Top 3 legal things to consider when using social media?

Social media is more popular than ever when it comes to business but, yet still many aren’t aware of the legal dos and don’ts. There are quite a few legal issues that arise when posting content to our favorite platforms such as: Instagram, Facebook & Twitter, but below are the top 3 things you need to consider.

1.        Follow FTC Guidelines

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plays ZERO games when it comes to how businesses advertise to consumers.  While the FTC has several rules that govern around ‘Truth in Advertising‘, one of the key rules that the majority of people miss  when posting to social media is: how you disclose when you’re being paid to post. The FTC requires that you disclose to your audience that it’s an #ad. While the FTC has several other rules that you want to familiarize yourself with (and please be sure to make time and review their requirements), be sure to action accordingly to ensure your business doesn’t get slapped with a hefty fine.

2.        Use caution when using photos & media that’s not yours

Let’s face it. We live in a #repost sharing world. So much so, that often times so people don’t see a problem with using google photos or music they’ve found online. This brings up several copyright issues. The best way to ensure that your posts and videos aren’t flag as copyright infringement is to one pay for a stock image subscription in which you are given a license to use images. Second, if you produce YouTube videos, find some royalty free songs that pay to have a 30 second clip produced for you. If videos contain music in them, YouTube and Instagram can, and most likely will, remove your videos.

3.        Follow site rules during a contest

Running (or hosting) a contest online is a great way to build engagement with your targeted audience. However, all social media sites have rules that pertain to running contest through their platforms. For example, Instagram requires that you use the hashtag #contest and post all rules into the caption. If Instagram is alerted that you have not followed their rules or have not actually awarded the prize you could be subject to having your account deleted.