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Understand The Rules You Likely Never Read
October 3, 2017
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Social media is often looked at as this unrestricted playground; saying and doing whatever we want.
But with anything in life, there is accountability in our actions.
And in the social space, when it comes to contesting - know your boundaries.
It's not the Wild West by any stretch.
First - any contest we do - whether on-air, online or socially requires its own set of rules.
Every social media contest must be cleared through legal. They know how to protect us from potential complaints that harm the brand reputation and/or lawsuits.
Second - know each social media platform's Terms Of Service like the back of your hand.
Facebook states we are not allowed to ask the audience to "share on their Timeline, share on their friend's Timeline or tag your friends in your post to enter/win.' It's not permitted.
Did you know on Twitter it's a must that contest participants use your "@" handle?
Instagram states we are not to ask people to tag themselves in a photo they are not actually in.
Snapchat does not allow for participants to be asked to send Snaps to friends in order to enter and win.
Visit these rules and regulations at the start of each quarter.
Facebook recently "unpublished" a radio station Page due to violating Terms of Service.
And while it all worked out - I was able to remove their violating contest content and then request Facebook re-publish the Page, it may not always go in your favor.
Just because social media is 'free' to use does not equate to easy. There is nothing easy about staying up to date with the standards set forth. It's a very fluid space.
Nor is it easy to resonate each day in the way we hope.
Understand the space we're operating in. Saves time, energy and perhaps a little embarrassment.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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