People use social media for a lot of reasons. Likewise, businesses also implement social media campaigns, especially to help market and promote their products and services, and their story in general. While it may never have even occurred to most social media users, there are actually laws in place regarding social media marketing in order to protect consumers. If you aren’t aware of these laws chances are you might even be breaking some of them. Therefore, the old adage applies: what you don’t know can hurt you.
While it seems that anyone can post anything on any social media platform at will, the fact is if you are using social media to promote your business, then you are liable for what you post. That includes any music, photos, videos or other media that doesn’t actually belong to you.
Music can be a great addition to any website but make sure you aren’t using anything without permission. Without proper permission you could be hit with a lawsuit.
Photos and videos are the same as music. You have to make sure you have permission to use them before post them on your social media pages. This includes copyright protected media, as well as using people’s faces who have not given you permission. Always make sure something is ok to post before you push it live.
Many companies also use promotions and contests as part of their social media marketing efforts. These can be a very effective tool to get more followers and new business. However, your contests and promotions also need to comply with the law. The best way to stay out of trouble is to make sure you are compliant with each social media platform’s rules and policies, as well as with your state laws. Make all official rules available to contestants, and it never hurts to review FTC rules either before starting a contest or promotion.
There are a lot of ways a business can get into trouble with its social media marketing. Make sure you don’t get caught up in any legal issues by not being aware of the laws. You can depend on NUVEW to assist you to make sure your social media marketing doesn’t run afoul. Just call 219-323-3343 or contact us online for more info.