Beware of the Social Media Laws

If you are using someone's property, there are some rules to follow. This ensures the welfare of both the parties. But there are cases where we end up using it incorrectly without realizing it. The realization happens when you get the legal notice.

You keep wondering:

• What did I do wrong?
• Others are also doing it, so why me?
• Why didn't anyone tell me about this?

But it's too late, you have to face the consequences.

Social media is a world with legalities most people need to become more familiar with. It doesn't matter if you are an individual or a business, if you are careful you will avoid the consequences.

Social Media Rights

When you sign up on Facebook, you see an annoying popup saying "Terms & Conditions". A lengthy block of text (written in small font size), you don't even feel like reading it. You end up checking the box at the bottom and proceed to complete your profile.

This happens with every social media platform. All social media platforms have their rules and regulations you have to follow. If you don't, your profile gets suspended.

People are not educated about the social media laws. This can result in you violating some regulations without even knowing you are. Is this unfair? Yes, it is. Hence, we will give you an overview of the social media legalities.

Remember, ignorance is not an option.

Social Media Laws

1. Provide Attribution

This is common among the content creators. Often creators run out of ideas and resort to copy-pasting other creators' content. But, they don't even give credit to the source.

If the original creator or any of its followers find this, they have the right to report your post. This can lead to the removal of the duplicate post. At times, it leads to the suspension and even termination of the profile.

If you are posting someone else's content (it can be a person or a company) the best way out is to get their permission. Take the permission and avoid the punishment.

2. Copyright Infringements

Let us understand Copyright infringements with some scenarios:

Scenario 1: Let's say you are a wildlife photographer. You have spent weeks trying to click a picture-perfect photo of a crocodile and you have finally got it. This image is your property. You have 100% ownership over it. You can sell it or give it away for free.

But let's say someone steals it for commercial purposes. How can you find them? There is an inbuilt feature in Google known as 'Reverse Image Search'. You click on the camera icon and upload your photo. Google will display all the websites showing your photo. Now you know who are the culprits.

Scenario 2: In the same way, YouTubers get a strike on their video. At times they are using another creator's video clips without permission.

Scenario 3: People often use "tricks" to download images from stock image websites. This is a wrong practice. Many of them don't have a Creative Commons license. Using them without paying a premium (i.e. without permission) is a violation of their policy.

People who have paid a premium to these websites get to use them as they want. They have the permission. So they are safe. If you ever try to use their content without permission, you will get a notice from them. They have automated the reverse image searching algorithms, so there is no escape.

3. Follow the Platform Rules

Every social media platform is working towards improving their viewer's experience. If you are doing anything suspicious, you have to become more meticulous. Let us see some examples:

• YouTube: If you are posting certain content that is offending people, they can report it. If too many people are reporting your videos, your channel will get banned.

If you are using some derogatory language in your videos, YT can stop your monetization. Because they have certain rules in place. Follow it figure, something else.

• Facebook: Some types of content are not allowed on FB. For eg: pornography, extreme violence, sexual activity, terrorism activities, etc.

If you post such content, there is a great possibility of it not getting approval. FB's algorithms are always hunting for content going against their guidelines. This means if your content somehow gets approved, it will not have a long shelf life.

• Quora: It's a Q&A website. But many marketers are using this platform for pasting their links (for Off-page SEO). This is a violation of Quora's guidelines. If you want your profile to get more visibility, write answers that benefit the viewer. Give value if you want visibility.

With visibility, you get more reach. And for a business, more reach means more traffic. More traffic means more leads. More leads mean more sales.

But if you go on posting your links without adding any value, get ready for a ban.

Final Words

I have been marketing ‘Gryffin Capitalist’ on social media for over 5 years. There have been plenty of experiments, trials, and errors. If I have to give you one golden piece of advice, I will say this:

Focus on adding value.

Every time you are going to post something, ask yourself:

• Is this going to add any value to your followers or target audience?
• Is this going to solve any problem your customers are facing?
• Will you like reading this stuff?

All the social media platforms are always optimizing for great user experience.

This is why they have so many guidelines, which is why they are changing their algorithms so often. This is why many accounts get banned.

Why? now you know.

So focus on making the lives of your followers and audience better. Good content will always sail through in the long run. Stay away from 'shortcuts', as these are going to cut you short.

Ignorance is not an option.