Privacy concerns in the US have left many internet users increasingly aware of their digital footprint and online data. When every website requires entering personal information to access digital content, it is nearly impossible to avoid.  

Due to this frequent occurrence, many online users spoof their data to avoid providing personal info to unknown companies.

Whether using a VPN or private search engines, individuals actively render their data useless to companies that advertise to them online. Users misrepresent their online data in three distinct ways: 

• Fabricated data
• Withholding data
• Refusing to answer

How users interact with online websites dramatically modifies the advertisements they view. 

For a business, irrelevant data often results in advertising to someone completely unrelated to your product or service. False data actively hurts the companies trying to reach their intended audience due to ad irrelevance and false-positive impressions. 

Fabricated Data 

Sometimes users lie about their personal information to access the content they want. Entering a spoof email, incorrect phone number, or a false age to bypass website and age restrictions are some common examples.

This is frequently observed on websites that require a minimum age to create an account, such as Facebook. The Guardian reports that more than 80% of children lie about their age to use social media sites. 

Regardless of the user’s intentions, incorrect data dramatically affects how companies advertise to them. When a user enters untruthful data, they actively work against the companies’ intentions of trying to sell them a relevant product or service.  

For companies relying on this user-generated data, lying about age contributes significantly to the type of advertising they view during their internet session.

If digital marketers rely on these impressions to determine ad quality, their campaigns may perform poorly as a result. 

Withholding Data

This form of falsifying data is unique amongst internet users. In this circumstance, the user inputs some correct information while falsifying or omitting other data.

An example of this behavior is confirming the state of residence but not a complete address. If the user is looking for a restaurant in their area, they may be willing to enter some location data but remain vague to retain some form of privacy.

While a customer’s home state may be enough information for some companies, if your restaurant operates in Rochester, not all customers within New York state may be your target audience.  

While not completely inaccurate, this info is often too vague to create any meaningful customer profile. Users that input this data may receive some relevant ads, but there is still room for improvement. 

Refusing to Answer 

The final way users distort their online data is by omitting all info entirely. While this absence of data is not untruthful, it lacks any baseline from which to build a possible lead. 

Any company that markets to this internet user would assume a significant risk. There is no data to determine if your ad is relevant to their interests or needs. The result is the user receiving multiple irrelevant ads and likely generating poor ad impressions for the company. 

How Direct Mail Marketing Solves This

Unlike digital marketing, direct mail does not rely on something as finicky as online user-generated data. Instead, print advertising uses reliable information that typically links to a home address.

Physical addresses cannot be fabricated or falsified. Unlike customer-input data, when our mail arrives at an address, you can be certain there is really a residence there. They are not only kept recent but also linked to a unique residence.

This situation is ideal for companies that do business on or around the home such as cable TV, pest control, home remodeling, or other services dependent on homeownership. You will always know that your print ad is delivered to the correct address, instead of a dead email or social media account.

Direct mail is also easier to track data from when receiving responses. Only customers interested in your business will provide correct info; so the data delivered is both relevant and accurate. Furthermore – the fact that someone at the address we mailed responded, means that you can be certain there is at least one person at that address who is interested in your product!

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