Privacy and intimacy concerns in digital marketing: Literature review

The ubiquity and demand of sharing content by social networks (SN) led marketers to deal with challenges regarding the perception of privacy and intimacy and to consider dichotomies between preferences and real behaviours. Research is still needed to address how SN impact legitimacy. Also, there is a need to study how the de-definition of privacy and intimacy boundaries has affected the behaviours of SN users. The authors look at the issue from a theoretical point of view, considering authors from different fields of knowledge to break down the challenges for marketers regarding users' perception of privacy and intimacy on SN. The redefinition of privacy and intimacy boundaries has impacted the behaviours of SN users. It so has the effect of privacy and intimacy on the organisational legitimacy of brands advertising on SN. They suggest several techniques to alleviate privacy and intimacy concerns based on the theoretical implications. Ignoring these concerns can cause problems for brands and institutions and lead to a loss of trust and brand reputation, which translates into lower profits.