Never in human history have we been so connected, so able to communicate our every thought and word. Sadly, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Beware of what you tweet or post, it may come back to bite you or your business.
Common misconceptions
It seems we as individuals and business operators may not really understand that just because parliament hasn’t made laws called ‘What not to do when using social media’ it doesn’t mean the existing laws don’t apply. The downside of social media use by individuals and businesses was discussed by legal experts Justine Munsie (Addisons), Stefanie Benson (Allen and Ovary) and James Mattson ( Bartier Perry) at a recent Q&A panel discussion for digital marketing specialists hosted by Oracle and the Marketing Cube.
Here are some of the common misconceptions they discussed.
What goes on tour stays on tour…
The email sent late at night after a bottle of wine and a carefully nursed grievance about our ex-employer. The tweet in poor taste about a co-worker.
For the simple reason that common sense is not that common, invariably, employees will use social media without thinking, type at a whim and post without fear or hesitation. This all amounts to a recipe for embarrassment for the business and the employee if the wrong words are used or the wrong photo posted.
What can businesses do to protect against stupidity? Hire smart people? But even smart people engage in silly acts. Ban social media? Not likely! Screen prospective employees to see if they are social media junkies? Well it is done but businesses need to be very wary and careful to not use what you discover to discriminate on protected characteristics.
Workplaces should have a policy on the proper use of social media and training for staff to understand what is expected of them. The biggest challenge however is breaking down the perception that what happens out of work is private. With social media ,what happens at home travels into the workplace and all of a sudden, everyone is dealing with the drama and emotions of last night’s regrettable post.
At least they no longer have access to the customer database
Don’t think that problems only travel INTO the workplace. With professional applications like LinkedIn, your customer database may also be walking out the door with a departing employee. Your departing employee has a ready-made list of our key contacts.
Welcome to the world of the modern workplace.
It’s only 140 characters so no need to ask…
You read a tweet, think ‘that’s good’ and then post it as your own. It’s only 140 characters. Who will know? You play a song while you record a video to post on YouTube. Well just because it is short doesn’t mean it isn’t protected by copyright.
Consider how the video of Premier Mike Baird reading mean tweets was pulled from YouTube after he played Taylor Swift’s “Shake it off’ and REM’s “Everybody Hurts” in the background without the record labels permission. You never know who is watching.
The is the best [blank] you’ll ever find…
Social media will give you a huge potential audience/market. But do you have to include any disclaimers?
Well yes. You may think you only have room to promote the benefits of a product but if you would include a disclaimer in any other medium then it should be in social media posts as well. While the ACCC can’t regulate everything, they do watch so beware and don’t leave your business open to a possible fine. As a general rule, the need for a disclaimer is governed by the size of the potential audience.
What to do to help protect my business? Answer: get the book!
These are only some of the traps of social media usage for business and individuals. Justine Munsie, Stefanie Benson and James Mattson are 3 of the 8 co-authors of a new book called Social Media and the Law published by LexisNexis. The book gathers 8 legal experts to put together a definitive guide on social media no nos in areas like defamation, employment, copyright and the ACCC.
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