Should a Business Advertise Through Social Media?

Social media has impacted the world greatly. Nothing is left out of the social media spectrum. Places like Facebook and Twitter are popular choices of advertisements for many businesses. However, there are a few things you should consider before even advertising on a social media site like Google Plus or LinkedIn. Facebook alone has a huge investment in the advertising business. It’s an easy place to find people because you can meet them on your level.

There are many perks to advertising on social media. For one, it’s fairly inexpensive and does not cost the company an arm and leg. If you are a new business owner, there are some lines you should not cross when using social media for advertisement purposes. There are now laws against certain aspects of using social media and New York is one of those states. You may not even think that you are violating a privacy law when you mention something on Twitter or Facebook.

In order to talk about a person or use their name or picture on a social media site (in New York) you have to have a written consent. You can actually be taken to court for violating this privacy law and be subject to court fees. Some companies are guilty of using a person’s name or product to promote their business. There is a huge concern here because that person/celebrity did not give the okay. New York is not the only state subjecting this privacy law into social media. Other states are as well.

There is always a way around the law and some businesses are trying to do just that. A company can try and focus on a product and not the actual person using the product. Hyperlinks are also a popular way for companies to get around this privacy law. Instead of trying to get around the law, it’s important that the company just get the person’s consent. Even if the celebrity does use your product, it’s best to just ask or permission than beg for forgiveness.

Another way of violating this privacy law is stating that an individual uses your product. Just because you say they use the product does not mean it’s true. It’s easy to do this on a social media site but it is also illegal. It completely violated the privacy law and you could face a fine.

Getting permission could help save you hundreds of dollars in future legal fees. Just because social media is online does not mean it’s not subject to the law. More industries are ending up online and more laws will start shifting to accommodate the online world. It’s best to do things right and avoid larger penalties later. Something like using a celebrity or person to promote a product on social media may be more costly than you think. This is something every business should know before they decide to advertise with social media.