Alterian Establishes Social Media Marketing Council to Champion Responsible
Use of Social Data by Organizations
New York, October 19, 2009 Alterian
the leading international integrated marketing platform
of the Social Media Marketing Council (SMMC) an independent committee
designed to ensure the responsible use of social media and the resulting
data by commercial organizations. This new council has attracted leading
figures from the business and marketing worlds to ensure that data collected
by businesses through social channels is used ethically and responsibly. The
announcement was made at annual marketing event – DMA ’09
The SMMC will be an independently chaired organization with a mandate to:
– Help regulate how businesses harvest and use data from social
networks and other online channels
– Provide guidance on what constitutes responsible use of social
media data
– Encourage organizations to use best practice when they interact
with consumers.
“Nobody joins a social network or uses online public communications tools to
become a sales target, however it’s inevitable that organizations will
recognize the opportunity that emerges when a huge mass of people
congregate,” said Michael Fisher
President Sales and Marketing, Alterian. “While Alterian is committed to
helping businesses market their products and solutions in an innovative
fashion, it needs to ensure they do so in a responsible way. By establishing
the SMMC, we are championing best practice in how businesses market using
social channels, while relying on third party communications experts to lead
the way for the best, most responsible use of consumer data generated via
such social channels”
The council will be chaired by Bernice Grossman
of the DMRS Group and includes representatives from leading marketing
services providers such as Merkle and Targetbase. As a leader in the
integrated marketing space, Alterian is sponsoring the formation of this
group to help foster a positive approach for businesses to the use of social
media for marketing purposes.
“The explosion in social media has dangled a huge carrot in front of
organizations that see it as nothing more than an opportunity to scrape
email addresses and phone numbers for their direct marketing efforts,” said
Grossman. “This council is designed to bring together industry leaders to
draw the line of what is acceptable for organizations to do when gathering
information from, or marketing via, social channels. We’re hopeful that
businesses will pledge their support for the SMMC to demonstrate that
they’re interested in the rights of the consumer, not just in making a fast
buck.”
The SMMC will provide guidelines, documentation and best practice advice for
organizations on exactly what kind of data it is acceptable to source
through social media, and how they should be using it responsibly for lead
generation and customer service. There will be an online portal to provide
access to these resources, which will include a discussion forum and
opportunities for companies to demonstrate that they are exhibiting best
practices. The council will meet for the first time at the DMA in San Diego
and thereafter on a quarterly basis to discuss the latest developments in
this space, with the first objective to define what constitutes the
unacceptable use of social media information.
“We all have responsibilities when it comes to using social media for
marketing purposes,” said Don Patrick
Merkle – a leading customer relationship management agency. “Customers will
rapidly grow tired of aggressive social targeting and businesses are likely
to do themselves more harm than good by trying to over-exploit social
channels. As responsible marketers we need to be self governing to ensure we
have the consumer’s best interests at heart.”
The council is currently made up of the following representatives and
organizations
. Bernice Grossman, Founder & Principal Consultant, DMRS Group
(Chair)
. Jennifer Barrett, Global Privacy and Public Policy Executive,
Acxiom
. Don Patrick , Chief Operating Officer, Merkle
. Trae Clevinger, VP Strategy & Innovation, TargetBase
. Jim Schwab, VP Business Development Social Media, Alterian
. Janet Rubio, Chief Insights Officer, Engauge
. Mike Coakley, Vice President Marketing Technology, Epsilon
“Maintaining one’s privacy, especially online, gets more challenging and
important to individuals every day. Businesses are equally challenged to
identify the boundaries around what represents responsible use of social
media for marketing purposes,” said Jennifer Barrett, Global Privacy and
Public Policy Executive, Acxiom. “The formation of this council is a
fantastic step in setting the acceptable standards for organizations and
ensuring they think about what they do with the information they have access
to.”
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About Alterian
Alterian (LSE: ALN) empowers organizations to create relevant, effective and
engaging experiences with their audience that help build value and reinforce
commitment to their brand, through the use of the Alterian Integrated
Marketing Platform
transformation of marketing and communications, making it practical and
cost-effective for companies to orchestrate multichannel engagement with the
individual.
Alterian’s unprecedented integration of analytics, content and execution
through industry leading tools, such as the Dynamic Messenger email platform
and the award winning Content Management solutions, enables companies to
build integrated communication strategies which create a true picture of the
individual.
Alterian works with marketing services partners, system integrators and
agencies who recognize the need to plan and deliver coordinated customer
engagement services in partnership with their clients. For more information
about Alterian, products within the Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform
or Alterian’s Partner Network, visit www.alterian.com
