In late August I got to sit in on a virtual presentation from Advertising Age called Blogging, Buzz and Tweets: An Execs Guide to Protecting Your Company and Clients When Using Social Media. The webcast was led by Brian Heidelberger, a partner at Winston & Strawn’s Advertising and Promotional law practice.

While we have talked about some of these topics in previous posts, I think it’s imperative that executives and companies embracing social media have a grasp on the legal implications as well as the marketing ones. Here is the Snoo.ws version (which basically means shorter and to the point) of Heidelberger’s top 10 ways to minimize your risk when using social media.

Based on the presentation and a recent article from Heidelberger we have come up with the top three risks to your company when using social media:

1. Fakers & Secret Keepers
Nobody likes to be lied to or misled, and when it eventually comes out (and these things always do) the public has a way of hanging you out to dry. Social media means that everyone is a reporter and the moment you make a mistake as a company or employer the world will know about it instantly. Be honest with your community, clients and consumers. Don’t post fake blogs or messages that aren’t properly attributed to the writer or how that writer was introduced to a product.

2. Enthusiastic Mouth Running
We all understand that social media is an outlet to share and keep updated on friends, family, culture, entertainment, news, sports and the list goes on. In the age of Twitter and Facebook the line between sharing and privacy is sometimes a blur. Be careful what you share online, even when using a personal account. You may be held responsible for what people say about your brand or your clients - even if you never met the writer or they don’t collect a paycheque from you. Stay on top of your social networks, your employees and your clients. It is wonderful to engage - but be smart.

3. Because I Said So
We have all seen how rules placed on the use of social media can draw a bit of backlash (ESPN, Associated Press or SEC for example). Realism is an important part of drafting any social media policy for your company. While you might not want to ban employees from every use of social media there is nothing wrong with setting the ground rules so everyone is clear how they are expected to handle themselves online. And if you don’t have your social media policy in place yet - get on it. Now.