How to engage your audience in the era of GDPR

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a bill that aims to strengthen and protect all European Union citizens from privacy and data breaches in a world that is becoming increasingly driven by the movement of personal data around the globe. Therefore, it makes sense that people should be concerned about whether or not, and how, their data is protected.

Data is usually stored on computer servers which, if not properly secured, can be vulnerable to theft by hackers and fraudsters. Maintaining adequate internet security is a continual process; as IT security experts design and implement more secure firewalls, so online hackers improve their skill and ability to break into servers and steal personal data.

History of the GDPR

The GDPR in its modern format is based on the 1995 Data Protection Directive. The original directive specified how individuals need to be protected concerning the movement and handling of personal data within the European Union.

The right to privacy is entrenched in the European Union constitution. However, the 1995 Data Directive has been found to be lacking in application as the digital landscape was very different in 1995, compared to 2018.

The fundamental principles of data privacy contained within this directive are still applicable today (and are included in the GDPR). However, changes have been made to the regulatory policies that govern these principles.

Your audience and the GDPR

Therefore, the question that begs is how do companies who do business in any way with EU citizens implement the GDPR? Here are a few tips to help you with the implementation to ensure that your company does not come into breach of regulation standards as they collect data and cookies on the prospective leads. If found to be in contravention of the act, business can find themselves with heavy penalty fines or potentially forced to cease operation.

Compliance
It is vital to ensure that consumers are aware that your business is GDPR compliant. This can be done in the following manner:

·         Add GDPR consent fields to every page that asks users to fill out personal details.
·         Warn readers that your website tracks cookies and offer an opt-out link on every web page.
·         Provide a link to your site’s privacy notification on every web page (add it to the website’s footer section and it will be displayed on every page).
·         Add the opt-out option to the bottom of all marketing emails; thus, allowing subscribers to inform you that they no longer want to receive emails from your company.
·         Provide contact details for your business’s GDPR’s compliance controller and EU representative.

It is important to note, this list is not a fully comprehensive, but addresses the essential elements of the GDPR.

Communication

With the current rise in the theft of millions of global consumers’ personal data, it is understandable that consumers might be anxious about allowing business to store their personal details.

The GDPR allows the consumer the right to control whether (and how) his personal data is handled by the business. It is easy for misunderstandings and miscommunications to take place between client and business. Therefore, it is important to make your clients aware of the fact that you are taking data security very seriously, and you are committed to complying with the GDPR.

It is vital for companies who transact with EU consumers to comply with the GDPR. Otherwise, business can end up being convicted of being in contravention of the act; resulting in heavy penalty fines.