GDPR = Social Media wins for platforms & brands
Data privacy regulations create not only challenges but huge opportunities for Social Media platforms and ultimately for your own brand’s social strategy. Time to find the positive from compliance.
I believe the future of brand marketing is video and social, underpinned by some timeless principles which put the customer and the brand story at the heart of content, and some rather modern ones which demand that marketers are sophisticated and savvy with their understanding and use of data and platforms. And I predict that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will give social further channel advantage; here’s why:
Data privacy regulations means the days of cheap and easy Direct Marketing (DM) are gone
GDPR represents a shift to ‘opt in’ marketing, putting the consumer back in charge, which spells the end to assumption and to using data how you want as a business. There’s thus an increasing entry cost to email marketing which may be too much for some (Wetherspoons famously deleted their customer database rather than cleaning it).
Come May next year, we will have a lot of restrictions on DM; as a brand you will only be able to: buy compliant data, use old data where consent is recorded, and market to categories where customers have signed up. Thus replacing direct with social marketing will makes sense for some smaller businesses or sole traders; for example using Linkedin as a professional CRM (however, be cautious and mindful of compliance if you plan to export and use social media-derived personal data elsewhere). Yes, users need to be presented with a clear privacy notice before signing up to social, but doing this via the platform feels a whole easier and more elegant than the compliance (re-permissioning, opt-in processes) involved with proprietary of personal data if you are a resource poor business.
A new era of enhanced privacy = demise of to the traditional email inbox?
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the multitude of means of contact (shall I text, WhatsApp, call, message, post or email?), and for your customers it’s the same; there is a desire for simplification in this space. Email is already pretty old hat for the younger generation and the likes of Slack and Messenger are much better at generating opt-in consent in the form of a more natural, native conversation. All of this puts increased pressure on email marketing’s efficacy.
“A two way conversation will be the best way forward for brands’ in a post-GDPR world to ensure customer loyalty.”
Judy Boniface, Huffington Post
GDPR does pose challenges for Social Media platforms
Putting data back in the hands of the individual, data portability, the need for parental consent and the right to be forgotten, do cause a headache for Facebook and other platforms; the sticking points:
- Given a social media name is a personal identifier, what does that really mean for companies who make that public?
- How is the right to be forgotten really going to work when what’s posted online tends to stay there (Snapchat excepted)? Facebook are fighting this, how can they really control where data is copied or shared on, and realistically delete data which involves others (think about photos of groups of friends for example)?
- Children under 16 need parental consent to access platforms — how will that really be policed?
- Facebook’s audience network (this is where companies can send the email addresses of their existing customers to Facebook, and ads are put in front of ‘lookalike’ accounts) may be an issue as it requires the processing of personal data
- Targeted ads need explicit consent; so, if a company knows something about you, and that’s used in an algorithm to favour one ad over another, that’s a GDPR violation.
However, I believe that none of those are insurmountable given the vast resources and capability of the Social Media giants.
A new era of privacy
GDPR and the new UK Data Protection bill represents a sea-change given we have all traded our data for access to the virtual world where we all connect, shop and spend so much of our lives, to date. The regulations seek to claim back (in my mind rightful) ownership of our data from businesses, including Social Media companies.
Whether this data power struggle will move beyond philosophy into something which actually changes our attitudes toward privacy and engenders greater cynicism toward the tech giants is yet to be seen. I, for one, am betting that that will play out over the long term with only the few having enough privacy concerns about the Silicon Valley giants as the all knowing big brothers into actually acting (and ‘dropping out’).
In the short term I believe the early victors will be the social media platforms with increased advertising revenues as we witness the decline of the standard email marketing campaign (I am not saying DM is dead, it just needs to be more considered, more innovative and quality). Social Media can provide a way for brands to fill any contacts’ gap exposed by GDPR and we’re already seeing paid social increasing.
A data walled garden
Yes, tougher data regs should lead to greater transparency and access for personal data on Social Media; however, people want to be on there and ultimately consent is covered by the platform terms (e.g. Facebook Inc has a comprehensive registration under the EU-US Safe Harbor scheme for its processing of data from European users). The Social Media giants have direct relationships with their users and given their capability, I believe that they will ensure they do at least the minimum to comply where they need to so they they are well positioned to reap the rewards and the inexorable shift to social. Fancy a GDPR compliant walled garden with a ready made audience of followers for your brand? Look to social; here’s my tips of what your brand should be thinking about now:
- Start building your social media communities for event promotion in place of email if that’s right for you or as a complement (test which is more effective)
- As social content grows exponentially, the war for cut through means you must have quality, so have an authentic social voice which stems from your company values and tells your story
- Be relevant, open and build on your hard earned reputation; focus to the customers who matter to you today and tomorrow
- Don’t forget other channels; today savvy marketers make sure the right blend of channels is effective (and that’s going to be different for every business), but where you do use email marketing look to ensure you have consent or devise a creative email permission passing campaign to win consent.
Who owns the data, owns the world
This is a power struggle: we know the Social Media’s pervasive influence is starting to impact on democracy and criminal justice, it’s skewing news, elections, dictating trends and more. GDPR may feel heavy fisted and like too red much tape (I know there is a lot of organisational pain in compliance right now), but the principle is good. It is therefore perhaps an irony that I believe Social Media giants will only benefit from this new era of privacy by design where customers are back in the driving seat of which brands they do or don’t want to subscribe to and follow.
Need some help ensuring your brand is engaging, yet remains compliant and protected? Get in touch with Sympatico for the holistic approach to digital branding.
