Social media – previously just a platform for personal connection and conversation – is now a powerful marketing and advertising channel, with brands increasingly relying on influencer partnerships, social media giveaways, and other social media content to drive engagement and sales.
But as quickly changing trends and algorithms drive marketing teams to move fast and post frequently, legal risk can rise as quickly as follower count after a viral video. Even content that feels casual and spontaneous may trigger various compliance and contractual obligations. . . will these legal hurdles hurt visibility and engagement, or can risk be minimized while views are maximized?
Join our webinar on April 14, where we’ll discuss core legal risks of social media marketing, including a deeper dive into the topics discussed below, with a focus on concrete, practical risk-mitigation strategies for in-house legal and marketing teams. The webinar will also include insight from one lawyer presenter who practices in this area and doubles as a successful content creator, giving her unique a perspective into both the legal- and business-oriented sides of advertising on social media.
Navigating Complex Legal Frameworks
Advertising on social media today requires users to carefully navigate a complex array of overlapping legal frameworks, including laws governing advertising, consumer protection, intellectual property, and more. Meanwhile, social media platform terms and contractual obligations can create additional layers of compliance obligations.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Without sophisticated legal oversight, social media advertisers can easily and inadvertently run afoul of compliance obligations. Some common pitfalls include:
- Failing to recognize potential company liability for actions of influencer partners on the influencer’s own page, including statements about the company or its products and services, and inadequate (or entirely absent) disclosures regarding an influencer’s relationship with the company.
- Lacking a sufficiently protective agreement between a company and its content creators, including provisions addressing ownership rights, disclosure obligations, and other controls.
- Improperly structuring advertising promotions, including sweepstakes (commonly referred to as “giveaways” on social media) and contests. For example, common sweepstakes/giveaway legal hazards include:
- Not having, or not adequately disclosing, any official rules.
- Not having an alternative method of entry if “consideration” is required.
- Not building the necessary disclosures into the promotion structure (e.g., that the engagement is for purposes of entering a giveaway) if engagement is contemplated as a means of entry (e.g. “comment to enter”).
- Lacking sufficient rights to posted content, including as it relates to music, images, and people featured in the posts.
These errors (and many others) can lead to significant legal exposure and enforcement actions from a diverse set of potential plaintiffs, including regulators, creators, consumers, competitors, and media platforms.
Meanwhile, other pitfalls can impact your company’s ability to enforce its rights, like failing to understand what protections (or lack thereof) are in place for AI-generated content.
Managing Risk for Modern Social Advertising
To avoid these and other risks, it’s important to engage your legal team early and often as it relates to social media content, which is not simply a quick and carefree way to engage with potential customers.
Whether your organization is already active on social media or looking to expand its presence, a thoughtful approach to managing social content can help you make the most of online advertising opportunities while significantly reducing legal exposure.
