Data-driven marketing and privacy laws

What data do you need?

For good marketing analysis, collect data that will help you better understand your target audience and optimize your campaigns. Collect only data that you actually need for your goals. This will make your analyses more efficient and avoid unnecessary risks. By using targeted data, you can better tailor campaigns to the needs and interests of your target audience. Consider:

• Demographic data: age, place of residence, gender.
• Behavioral data: click behavior, purchase history, pages visited.
• Interests and preferences: for example, through surveys or newsletter preferences.

What are you allowed to collect?

You can certainly collect data, but only if it is really necessary for your marketing goals and your visitors have given their permission. Think of personal data like name and email address, behavioral information like pages visited and ads clicked, and preferences like favorite genres or communication channels. Location data (where your visitor is located) can only be collected if they are relevant, such as for an event in the neighborhood. 

Tip: Be transparent about what data you collect and why. Use a privacy statement to communicate this clearly.

Conditions for data collection

Data is often collected faster than you think. Think of the information visitors enter when buying a ticket or signing up for your newsletter. However, it is essential to follow some important ground rules when collecting data:

1. Always seek explicit consent, such as through an opt-in, and be transparent about what you collect and why.
2. Use data only for its intended purpose, collect no more than necessary, and keep it no longer than necessary.
3. In addition, ensure that visitors can exercise their rights, such as viewing, correcting or deleting their data.
4. Proper security, such as through encryption, is an absolute must!

The AVG

The General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) governs how you may process personal data and sets clear rules for secure data management. In addition to personal data, you also need to consider intellectual property, for example, when using photos or videos that contain data or creations of others. Make sure you have permission to use such materials to avoid legal problems. Main rules of thumb for personal data remain: collect only what is necessary, do not keep it longer than necessary, and secure it properly.

Tip: Use AVG-compliant tools and programs for sending newsletters, managing customer data and analyzing data. Examples include Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Google Analytics 4 and Matomo.

Data Management

Data management is all about storing, processing and deleting data securely, in compliance with the AVG. By law, you can only keep data for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. For example, visitor data may be kept for up to one year, unless you have explicit permission for longer use. In addition, you must keep data well organized, for example by segmenting visitors, interested parties and business relations. This helps not only with overview, but also with compliance with the principle of "data minimization. Always use strong security measures such as encryption and access control to keep data safe and comply with the AVG.

Data-driven work offers opportunities

It may seem complicated, but data collection can be simple and effective if you do it the right way. It helps you better understand your audience and communicate in a more targeted way, ensuring campaigns that match your target audience's interests and needs. A data-driven approach also helps you discover new audiences, identify trends and use your marketing budget more effectively. Moreover, measuring the impact of your campaigns makes it possible to adjust and continually improve your strategy. By using data intelligently, you not only build a more loyal audience, but also make your marketing activities more sustainable and successful. This allows you to make more impact with less effort.

Resources

• Cultural marketing - Data-driven marketing: know your audience
• DEN.NL - Working AVG-proof in the cultural sector, this is how you do it!
• Cultural Marketing - Getting started with data-driven marketing?
• DDMA - Comprehensive Q&A with the cultural sector on the AVG and Privacy Regulation
• Central government - Privacy rules protect personal data
• Personal Data Authority - The AVG in brief.

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