4 Best Practices for Data Management

Written By

Phillips Group

It’s been well over a year since the Cambridge Analytica Facebook data breach scandal, and yet many are left wondering: Has anything really changed with data management and security?

In some regards, yes. Take for instance the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May of 2018. The legislation made impressive strides towards data protection and privacy for citizens of the European Union.  However, many countries are lagging behind the EU in their efforts to regulate the management and use of sensitive user information.

As marketing and PR professionals, it is often left to us to make the tough decisions surrounding data management and use. When making these decisions, it’s important that we understand and respect our audiences’ concerns.

“PR, communication, marketing, digital and social are in a state of convergence. We are at a crucial point where misuse of data or perceived manipulation of facts can leave us exposed as individuals and as an industry.” – Phillips Group

Phillips Group offers four guidelines for practitioners for responsible data management:

1) Understand the policies of specific channels and partners

Many campaigns use a mix of paid, earned, shared and owned channels. So while your organization may take proactive measure to respect consumer rights, other partners and channels you work with may not adhere to the same guidelines.

Before committing a platform or channel, understand the data policies and whether any data breach on their end could affect your brand and consumers. Similarly, understand how your brand aligns with the values of partners like influencers before embarking on a collaboration.

2) Check your sources and facts

Whether you are crafting a campaign or managing a reputational issue, fact and source checking is crucial. We undermine our reputation and integrity if we use a hastily assembled stable of facts, without checking their legitimacy. As storytellers, we have to be hyper-vigilant in checking our facts and sources and not sharing content we cannot verify.

Phillips Group offers two additional best practices for ethical data management in their original blog post. You can also get insights from other Worldcom Group partners on technology issues facing PR professionals.

Phillips Group is an award-winning, strategic Public Relations, Communications, Digital Marketing and Creative company based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 1976, Phillips Group has provided their expertise in Corporate, Infrastructure, Energy & Resources, Public Sector and Stakeholder Engagement to clients.