Nothing but Roses v. Godzilla Facepalm: The Case for Social Media Guidelines

“Social media is a tool: it’s like a knife; you can perform life-saving surgery or you can cut someone up.”

– Kalei Taylor, Portland (Oregon) City Attorney’s Office

When the shelf life of a tweet is shorter than that of potato salad on a hot summer day, you can’t afford to dawdle over the perfect turn of phrase or wait a week for the legal team to bless your blog. In the real-time world, “fast beats perfect,” as this article by Bloomberg Businessweek notes.

So, how can B2B marketers stay relevant in a real-time world without getting sued? That’s a question that keeps lawyers awake at night—and that’s motivated even conservative companies like IBM and Intel to develop proactive social media guidelines.

In “A Legal Perspective on B2B Social Media,” lawyers from Burr & Forman LLP write:

“The catch is that in order to use social media effectively, companies must devise ways to address these concerns, or at least mitigate the risks, in a more timely manner. Responding quickly does not mean ignoring the potential risks, it means developing more timely ways of addressing the risks.“

At a recent Social Media Club of Portland event, Kalei Taylor, an attorney for the City of Portland (Oregon) and Bryan Rhoads, senior social media & digital marketing strategist for Intel, offered insights from both marketing and legal perspectives.

“Clients see social media as nothing but roses,” Taylor said. “Lawyers see social media as a Godzilla facepalm.”

The concerns are deeper and broader than you might think, encompassing everything from trademark infringement and defamation to regulatory compliance and employment laws. For example:

• “Click to agree” is a contract—are you authorized?
• Tweets or Facebook posts could be subject to regulatory requirements for records retention.
• The info you get by Googling job applicants may be illegal to use in hiring decisions.

Rhoads, who was a founding member of Intel’s Social Media Center of Excellence, says he’s worked closely with Intel’s Legal, PR and Security teams to develop social media guidelines that protect Intel’s business interests while empowering Intel employees to connect directly with consumers. To participate in social media on the company’s behalf, Intel employees need their manager’s approval and are required to take a 30-minute online training course.

When educating city employees who are using social media, Taylor says she makes a distinction between social media policy and social media best practices: A policy breach means employees can be disciplined; best practices simply offer guidance and practical tips.

Of course, one of the best practices is to be real—and be quick about it. Which brings me back to my original question: How can we embrace social media in an authentic, meaningful way without getting in trouble? Both Taylor and Rhoads recommend working with your company’s legal counsel to carve out agreed-upon “safe” areas so that you can limit formal legal reviews to those topics that are potentially risky.