“You will be watching your television. Your television will be watching you.”
By the age of 18 a child born in the 21st century will have a digital profile constructed of 70,000 touch-points that pinpoints their online identity, cultivating and interpreting every move made online and in the vicinity of a device. Plainly, privacy is a thing of the past. What does this mean for digital marketers, though?
According to Entrepreneur Online Magazine, “trust is the new marketing currency”. Why? It has long been the purpose of digital marketing to infiltrate people’s online lives with advertisements that are curated for them, so they succumb to unrelenting temptation and purchase with the marketer’s company. Because of widely reported data breaches like the one in 2017 that exposed 145 million Americans, online shoppers now have a strong aversion to digital marketing because they see it as a trap to be sold and have personal data captured.
By focusing on building trust through digital marketing, marketers can establish a huge point of difference from competitors who fail to disclose paid online promotion, for instance, immediately losing the trust of a potential customer. By virtue of being open about online adverts, consumers are more inclined to do business with the company because of the trusting tone set by digital marketers. They then feel like their information will not be misused, which should become a key objective for digital marketers given that according to a recent survey just 3% consider digital marketers and salespeople trustworthy!
Establishing trust in an online ad can be achieved by simply, as previously mentioned, disclosing paid promotions. No, quoting the “9 out of 10 doctors recommend…” line will no longer cut it.
So in an age where privacy is a figment of the imagination of an idealist, digital marketers should look to inspire trust through their marketing, not just sales. Failure to do so will tarnish the company’s reputation and damage performance drastically. Act on the trend. Ball’s in your court, digital marketers…
An Amateur's Perspective 
Great article! I completely agree that marketers have to regain trust when it comes to privacy. More importantly I think you’re spot on when you say it will lead to a key point of difference. Personally, I know I am much more likely to frequently purchase from brands I trust
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