Social Media Facts of Life

By Barbara Kay, President

Social media, whose intent originally was meant to enhance online social engagements and exchanges, has now become a core element of association and company marketing. It no is longer enough to have an eye-catching logo, name and robust website.

With the ongoing evolution of social media, organizations have new ways to communicate and interface with their constituents. And, likewise, social media also provides a new platform for members to communicate with their association.
Social media can become a powerful means for publicizing and leveraging an organizations’ brand.

Social media is the new frontier — and it is wise to consider the legal matters that can pop up in these uncharted waters. There are some basic social media “facts of life.” For starters, from defamation to copyright infringement, there are legal issues that social media misuse can trigger.

You absolutely must understand the boundaries. Social media legal expert Bob Koback recommends you take a look at Facebook’s terms of use. It is “a 17-page contract that obligates you to behave in a certain manner,” he says. Koback strongly advises that you understand the boundaries. “Information on one social media site can be shared with another — as an example LinkedIn can link to Twitter — and that information may not make sense or be appropriate for Twitter,” he explains.

Koback reminds organizations that what you say — and who says it — on social media sites matters. As an example, “Comparisons, whether it be about product or services — must be objective and truthful, and you must be able to back them up. The FTC’s truth-in-advertising rules apply,” he offers.

Copyright and intellectual property rules apply as well. “The law is very clear that the employer has no right to control what employees put on their private (social media) accounts,” Koback shares. That said, it absolutely is necessary for organizations to have rules about who speaks online for the company. Koback recommends a policy memo.

The social media-use policy is important because what may seem like business basics to company executives, may be foreign concepts to employees. Even if your organization does not use social media, remember the vast majority of your employees do. Some examples of what you need to consider include: Can your employees post information about your organization or company? Can they post about other organizations? Does it matter whether they do this during business hours or from home after hours?

Another social media legal expert, Lisa Callaway, recommends that you train your people. Your policy should make it clear that “only employees designated and authorized by the employer” can post, edit or delete content on the company’s social media, and that the business’ ‘“anti-harassment and EEO policies apply to the use of social media in the workplace,” she explains. “Employers must be careful about what they put out there.”

Bottom line, it would make sense to review your company’s liability insurance, as social media coverage is not always included.

So, embrace the marketing and branding opportunity social media offers. But consider first, if you have not already, what makes up your social media use policy?