If we dissect the social media topography, the numbers it throws are not surprising because these channels have moved beyond their initial use of a communication medium to be a potent tool to establish sustained communication with specific customer demography and for conducting sentiment analysis as well. There are almost 3.48 billion active social media users worldwide, out of which as of the first quarter of 2019, Facebook has 2.38 billion monthly active users. In the present business landscape customers and their Facebook usage are influencing social CRM and the way companies conduct business like never before and managing social media channels is the basic premise behind having a Social CRM in place.
Therefore, if concerned users and panicky investors are besieged by an ongoing Facebook privacy crisis, it is essential for social CRM platforms to take stock of their entwined functioning with the tech giant. Facebook is going through a data-privacy crisis which has resulted in users being precautious, worried and the investors to sell their stock while drawing intense scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers worldwide. Facebook got mired in a news breaking scandal around data theft, here’s a recap:
A UK based political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica illicitly got hold of data of 50 million Facebook users and used it to curate voter-targeting strategies for 2016 US presidential elections’ Republican candidate. All this data was procured without the users’ knowledge or consent. While this didn’t qualify as a hack, both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have claimed that they were at the receiving end of a hoax by the researcher who originally harvested the data. The researcher made use of a personality quiz in 2013 to gain access to information on friends of people who used the app and all this was possible only because of Facebook’s slack privacy protocols.
This fiasco was truly the darkest chapter of Facebook’s 15-year history and was responsible for pushing many changes to the nature of advertisement transparency, content, and privacy. Not just Facebook, but the resulting regulations are going to affect every business entity that wants to use big data to plant highly targeted ads over the internet very much like Facebook. With these revelations and for restoring users’ trust the chorus for regulations to curtail the use of personal data is gathering voice and momentum not just in Silicon Valley but across the world.
As Facebook’s reputation took a deep plunge, the stock price dipped down more than 17% in less than two weeks of the titular storm, representing a loss of more than $90 billion in market value. Consequently, the platform detailed several steps for course correction; it decided to investigate all apps that had access to troves of data before 2014; new restrictions on developers’ data access were also announced along with plans to adopt strict policies and terms for third-party app developers.
As the social networking giant plugs its privacy holes, here are some factors that shine a light on why social media privacy is essential from a company/business’ perspective –
First and foremost, you need to buckle up privacy because it matters to your customers.
B2B or B2C, consumers are increasingly researching, purchasing, and using online products and services through a number of connected devices. They are also opting in for preferences as part of their interactions with social media and search engines. All this trove of information and customer data is collected by mobile CRM apps, internet providers, and mobile operators for their own usage or to sell to other businesses. According to a survey conducted by the internet security and privacy company, AnchorFree in 2017, 95% of Americans are concerned about businesses collecting their personal information and selling it without permission. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you as a business to communicate and demonstrate to your customers that their privacy is of paramount importance to you.
