Small businesses rely on consistent customer flow to stay open and be successful. Unlike large firms that can take dips in sales over a quarter in stride and quickly recover, without a constant stream of new and repeat customers, small business owners struggle to keep their doors open and their business afloat. When it comes to generating new business and inspiring customers to return, no method has proven more reliable in the internet age than digital advertising.
As a marketing professional, I know firsthand the importance of reliable, data-driven analytics for the creation of a digital ad campaign. Understanding the interests, values, and behaviors of your target audience and utilizing that information in the creation and publication of your advertisements can be the difference between a scroll and a click when your business pops-up on screen. With inflation driving up the cost of doing business across the country, reducing your cost-per-click as much as possible by ensuring your ads reach the right eyes is key to efficiently growing your customer-base.
Yet with the growing relevance of data-driven digital advertising in business there is also the growing concern in the general populace for privacy and protecting personal data from those who seek to exploit it. States continue to pass legislation dictating how data can be collected and used by businesses, and regulations vary wildly between states. Relevant consumer data that may be legally acquired and utilized in one state might be illegal to acquire in another, and navigating various state regulations to ensure that data usage in advertising is compliant is a costly and time-consuming endeavor.
One of the best tools that small businesses use to ensure their ads reach their desired audience in a cost-effective and compliant manner is integrated ad platforms. These ad platforms, used by leading social media services, use data to optimize the rollout of ad campaigns and deliver targeted ads to users who would be interested the content. By using their own data collection, integrated ad platforms ensure legal and ethical compliance in data collection and cut out unscrupulous third-party data-mongers. As a result, small businesses can affordably and effectively place their ads in front of potential customers and drive sales in an efficient manner.
As useful as these services are, legislation has been proposed that would disrupt the integrated ad-buying system that countless small businesses depend on. These policies would, like the inconsistent plethora of state-level data privacy laws, deprive small businesses of the tools they need to effectively advertise to potential customers and drive up the cost of doing business for small businesses and industrious individuals across the nation.
Personal privacy concerns need to be addressed, and private individuals need to be protected in online spaces; yet we also need to protect the ability of small business to operate online and make a living for themselves running a small business. Instead of a multitude of conflicting and confusing state privacy laws that prohibit growth, we need a unified, national framework that protects user privacy while simplifying how data can be collected and used for business purposes. It is time to stop legislating against individuals and start legislating for them.

Partner at AMM Communications in St. Louis, Missouri