The internet giant recently announced that from August 15, 2022, new measures will come into effect to strengthen the protection of teenagers when serving Google Ads ads. This article tells you about the planned changes and gives you alternatives to address the teenage public.
What Miners Can I Sell To?
As you know, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to countries. By this regulation, you can only collect and process an individual’s data if you have obtained the consent of the person in question. However, the situation is slightly different for minors: in most countries, people from the age of 16 are allowed to give their consent for the processing of their data. The rule is that the Member States can lower this limit to 13 years. Minors over the age of 15 can legally decide to accept cookies when they register on a website or transmit, for example, their geolocated data.
He can also opt for a public or private profile on social networks. You will be able to process the personal data of minors at least 16 years old. However, the minors had “massive and largely autonomous digital practices .”It then considered that children could be recognized from the age of 15 as capable of concluding contracts having as their object the processing of their data within the framework of online services. Subject to strengthening specific provisions, you can, as an online store, sell (in the context of “common acts”), collect, and process the personal data of people over 15 with their prior consent.
However, this means you now have a particular group: young people aged 15 to 17. In the digital world, they are independent and can make purchases, but they remain minors. Indeed, in the event of disputes, the courts can decide on their ability to conclude a contract and will rely on the type of product sold, their price, the level of information and security provided by the merchant, etc. Similarly, parents can request the withdrawal of the treatment of their minor children aged 15 to 17 years.
What Is Google Changing In Targeted Ads For Minors?
In the previous chapter, we discussed allowing 15-17-year-olds to place orders themselves. They are unique because they can permit processing of their data, but they are still minors. Google writes: ” It’s important that Google products provide a useful, informative and, above all, safe advertising experience for all of our users. That’s why we ensure that the advertising content displayed on Google products also protects teenagers.” Google is about:
- disable ad personalization
- Limit sensitive ad categories
The End Of Personalized Ads For Teens
Personalized advertising means that the ads displayed are based on previously collected data. It can be the websites visited, the terms searched by the user, the applications he used, their location, etc. All this data is beneficial for marketers who can, through ad targeting, ensure that only audiences who correspond to their target audiences see the ads.
If you sell products aimed at teenagers and rely heavily on SEA campaigns, the personalized ad termination can be problematic as it deprives you of targeting on Google Ads. With non-personalized ads, Google no longer looks at this specific data but instead at raw geographic data for current location, search terms, and site or app content. Thus, no further use is made of previous searches and behavior on the Internet.
Restriction On Sensitive Ad Categories
Google will stop showing ads if the content belongs to specific categories. You can think of a few apparent types like sexually explicit content, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling, but this list goes even further. One category you might never have thought of is anything related to artificial body changes. Thus, weight loss, tattoos, cosmetic surgery, tanning, and piercings are included. Meetings should also not be advertised to underage users.
6 Marketing Tips To Target Teenagers
Do you offer a large number of products for teenagers? In this case, Google Ads may no longer be the best option, as you will no longer be able to personalize your ads fully. But there are many other ways to be visible and reach the hyper-connected teen audience. So we give you some marketing tips to get teenagers while protecting their data:
Social Networks
The best way to reach teenagers is through social media. Teens are very active there, especially on channels like TikTok and Snapchat. Here are the 3 favorite social networks of teenagers (by frequency of use):
- Instagram (84%)
- Snapchat (76%)
- TikTok ( 52%)
Post excellent, light, and funny messages, but note that they are exciting and convey emotion. Be incredibly genuine and honest with teenagers. Also, show yourself and your employees on social networks: your teen audience likes to find out who is behind your logo. This reinforces the proximity and adherence to your values and your brand.
Influencers
Of course, you can always work with influencers. Find a popular one that appeals to teens and matches your products. Teens like to listen to influencers and value and follow their opinion. It’s also important that the influencer has every chance to tell the truth about your product.
Otherwise, teens will quickly think it’s fake. It’s counterproductive. So it would help if you were confident in your product because you don’t want a negative review from an influencer. Of course, many influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok might be more in line with what you’re looking for and your budget.
Please Share It With A Friend
We have already established that teenagers are very socially oriented. The circle of friends is essential, so take advantage of it. For example, offer a discount if a customer recommends your online store to other customers. You can read more tips in the referral marketing article.
Optimize Your Mobile Website
Teenagers today spend more time on their mobiles than behind their laptops. They will therefore make many purchases over the phone. That’s why it’s essential that your mobile website is optimized, so they can easily buy something from you. Think of functionality and speed!
Target Parents?
Are your products also lovely to give as gifts? So maybe you shouldn’t focus the promotion on the teens themselves, but on those who will buy it for teens: parents, guardians, aunts and uncles, older siblings, etc. In this case, you can offer to wrap the product with gift paper and provide shipping costs above a certain amount. And yes, you can reach these people through Google Ads!
More Tips?
Remember that most teens don’t have a credit card yet, but maybe have Paypal. It’s also essential that your customer service is friendly. Thus, in the event of a teenager or a parent complaint, it is sometimes more important to be very friendly than to offer them a gift or a reduction to compensate. And ask teenagers for their opinion. Because they are the ones who will tell you what interests them. Perhaps you will discover a social network whose notoriety you did not know but corresponds well to your target group. If you are the first in your field to be there, you are more likely to become famous.
In Shorts
Google’s changes to targeting can make a difference when selling to teens, but there are plenty of ways to reach this particular audience. The most important thing is listening to your target audience and asking them for their opinion: it can point you in the right direction.
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