outside regulations or business practices, and in today’s regulatory environment, first-party data is a long-term investment that happens to provide immediate results. Take control of your data; Oneupweb will design effective collection strategies at all your customer touchpoints and help make sense of the numbers. Let’s get started; get in touch or call (231) 922-9977 to get the ball rolling!