Many businesses are jumping aboard the social media marketing express! As a business owner, there are a few things you should know and do before launching your company’s social media marketing campaign:
Content Ownership. If your business outsources its social media marketing campaign, you should determine the ownership of any original content in advance. The freelancer is the copyright owner of the content unless there is a written agreement signed by the freelancer indicating otherwise.
Domain Name and Social Media Account Registration. Even if you outsource, handle the registration of domain names and social media accounts internally. This guarantees that these names and accounts are registered in your name or your company’s name – and not in the name of a freelancer or employee who may later leave the company. Registrations in the wrong name can lead to ownership issues down the line.
User Generated Content. Businesses with social media campaigns featuring customer interaction should take advantage of the federal laws that provide insulation from liability for any infringing or defamatory content posted by customers. These federal laws include the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
Marketing to Children. If your marketing campaign is targeted to children, you must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which requires posting a privacy policy on your website and getting parental consent before collecting names, email addresses, or other personal information from children under 13. Federal regulators have issued penalties of up to $1,000,000 to companies that failed to comply with COPPA.