1. Facebook Privacy:
Implications for Marketers
June, 2010
PREPARED BY
Stacy Lukasavitz
Social Media Strategist
stacy.lukasavitz@mslworldwide.com

2. FACEBOOK PRIVACY SETTINGS -
THE LATEST & WHAT IT MEANS FOR BRANDS
In response to a very controversial April 2010 shift in its privacy policy, Facebook
announced on May 26, 2010 that it would “simplify” its privacy options. This is in addition
to other recent changes to the social network, including changing the “Become a Fan”
button to a “Like” button, as well as the addition of unofficial, aggregated “Community
Pages” for causes, interests, and brands. So many changes in so little time has created
a storm of confusion and backlash for both consumers and brands with a presence on
Facebook. This document serves to simplify the issues at hand and advise on brands’
involvement with the social network.
The May 26th privacy announcement essentially contained three big changes:
• Basic, “One Click” Privacy Settings
• Restoring True Privacy Settings for “Connections” Information
• A Universal Opt-Out Button
Basic, “One Click” Privacy Settings
Users can configure most of their individual, personal settings quickly and easily.
They will be able to select “Everyone,” “Friends of Friends,” “Friends Only,” or
“Recommended.” If users decide that they want to customize their settings to be more
specific, each aspect of their privacy can still be configured, as was the case before.
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3. (Photos courtesy of AllFacebook.com)
Restoring True Privacy Settings for “Connections” Information
In April, Facebook transitioned users’ information, such as their likes, interests, work
and education history, and hometowns into what they called “Connections,” which
automatically linked to the recently debuted “Community Pages,” whether they wanted
them to link or not. The information was deleted if users chose not to make those
sections public, and even if “visibility” settings remained hidden, Facebook still made
that information available to third-party applications and other Facebook-connected
websites.
Because of such harsh backlash, Facebook reversed and restored true privacy settings
for these categories, and now not only do these new (old) settings restrict what is shown
on users’ profile pages but also what is shown on Connections pages and third-party
applications (apps). So, for example, if privacy information is set for interests or activities
to “Friends Only,” only that user’s friends will see that info on their profile or connected
page, and apps will have to ask permission before accessing it. It would not show up on
Connections (a.k.a. “Community”) pages.
The ability to opt-out of sharing information with third-party
applications and Facebook-connected websites entirely
The “Universal Opt-Out Button” will enable users to opt-out of all applications, games,
and “Instant Personalization” (a user’s “likes” appearing on participating sites such as
Pandora and CNN to their friends).
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4. (Photo courtesy of AllFacebook.com)
What this means for brands:
This is an all-or-nothing option, which means that if a brand has an application, game, or
is connected through Instant Personalization, no information about users who choose
to use this option will be available. This may not mean anything to most brands, but
those with apps or incorporated with Instant Personalization will need to be cognizant
that “one bad apple may spoil the whole barrel.” To app developers it means the more
spammy they are, the more people are likely to get frustrated and opt-out of everything.
However, when a user realizes all the applications they can no longer use, they will
probably turn the platform back on.
But, if a user does opt-out of everything, that’s one fewer user/potential customer
that brands will have the opportunity to market to on Facebook via an app or any
Facebook-related plugin. However, stream stories from brands’ Facebook pages and
advertisements will still be visible to such users.
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5. FACEBOOK’S THREE BIG DECISIONS
1. These new privacy controls will retroactively apply to all
content that users have posted to date, and will apply to all new
products and features added in the future.
Depending on which information a product or brand has about its customers through
Facebook, data may change if users choose to not share certain information with
outside websites or third-party apps. For example, if your brand has collected
demographic information about customers through an app they use, and 20% of
those customers choose to “opt-out” of all applications, you will lose 20% of your
database.
2. User data which was previously fixed as publicly available,
including who their friends are and which Pages they are
connected to, can now be controlled through privacy settings.
Previously, by default, brand pages publicly showed up in a person’s “Likes” or as
things they were fans of. Should a user choose to hide them, they will no longer show
up in search results or to other Facebook users, resulting in less exposure for brands.
This could make it harder for people to find and engage with Pages and brands they
actually care about, resulting in less effectiveness of a brand’s presence on the social
network. However, there are no numbers right now to indicate how many users will
use this feature.
3. Facebook will reduce the frequency of changes to its privacy
system.
Unfortunately, it may be too late for Facebook to announce this. The frequency of
changes to its privacy system, in combination with not being explicitly clear as to
what those changes were or implied (until recently) is what has cost them the trust of
both users and marketers, and what has caused the recent flurry of press.
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6. A May 25, 2010, survey from MarketingProfs1 indicated that “nearly 40% of consumers
and 30% of marketers who are aware of the recent privacy changes say they ‘have
lost trust in Facebook as a company’ as a consequence of those changes, and 47% of
marketers and 42% of consumers agree that they ‘have lost trust in Facebook’s use of
information about me in a responsible way.”
Lost Trust in Facebook
As a Result of Privacy Policy Change
% Consumers and Marketers*
*Among those aware of Facebook’s privacy policy changes.
Source: MarketingProfs, May 2010
Additionally, 28% of consumers and 22% of marketers who are aware of the changes
expect to reduce their use of Facebook as a result of those changes, according to the
MarketingProfs poll.
Will Reduce Use of Facebook
As a Result of Privacy Policy Change
Consumers and Marketers*
*Among those aware of Facebook’s privacy policy changes.
Source: MarketingProfs, May 2010
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7. RECOMMENDATIONS
Facebook has lost trust from both users and marketers, but that does not mean
that users have to lose trust with the brands connected to them. The following is
recommended to proactively retain (regain?) the trust with customers on Facebook:
• Do implement Facebook’s Social Plugins. Things like the “Like” button and
Facebook-integrated comments are very valuable tools for engagement and
measurement with a website. If those who opt-out of these things on Facebook even
see them, they don’t have to use them.
• Be transparent and upfront with consumers. Protect your brand by explicitly
informing consumers as to the data that is shared, under what circumstances
consumers’ actions will be exposed to Facebook (not just to their friends) and what
personally identifiable information the brand is accessing from Facebook.
• Sell the value of sharing. Don’t assume users will understand what the social plugins
you incorporate on your website (like “Login with Faces”) even mean -- explain what
it means for them and how granting permission will improve their online experience
with your brand.
• Pay closer attention to Wikipedia, and keep it factual. Wikipedia is now aggregated
into Facebook’s “Community Pages” (along with any mention of a brand, much like a
timeline), and though brands have no control over these right now, it is rumored that
Community Pages will eventually be edited by the Facebook community. Wikipedia
typically does not like brands making changes on their entries, but they’re generally
OK with them just correcting factual errors. Expect Wikipedia to be more integrated
on Facebook in the future, possibly on official Brand Pages as well.
• If you advertise on Facebook, don’t stop. If your company purchases targeted ads on
Facebook, rest assured that these recent privacy changes do not affect them. Even
if users choose to hide their interests or other areas with keywords relevant to your
brand, targeted ads will still appear to them. The new Community Pages already have
targeted ads on them, and this may result in more revenue for those who purchased
the ad -- so it could actually be a good thing!
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8. WHAT’S NEXT
Facebook, as a service, started as a place for people to share with friends and family in
a private setting. It has struggled to find a very effective business model, and as a result
of that, has changed it privacy settings over and over again, making users’ information
more and more public for advertising purposes and to grow business partners. The most
recent change in policy is the seventh time since 2005, and the fourth since November
20092. Users, especially those who signed up with the understanding that their
information would be kept private, are feeling violated and confused.
Many have said they were “deleting their Facebook” or “quitting Facebook,” and in fact,
“How do I delete my Facebook” was among the top searches on Google in May 20103.
However, there are no hard numbers as to how many people actually have deleted their
profiles, and Fortune magazine claims that Facebook is still “growing like mad,” adding
at least 10 million new members since the F8 Conference on April 21st4. If anything,
more people are clamping down on their privacy controls, not deleting their profiles all
together. Given Facebook’s deep (and growing) integration with the rest of the web, it
does not appear that the social network is going to be weakening any time soon.
However, nothing online is infallible (not even Google), and brands should also do the
following:
• Don’t be entirely dependent on Facebook as your single social outlet. Find out
where your customers are online and invest in other networks. A brand should have a
presence wherever it makes sense for them to be.
• Give customers a choice to interact with other services on your web properties.
Facebook social tools shouldn’t be a user’s only option, and there still are people who
do not have a Facebook account. There are commenting tools such as Disqus and
LiveDebate who allow multiple integrations of various networks.
• Consider building a community on your brand’s own web properties. Much
research is involved in this and it doesn’t always work, but there are vendors such as
Awareness, Lithium, and Pluck that specifically do this. Not having to worry about
Facebook’s (or any network’s) wavering policies and red tape is very liberating,
and having your own community has many benefits, such as readily available focus
groups.
• Continue to monitor your brand online, in the social media sphere and elsewhere.
This can help reveal where your customers are (or are going) online, and it’s just a
good practice all around. Don’t just rely on monitoring tools such as Radian6 -- blogs,
news outlets, and other areas online are just as important.
1 http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2010/3661/trust-in-facebook-tanking-after-privacy-changes
2 http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-timeline
3 http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_do_i_delete_my_facebook_account_a_fast_growing.php
4 http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/17/what-backlash-facebook-is-growing-like-mad
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