Media platforms have become an increasingly pivotal aspect of marketing, particularly throughout the challenges of a digital economy. For example, Social Media is one of the easiest ways to interact with existing and potential customers from the comfort of their own homes. Let’s have a closer look at these business social media tips.
Social media draws many benefits for businesses and customers alike. Similarly to traditional forms of advertising, you need to ensure that comments and opinions are not false, misleading or deceptive.
Business owners are responsible for the content on their pages, irrespective of the actual author and publisher of it. Employee or customer alike, the business is responsible for ensuring that their content does not harm or discriminate.
Consumer protection laws apply to social media in the same way they apply to any other marketing activities. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) may require businesses to substantiate any claims that may be false, misleading or deceptive on their social media pages. A common way to establish this is through a disclaimer or terms and conditions.
To avoid breaching any consumer protection laws, business owners should consider the following social media tips:
Prevent Misleading Claims In The Comments
Business owners are accountable for the posts and public comments made by others on their social media pages. Your business’s responsibility is to monitor comments to ensure they are not false or likely to mislead and deceive consumers.
Monitor Social Media Accounts
To ensure that followers do not post improper claims, your social media pages will need regular monitoring. The amount of time you dedicate to monitoring your social media will depend on the size of your business and the number of followers you have.
Establish ‘house rules’ that govern your social media followers behaviour. Ensure that the ‘house rules’ feature prominently on your pages. You should have followers blocked if they breach these rules.
Similarly, employees should be held accountable for how they respond to social media posts or for what they post. An agreed-upon code of conduct should cover:
- posts that reflect the business;
- how the employees views may be interpreted; and
- what is acceptable for the employee to be posting on behalf of the business.
Responding to Misleading Comments
Businesses can choose to respond to false or misleading comments instead of removing them, but it may not override the false impression made by the original comments. In most cases, it is safer to remove comments as soon as you become aware of them. On some social media platforms, you can achieve this by hiding or deleting those comments. Be careful not to remove valid reviews or criticisms – instead, addressing those will assist you in being seen as accountable for your actions.
