When you got ready to leave home today, you knew there was the possibility that someone could wrongly come into your home to steal things, so you probably locked your door, and perhaps set an alarm. Then, when you got behind the wheel of your car, you knew there could be an accident, so you buckled your seat belt. No one is telling you not to leave home or not to drive, but both of these activities pose risks. Everyday we take risks, and the better informed we can be about risks, the smarter and safer we are.
The same is true for advertisers as they embrace social media to promote their apartment communities. Social media is a great innovation, but it does have its risks, and the better informed advertisers can be about those risks, the smarter and safer they are.
Remember that a website is a form of advertising. As a practical matter it is no different than any form of traditional advertising, and the same rules apply. The things you say must be true, because if they are not, it is libel; you have to be aware of consumer laws (watch out for sweepstakes that are really illegal lotteries); and, you have to honor the trademarks and copyrights of others.
And of course, don’t forget about fair housing considerations. The point of a website is to advertise the community; what is posted on a website (and that means both words and pictures) must therefore be fair housing compliant. Quite simply, that means that a “reasonable person” looking at the website cannot see anything that would suggest “any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.” Therefore, the words that are used, the directions that are given, the symbols that are depicted, and the photos and pictures that are shown cannot indicate that type of preference, limitation or discrimination.
The bottom line is that if there are fair housing issues with a basic website, the apartment community will be liable, since this is essentially an “ad,” and the community (its owner or PMC) is the “publisher.”
But what about a website where others are able to post information or are invited to blog? Who is liable for what others post? The answer is “it depends.” It depends upon how much control the owner of the website (the “Publisher”) is exerting over the external posting by others. It’s all about control. The more the message is controlled, the more likely the accountability.
Now, what about Facebook®, Twitter™, YouTube™ or a blog? Are these a form of advertising? The answer to that question is “it depends.” It depends on what a judge or jury might say about this. The folks in the apartment industry who are using a fan page on Facebook or who are sending “Tweets” would ultimately have to admit that the ultimate goal is effective marketing of a community or PMC, and that sounds like advertising.
Social media can be a brilliant form of marketing, but people need to make informed business decisions. They need to know what questions they should be asking before they take the leap into social media, questions like:
Who at the community/with the PMC will be its “voice”?
Where will this “voice” be heard? On your own website or blog? Or will this “voice” speak through posts at the websites and blogs of others?
If you will have your own website/blog, how much time will be committed to monitoring and promptly responding?
If you will have your own website/blog, how much control do you plan to exert regarding what is posted by others?
What will you do if someone says something bad about you or the community?
What will you do if someone says something bad about their neighbors or prospects–a lie, a slur, even an over-the-top compliment?
When is your employee your employee? Are you responsible for their on-line actions?
When is your employee “on their own time”? Are you responsible for their on-line actions?
Are you going to provide training for your employees on the proper use of social media as it relates to your website/blog?
Are you going to provide training for your employees on the proper use of social media as it relates to the websites and blogs of others?
Lock your house? A good idea. Seatbelts–ditto. And take advantage of the wonders of social media and advertising, but do that with an understanding of the risks and a plan to address them.
REQUIRED LANGUAGE FOR ALL REPRINTING OF THIS ARTICLE: “Social Media- Don’t Take Risks” is written by Nadeen Green, Senior Counsel with For Rent Media Solutions. The information contained in this article is not to be considered legal advice, and the authors and their companies strongly suggest that you consult with your own counsel as to any fair housing questions or problems you may have.
How often do you have the opportunity to #SaveonRENT, especially RENT: The Broadway Tour? Now you do, thanks to a special partnership between RENT and ForRent.com®. This exclusive discount allows you to see Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, in the roles they made famous, for $10 less than everyone else! Share with your friends (Retweet) and be a part of the group that gets “A Tweet Deal.”
Attention: RENT Enthusiasts Tweet for a chance to win RENT: The Broadway Tour memorabilia and remember you get $10 off on tickets when you enter the code ANGEL.
Step 1:
Follow us on Twitter @AptsForRent and @rentthebwaytour
Step 2:
Copy and paste the entire text below into one of your tweets:
@AptsForRent has the code 2 save $10 on @rentthebwaytour tix! RT msg 4 chance 2 win prize pack: http://tinyurl.com/yftof3h#SaveonRENT
Step 3:
A randomly selected winner will be chosen from all tweeted entries on October 30th, 2009; November 30th, 2009; December 30th, 2009 and January 13th, 2010.
Rules to play: What? A Tweet-to-Win sweepstakes. Who? You can enter if you are a consumer. Please no multi-family housing industry professionals or employees of For Rent Media Solutions, Dominion Enterprises and/or RENT: The Broadway Tour. Why? To win RENT: The Broadway Tour memorabilia & ForRent.com schwag and get $10 off ticket prices. Where? Go to Twitter @AptsForRent and @rentthebwaytour to begin following. How? Copy and paste the entire text below into one of your tweets:
@AptsForRent has the code 2 save $10 on @rentthebwaytour tix! RT msg 4 chance 2 win prize pack: http://tinyurl.com/yftof3h#SaveonRENT
When? A randomly selected winner will be chosen from all tweeted entries on October 30th, 2009; November 30th, 2009; December 30th, 2009 and January 13th, 2010.
We have added an additional social media component to the ForRent.com Web site. Go to ForRent.com and you will notice the new “share” box in the top right hand corner. Hover over the box and it expands to display the various options you can use to “share” the ForRent.com site with others. The “share” box is visible on every page within the site.
Through the share tool, end-users can share apartment listings with others via the various social media sites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. With this feature, the end-user has more than 150 ways to bookmark or share apartment listings of their choice!
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is more than just the name of a walk; it describes the progress we’re making in the fight against breast cancer. Nothing can describe the hope that is inspired by walking with others who share a passion for ending this disease.
Because nearly everyone has been touched by breast cancer in some way (we have 3 survivors in our office alone), hope for a world without the disease starts with us. For Rent Media Solutions in Atlanta has decided to show our support and make a difference by walking as a team in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on October 24th.
Hope starts with one walker and one dollar at a time. Hope starts with our team.
Did you attend the Florida Apartment Association (FAA) tradeshow this year? It was held from August 26th -28th at the Caribe Royale Orlando All-Suites Hotel in Orlando, Florida. This year was a huge success as the Florida Apartment Association (FAA) conference opened its doors to more than 450 multi-housing professionals. The conference encouraged attendees to “Catch the Next Wave” of industry innovations. Multi-housing professionals learned more about technology, customer service, green initiatives, marketing, and training. Check out this 2009 Florida Apartment Association Conference and Trade Show highlight video which captures moments from the successful education conference and trade show!
And of course, you know your friendly For Rent Media Solutions staff was there representing! Corporate and Florida employees were decked out in bright colored t-shirts with icon graphics to include ways we reach consumers: text, mobile, social media, video and much more!
Listen to a testimonial from one of our clients Lori Donnelly, VP CFH Group with For Rent Media Solutions to Dori Rones, South Florida GSM of For Rent Media Solutions.
On Wednesday, August 19th, For Rent Media Solutions launched a Twitter sweepstakes for multifamily industry professionals. Multifamily professionals had an opportunity to win an iPod Touch® if they logged on to Twitter and sent @AptsForRent a tweet. To be eligible for the sweepstake, multifamily professionals had to enter a tweet that included the ‘Yeah We’ve Got That’ hashtag. This hashtag symbolizes our solutions network to help clients reach renters any time, any place, driving more LEADS for them.
On Monday, August 24th, we announced Jessica Whitney as the randomly selected winner for the iPod Touch. Whitney works with Resort at Forbes Creek apartment community. This community has had their Twitter account for a little over a month and loves using the microbloging site for ‘real time’ updates to inform residents of specials, events, etc. In addition to Twitter, we also learned that this community has a robust Facebook page set up displaying updates regarding events in the apartment community.
As a result of this campaign, For Rent Media Solutions saw an increase of followers to our Twitter profile and numerous retweets with our brand message all in less than three days! We also generated a couple thousand page views to our Apartment Blog and had many interactions with multifamily industry professionals.
We want to congratulate Jessica Whitney for winning the iPod touch. We would also like to thank all multifamily professionals who participated. We’re looking forward to running another sweepstakes soon!
