Social Media Marketing: Rewarding, But Potentially Dangerous?

Social media is great for getting your business out there. Publicity and profitability often go hand in hand. In today’s world, there is no platform better for gaining publicity than social media. If you are just starting up your business you should seriously consider using social media as a tool for improving your business. 

However, if you decide to use social media you have to be aware of your responsibilities on the site as well as your rights as someone creating content on a social media platform. 

Read on to avoid the pitfalls of advertising and engaging as a business on social media, so you can get the full benefits with none of the negatives!

Which Laws Apply To Social Media?

Social media for personal use does not apply here. However, if you’re conducting business on social media, then there are two certain regulations you need to be aware of.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations sets out that businesses cannot:

• Use false or deceptive messages
• Leave out important information
• Use aggressive sales techniques

Since this applies to sales and marketing practices generally, it will apply to your social media marketing activities, too.

Additionally, the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations aims to protect other businesses in the industry. For example, you won’t be able to use a competitor’s logo in your marketing practices. This means you can’t craft the kinds of ads that compare your products with others.

So what do you need to look out for to remain compliant? 

Avoid Making False Or Misleading Statements 

While you want to make your product as attractive as possible, you need to stick to the truth to avoid legal ramifications. When posting on social media ensure to fact check any statements you make.

For example, if you claim you have the oldest taco stand in the UK but there are a number of taco stands which predate yours, this is a false or misleading statement and you must avoid it.

What About Commenters? 

If it is your social media post/ad, it is your responsibility. This means that if a fan of your product is giving you some publicity that’s a little too good you must correct or remove the comment.

As an extreme example, if a fan comments on Soap Co.’s advertisement, “I used this soap once and I have never had to shower again!” you should correct or delete this comment. It adds an extra responsibility and means you have to be carefully monitoring your posts.

What Else Do I Need To Be Aware Of When Advertising On Social Media? 

In the UK, there are 2 main advertising codes of practice that you should follow, and it includes social media marketing practices.

The first is CAP non-broadcast code, which sets out rules for non-broadcast advertising. So, this would be your email marketing and print.

However, social media would fall under the second code, which is the CAP broadcast code. It covers matters like children, political matters and misleading advertising.

If you want to make a complaint about a business that has engaged in unfair marketing practices like misleading information, you can report it to the ASA as they enforce these codes.

Running A Giveaway On Your Social Media? 

Lots of businesses run giveaways to promote their products, or as a thank you to their loyal customers. However, did you know that depending on the size of the giveaway, you may need a permit? And if you don’t get one, you could be running an illegal giveaway!

The competition thresholds differ a little between States and Territories. We’ve broken them down here in this article: Competitions: Do I Need A Permit?

Along with the relevant laws, you also need to be compliant with any policies that the social media platform might have. You can read through the Instagram rules on promotions and Facebook rules for more detail.

Intellectual Property and Social Media 

As a business, when posting content on social media you are creating something new! This means that it may be covered by Intellectual Property law. If someone uses your branding, videos or other posted content you may have an action against them. It’s important to note that this area of law is not entirely settled, meaning that what is and isn’t copyright on social media can sometimes be confusing. 

However, a good starting point is the terms and conditions of the website that you are posting on. Some websites, like Facebook, contain terms and conditions which protect people reposting content from copyright infringements. 

You might want to register for a business name, but this doesn’t offer you trade mark protection. If you want to protect the logo or name of your business, it might be best to register a trade mark to prevent people from taking your work. 

Privacy 

When you advertise on social media you gain access to information about your consumers and who is engaging with your posts more broadly – a lot of information. Social media privacy has been a big issue in recent years and there is a spotlight on how businesses use and protect the information given to them through social media. This attention means you need to take extra special care with the information that you collect. 

But People, Right? 

People are consenting to give you their information when they click on your posts. However, they are consenting only to give the information to you and your business. This means that once you have the information, you have the responsibility to protect it from people trying to take it. If you do not take steps to protect this information then you may be found to be in breach of some privacy laws.

To make sure this doesn’t happen you need to be aware if you are taking information and the necessary steps you need to take to protect this information.

Defamation 

Trolling and talking trash about others on social media is sadly commonplace these days. However, as a business you are more likely to face legal consequences if you make false claims which damages someone or something’s reputation. These legal consequences come in the form of hefty fines that you pay to the damaged party. Keeping this in mind you need to be careful of what you and your employees are posting on social media. However, it goes even further than that!

Commenters, Again!

It is a good rule of thumb that you are responsible for all content on your page – including comments. This applies for defamation. If someone posts a comment on a post that you are responsible for that is false and damages someone’s reputation you must deal with it. In the past businesses have been charged with defamation for comments posted on content they have uploaded. Once again, make sure you are carefully monitoring your posts and how they are developing and being used because there are serious consequences if you do not. 

Worried About Your Employees’ Social Media Presence?

Brand and reputation are important for a business. Social media has the potential to make or ruin a business’ reputation in a day. You would be right to be worried about what people who represent your business are saying online. 

But how far can you go in restraining what they post? Sprintlaw has a few articles on this topic: 

• Can I Take Action Against My Employee For Expressing Their Political Views?
• Criticising Your Boss On Social Media: What’s Legal?

Still Unsure?

We don’t blame you! Many of the legal issues touched on in this article such as defamation, intellectual property and data privacy can be difficult to navigate.

If you have concerns about your business and social media get into contact with Sprintlaw. Reach out to our team for a free, no-obligations chat at [email protected] or +44(0)2034321860.

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