As PR professionals, one of the many things you learn to get good at is interacting with people to gather data. Whether one creates a survey or hosts a focus group, learning information from your subjects is a key takeaway in creating solutions for a client. This research can be quantitative or qualitative data, but either way your subjects are giving their input to us in order to use it in the best way possible. It must be a priority to the PR professional to make sure your subjects information is safe and their privacy is upheld. In doing so, many professionals already have taken numerous steps to create a safe environment for those who give their time to be a part of one’s research. Throughout this blog I will hit many of the key factors that must be a priority in creating transparency in the privacy of the consumers and subjects.
In creating a clear vision for the subject, a professional provides the consumer or subject in a focus group a terms of agreement of some sort. When thinking of this, many of you can relate, as everyone knows the box they forget to check in proceeding with an agreement with a company or acknowledgement of terms. Many people skip over this part and get to the end to give their signature or consent. In a survey of 2,000 consumers, a study found that 91% of the people give their consent without actually reading the terms. This was not a surprising fact to me personally, as I know this is a common factor with these terms of agreement. It is up the PR professional to help change the way this is done by giving a clear cut of what it entails and not trick or mislead the consumer.
As a company, it must be of top priority to be confident in privacy rights and how you data is used and distributed. As many people were in dismay over the Facebook data leak, we want to make sure that we are upholding that most critical standards to respect an individual. In bringing back the transparency factor, it is key that one is up to the best knowledge and aware of what will be done with any of one’s information. In looking into an article by Mr. Probolsky, a guest writer for Forbes proclaims “companies can make sure consumers are aware of the steps they are taking to protect them and begin to get more users on board with the model” (Probolsky, 2018, para. 13). This shows the emphasis that Mr. Probolsky makes, as it should be handled proactively and properly while still making consumers happy and assuring one of the companies promise to them.
As times are not always as smooth as a company desires, knowing how to deal with an information leak or privacy issue is crucial. It is up to PR professionals to know the ropes, and how to deal with a crisis communication within. No matter what the situation is, big or small, the company must have a plan to make the situation the best possible. A journal from 2019 states “suggested companies should establish effective data security protocols; create a communication template for notifying consumers and potential victims; and constantly update and renew a security program” (Hsiangting & Tun-Min, 2019, p. 4). This quote shows strong significance of why we need to stay in touch with our consumers and be as clear and possible, creating an understanding and trust that is needed. As one must be ready to deal with any situation, PR professionals to strive to keep data secure and be clear as possible in protecting and proclaiming one’s privacy!
Hsiangting Shatina Chen, Tun-Min (Catherine) Jai. (2019) Trust fall: data breach perceptions from loyalty and non-loyalty customers. The Service Industries Journal 0:0, pages 1-17.
Sam's Blog Spot 