Did you think a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is “just” a privacy tool? With the advent of AI copywriting, marketing is becoming an even more competitive industry than before. Marketers need every advantage they can get! Fortunately, VPNs are proving to have additional advantages that can help marketers to stay ahead of the pack.
It encrypts your data and routes all your network traffic via your VPN’s private router instead of your internet service provider (ISP). So, what’s the magic trick that makes VPNs a go-to tool for digital marketers?
What can a VPN do for digital marketers?
A VPN creates a private tunnel to carry the data between your device and the internet, and it also encrypts the data to make it indecipherable to outsiders. You can connect to the internet without exposing your IP address and announcing your presence to all the trackers out there. It also means that no one can see what apps or tools you use, what files you download, and what websites you visit.
Sounds simple enough. But there are several other benefits, and the practical implications for marketers are vast.
It brings bias-free audience research within your reach
A marketer’s job is to put themselves in the shoes of their audience – to see and experience what they see. If the target audience is in an entirely different region or location than you, you may feel like a fish out of water. It’s important to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. If you use your VPN to change your location to that of the intended audience, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the content they usually see. That’s the best way to discover how to influence what they think so you can develop better campaigns.
You also need to see how search results appear in the different target regions so that you can adapt your strategy for specific locations. A VPN lets you see the digital environment from your customer’s perspective. Simply pick a server in your target location and set your search results to match.
Switch between Convincing Alternate Digital Profiles
Alternate email addresses and social media accounts are incredibly useful if you have more than one client. The different accounts help you to shape credible personas for niche market research so you can gather distortion-free data and helps to keep the data siloed so you don’t confuse different data sets. You can use a VPN to build more depth into each persona by assigning a specific server to each persona.
Get a leg over on the competition
You have to know what your competitors are doing so you can avoid their mistakes and improve upon their successes. But, if you visit competitors’ websites or social media too often, they might notice and ban your IP address. A VPN allows you to change your IP address at will, so you can keep visiting them unnoticed.
Overcome geo-restrictions
Have you ever spent hours on a fantastic geo-targeted campaign and waited breathlessly for … crickets? Geo-restrictions may make certain content or ads invisible to your audience. A VPN can be used as a quality check tool to see the internet exactly as your expected audience would see. It allows you to check what your website or targeted search results will look like from any location you want.
Protect your passwords and prevent malware infections
Unsecured Wi-Fi connections in cafes, airports, and restaurants are occupational hazards for digital marketers. Criminals cruise these high-traffic areas in droves to pounce on people who log into accounts without the protection of a VPN. A VPN’s job is to encrypt your logins and private data.
But, as a sign of the times in an increasingly dangerous cyber environment, some VPNs now pay particular attention to cybercrime prevention. A VPN with a malware removal will also protect you against accidental visits to malware-infected sites.
Protect your clients
Digital marketers’ devices groan under the weight of private and delicate information about their clients. It can do untold damage to your client’s brand if your device, data sets, or social media management accounts get hacked! Working without a VPN means you risk exposing sensitive data. If you are the source of a data breach, you may be legally mandated to report the breach and become one of the named and shamed data breach statistics. Don’t jeopardize your clients, and protect your career.
A VPN will keep you safe and expand your reach
By encrypting all data transmitted between your device and the internet, a VPN prevents data theft and protects you from malware. But it also gives you a global perspective and a tangible advantage for people whose job is to reach international audiences. Whether you’re conducting market research, analyzing competitor strategies, or managing client accounts, a VPN is an essential everyday tool for digital marketers.