5 Takeaways from the Facebook Incident

You’ve probably already read enough about the recent Facebook scandal in which data of millions of Facebook users was allegedly misused by analytics and research firm Cambridge Analytica.

What followed was a backlash. Facebook’s stock value took a hit and the site now has the Federal Trade Commission investigating it. To add salt to the wound, some of the top tech providers are now distancing themselves from the network even though CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized and vowed to safeguard all their user’s privacy.

A data breach is every marketers’ nightmare. But what key learnings can you take away from this one?

1. Pay more attention to regulations like GDPR – At this point, GDPR is specific to the EU. But in a digital marketing environment, both marketers and users are not restricted by border walls. Coming years will see similar legislation to GDPR enforced globally.
2. Good CX practices that ensure user privacy – As a marketer, you are constantly running digital campaigns that seek your customers’ details (Read: Data). And in a data-driven environment, this is nectar for every marketer.
3. Better incident response -In business, a mistake can happen at a click and result in a mass surprise for end users. A short while after the incident, Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said she felt the management should have gone public much earlier to address the issue and concerns.
4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – The great thing about digital advertising is choice – there is ALWAYS a range of networks to advertise on. Facebook reigned at one point.
5. Educate your customers – As a marketer with continuous access to technology, you only know too well how important it is to ‘read the fine print’. Users tend to download and allow various services to collect information about them without a second thought. As a marketer, while it is important to tell every user who is signing up for a service or downloading an app that their information is being collected, how it will be used should be clearly stated too.

Taking control of data has never been more important. For both, marketers and users! Even the data-loving marketer of today is a user who is susceptible to privacy threats. So, play a part in restricting it where necessary and help others do so too!

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