The 5 Advantages of Using Proxies in Business and Marketing

Many marketing professionals use the internet today to gather necessary content for their businesses to make better decisions regarding the company’s advertising campaigns, marketing projects, and future direction. 

Proxies like a social media proxy shouldn’t be confused with a virtual private network (VPN). These two technologies do have similarities. However, a proxy server like a YouTube proxy can more effectively access geo-blocked content on the website than a VPN. From a market research perspective, using a proxy server will enable market researchers to reach audiences better, provide more security, and have better website interaction capabilities.

Proxy Servers Explained

In the past, it was easy to obtain data from websites and social media platforms. Market researchers could just employ a web scraper to collect all the essential information needed to improve their company’s business decisions. 

However, lately, websites have imposed certain technologies that block data collection web scrapers and bots, making it a challenge for market researchers to collect the data they need. In addition, some websites have imposed blocks on certain geo-locations. For example, you won’t be able to access the US content on a website if you’re trying to access it from France.

Social media platforms like YouTube also show content specifically based on the location of your IP address. Getting a social media proxy with many IPs from different countries will enable you to view YouTube content based on your chosen locations. For example, select an IP address from Australia using a YouTube proxy and you’ll be able to view content on YouTube specifically for Australia, even if you’re accessing the site from the Netherlands.

In addition to masking your IP address, it also acts as a security layer between you and the website. It furthermore encrypts the data you share between you and the website and can even  speed up your internet connection.

Advantages of Using Proxies for Market Research

Proxy servers are excellent tools for businesses and market research professionals. We’ve listed the top five advantages of how businesses can benefit from using proxies to do online market research.

1. Added Security Layer

Your company’s security should be a top priority since you will likely store your employees’ and clients’ private and financial information on your servers. A proxy server adds an additional layer of protection to your network and devices and can help protect them against malware attacks, counterfeit schemes, phishing attacks, and more. 

With the advent of employees working from home more often, you need to be able to provide them with a secure connection to your on-site servers. A proxy takes care of that for you and encrypts all communications shared across the internet.

2. Bypass Geo-Blocked Locations

A proxy server will bypass all geo-blocked locations that websites impose. Suppose you have a business with international interests and competitors. A proxy is able to be configured to use an IP address for the country where your competitor is located, and you’ll be able to access their site to see what products they offer and their local pricing. 

For instance, YouTube has country-restricted content. Let’s say you’re in Canada and want to see what your competitor is publishing on the social media site in Germany; you can use a YouTube proxy to link an IP address to access German content on YouTube.

3. Faster Connection Speeds and Security

Proxies help businesses improve their customer experiences on their websites. Customers want websites that don’t lag, are convenient to use and want to know that their private and financial information will be safe. Internet proxies allow developers to install peer-to-peer servers that manage the company website, thereby improving response times. Your company website can host more users due to the additional bandwidth, and their information will be secured when they log into your site.

4. Online Anonymity

Websites detect and log IP addresses and apply geo-restrictions or purchase restrictions. A proxy like a social media proxy will provide you online anonymity and privacy by concealing your IP address. The site you use to scrape data from will use the IP address of the proxy server. Should the IP address get blocked or blacklisted, the proxy will simply use a different IP address.

5. More Effective Data Gathering

Any innovative business knows that effective decision-making can only be done with factual data and the correct analysis. To formulate an effective marketing strategy, market research professionals need to know what potential customers’ needs are, the preferred products of potential customers, what makes those products a preferred choice for potential customers, and what products those customers like on social networks or are actively searching for. 

You can go into more detail and see which products are popular per country or region and why potential customers prefer those products. There’s a multitude of facts that can be searched, depending on your company’s requirements or marketing vision. 

Proxies increase the speed at which the data is gathered, and the proxy cycles IP addresses to bypass bots on websites that block users based on suspicious behavior. Your web scraper can get all the information you need without getting blacklisted.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that proxies, like social media proxies, will help your market research team be able to effectively collect the data that your company needs. The survival of every business in the 21st century depends on this technology.