Data, data, and more data. Surely you have read lately in various marketing media that big data is what has arrived to completely change the known scenario of actions and strategies. User behaviors have come to the forefront and are the ones that structure what to do, how to implement it, and what will ensure effective results.

Let's look at how to work it safely and efficiently in order to protect your customers' data.

What to consider when creating a secure email campaign

Email marketing is an ideal communication channel to raise brand awareness and even be present in the minds of your potential customers. But how can you create an effective, safe, and reliable email campaign? Let's take a look:

• Plan very well what you want to say and who you want to reach with your message.
• Build a suitable content, brief and attractive, that is enjoyable to interact with.
• Design innovative, creative emails that are in line with your business image to avoid fraud.
• Organize very well when to send your messages. It is important to analyze when your users interact with your emails.
• Review metrics, measure, analyze and measure again. The data is at your fingertips and must be observed.

Some extra tips:

• Create emails with short, clear, and concise messages. Especially at this point where sensitive data such as invoicing, payments, passwords, etc. are handled.
• Offer quality content that transmits trust in your brand.
• Send frequent, personalized communications adapted to the needs of your users. Those that are based on first-hand information provided by contacts.
• Use excellent data storage providers to support adequate security.

Effective email security

As previously mentioned, data scalability brings increasing benefits and risks in equal parts. It is important that every time you send an email, you take appropriate measures to ensure the security of every user who enters your site, subscribes, or performs any action that requires them to provide their personal data.

The data privacy policy is the documentation that contains information about how a company manages the data of its users. The most important thing here is to be very clear about what information is being requested, how it will be obtained (e.g. whether it is through a subscription form or a discount code), which parties will have access to it and the key reason: why you are asking for this information.

Everything must be taken into account when creating content and keep the clear objective of providing a pleasant user experience when they provide their data on your website.

In terms of numbers, a study by Boston Consulting Group and Google found that: "57% of consumers believe that companies are selling their data". And this is where your business must effectively demonstrate transparency in the management of sensitive information and build trust.

Also, speaking of legal matters, since 2018, a strict regulation has been in force for companies operating in the European Union: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

But what is this all about? It is a new regulation that protects sensitive data such as: name, e-mail, telephone, billing data and all that information provided by the user in exchange for purchasing any product or service.

Under this legislation, 3 main points are considered:

• Unify data protection standards in Europe
• Giving users access to and control over their own data.
• Make each company responsible for data protection and invite them to communicate clear guidelines for data management.

What risks can users face?

As always, knowing what risks a brand faces will give us a lot of information to anticipate threats, plan actions and ensure the privacy of your users.

Let's now look at the main risks they may be subject to and what can be done to effectively prevent them:

Malicious codes or files: these are those that can be downloaded from websites and break into the privacy of each user's information. Videos, photos and even sensitive data such as payment or billing information can be affected. The main solution is not to use external storage and to have a security solution in place, such as data validation through biometric data.

Phishing attacks: the main objective of these attacks is to steal passwords and credentials through emails of dubious origin. The possible solution? Use a fake email generator or add security filters while using your mail account to prevent spam or misleading advertisements from arriving in your inbox.

Request for information: when asked to complete a survey, receive promotional codes or other actions that can be shared (or even sold) to third parties, it is essential to know beforehand how the company manages our data and to optimally configure our access devices.

How to provide effective security for your users?

Keep security certificates up to date: SSL and HTTPS will allow you to comply with privacy regulations for sending communications.

Maintain adequate internal regulations for data management and related processes within your business.

Always communicate any changes, adjustments or security breaches to your users so that they know the risks and how to prevent them.

Advise your users to apply strong passwords, combining numbers and letters.

How to improve deliverability in the inbox

One of the main objectives of email marketing campaigns is to increase the open rate of your emails and prevent them from getting stuck in the "unwanted" folder. If we talk about data, one key is: personalizing with the recipient's name in the email subject line increases the chance of a sale by 31%.

On the one hand, this information is key, so that contacts recognize a safe sender, and on the other hand, so that the subject of the e-mail is as explicit as possible regarding the content or what will be offered.

Below, we will give you some keys to overcome spam filters.

Segment and personalize: always keep in mind to keep your database clean in order to reach users who are really interested in your brand. In addition, getting your contacts to forward, reply or highlight your emails is important so that they are well-seen and arrive properly in the inbox. Therefore, it will be vital to send relevant content to their messages,by personalizing your campaigns according to the information or interests that users have expressed.

Continuously review and inform your subscribers: hand in hand with the previous point, it is key to take the time to segment your subscribers and classify them in order to plan appropriate mailings. In the same way, invite your contacts to mark your sender as "not spam". Your email platform will appreciate this.

Create optimal automation flows: remind the user where they subscribed, what they gave their details for, what they will receive in return. Automate all the messages you can effectively communicate at all points of contact with your users and avoid the sender being labelled as spam.

Choose a reliable platform: check the platform on the market that suits your needs. Consider that deliverability depends a lot on the IPs used for sending, so it is an element to consider when making your choice.

Comply with the rules of reputation and authentication: the sender's reputation must be taken care of very well, for which we recommend not sending words associated with spam messages (such as free, purchase, etc.) and using your own domain that must be properly validated (bear in mind DKIM and privacy policies).

Plan your mailings: interaction with your brand is the most important factor. It is important not only what you send but also when you send it. Here it is key to plan with the customer's lifecycle in mind. That is to say, if they are new to your brand, if they already have contact, if they have already bought, etc.

You must be very sure of what actions and planning style you will follow to execute very well the sending of information through emails and that they are safe, answered and above all expected by your users.

Start researching, testing and optimizing your mailings with the protection of your users' data as the main objective.