‘Designing Strategies’ eNewsletter

   July – August 2010                      Volume 7  –   Issue 34

 

social mediaWhat you can learn through social media participation is endless.   I saw a Tweet on Twitter recently that caught my attention. I linked to Jay Baer’s ‘Convince and Convert’ blog to read a guest post by Indra Gardiner: Protecting Yourself from Social Media Lawsuits. The title caught my attention in a big way, like only the word lawsuit can. Gardiner referred to a recent PRSA Counselors Academy event where attorney Michael Lasky, of Davis & Gilbert law firm in NYC, did a presentation: Is Social Media the New ‘Wild West?

On-line social media is the latest thing to hit the marketing scene in ages. It is considered the hottest thing ever.  Everyone is jumping on board, mostly because someone told them to. Or, they read something on the Internet saying it’s a must. Some people take time to do research; others jump in blindly.  Still others assume they can learn as they go.

Whether they set up a company blog, Twitter account, Facebook Page or some other platform, most are convinced it will provide marketing nirvana. The social media mantra is: Content is King. So long as you provide valuable content, you are promised the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Customers will flock to read your content, then beat down your doors to purchase your products and services. Right!

leap into social mediaSound familiar – did you jump feet first into the social media frenzy? Did you do any research at all first? How about a social media marketing plan – did you consider the need for one? Do you have a social media policy to control who can represent your firm on-line, and what they can or cannot say? Who is in charge of creating the content? Where might content come from? The Internet being what it is today, people often ‘borrow’ or ‘lift’ someone else’s intellectual property and use it, never thinking that it might be copyright protected. Get permission. If you aren’t familiar with copyright laws, find out who is in your firm or do some research.

Be aware of the privacy policies for each of the social media platforms you use. When you quickly set up a Facebook page for your company, did you read their privacy policy closely? Are you aware that literally anything you post there can be reused by Facebook in pretty much any way they choose? What have you given them the right to use about your company that might be proprietary? You may not have planned to give up rights to Facebook when you made that leap, but you did. Read all of those privacy policies for the social media platforms you are involved with as soon as you can. They should make a huge difference in what you post or if you post there again.

I strongly advise that you view Lasky’s presentation at the PRSA conference site noted above.  It will be a real eyeopener for those who jumped into social media with no advice, and are proceeding in a loosey-goosey manner. Not knowing is not a defense for any lawsuit. It’s your responsibility to know.

social media planIf you haven’t yet created a social media marketing plan:  Big Problem!  You may well be wasting time and getting little or no payback for time spent. Create a social media policy now to put controls in place to protect your brand on-line. Let your strategic plan guide you in creating the policy. Have you decided why you are using social media, which platforms you should use to achieve your goals, and set metrics to gauge your success? If not, you won’t know who should be the voice for your company, what they should post and how to best achieve your desired results. Above all, be sure that your social media participation is being done legally.  You don’t want to give away the company farm to some social media platform.  Nor do you want to risk potential irreparable damage to your company brand and reputation.